Lakh Bawa

Posted on Nov 18

Easy way to find the Time Complexity of an Algorithm

#programming #python

Time complexity is considered one of the toughest topics for beginners who are just starting with Problem-Solving. Here, I am providing the time complexity analysis cheat sheet. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Time Complexity Analysis Cheatsheet

Quick Reference Table

O(1)       - Constant time
O(log n)   - Logarithmic (halving/doubling)
O(n)       - Linear (single loop)
O(n log n) - Linearithmic (efficient sorting)
O(n²)      - Quadratic (nested loops)
O(2ⁿ)      - Exponential (recursive doubling)
O(n!)      - Factorial (permutations)

Identifying Patterns

1. O(1) - Constant

# Look for:
- Direct array access
- Basic math operations
- Fixed loops
- Hash table lookups

# Examples:
arr[0]
x + y
for i in range(5)
hashmap[key]

2. O(log n) - Logarithmic

# Look for:
- Halving/Doubling
- Binary search patterns
- Tree traversal by level

# Examples:
while n > 0:
    n = n // 2

left, right = 0, len(arr)-1
while left <= right:
    mid = (left + right) // 2

3. O(n) - Linear

# Look for:
- Single loops
- Array traversal
- Linear search
- Hash table building

# Examples:
for num in nums:
    # O(1) operation
    total += num

for i in range(n):
    # O(1) operation
    arr[i] = i

4. O(n log n) - Linearithmic

# Look for:
- Efficient sorting
- Divide and conquer
- Tree operations with traversal

# Examples:
nums.sort()
sorted(nums)
merge_sort(nums)

5. O(n²) - Quadratic

# Look for:
- Nested loops
- Simple sorting
- Matrix traversal
- Comparing all pairs

# Examples:
for i in range(n):
    for j in range(n):
        # O(1) operation

# Pattern finding
for i in range(n):
    for j in range(i+1, n):
        # Compare pairs

6. O(2ⁿ) - Exponential

# Look for:
- Double recursion
- Power set
- Fibonacci recursive
- All subsets

# Examples:
def fib(n):
    if n <= 1: return n
    return fib(n-1) + fib(n-2)

def subsets(nums):
    if not nums: return [[]]
    result = subsets(nums[1:])
    return result + [nums[0:1] + r for r in result]

Common Operations Time Complexity

Array/List Operations

# O(1)
arr[i]              # Access
arr.append(x)       # Add end
arr.pop()           # Remove end

# O(n)
arr.insert(i, x)    # Insert middle
arr.remove(x)       # Remove by value
arr.index(x)        # Find index
min(arr), max(arr)  # Find min/max

Dictionary/Set Operations

# O(1) average
d[key]              # Access
d[key] = value      # Insert
key in d            # Check existence
d.get(key)          # Get value

# O(n)
len(d)              # Size
d.keys()            # Get keys
d.values()          # Get values

String Operations

# O(n)
s + t               # Concatenation
s.find(t)           # Substring search
s.replace(old, new) # Replace
''.join(list)       # Join

# O(n²) potential
s += char           # Repeated concatenation

Loop Analysis

Single Loop

# O(n)
for i in range(n):
    # O(1) operations

# O(n/2) = O(n)
for i in range(0, n, 2):
    # Skip elements still O(n)

Nested Loops

# O(n²)
for i in range(n):
    for j in range(n):
        # O(1) operations

# O(n * m)
for i in range(n):
    for j in range(m):
        # Different sizes

# O(n²/2) = O(n²)
for i in range(n):
    for j in range(i, n):
        # Triangular still O(n²)

Multiple Loops

# O(n + m)
for i in range(n):
    # O(1)
for j in range(m):
    # O(1)

# O(n + n²) = O(n²)
for i in range(n):
    # O(1)
for i in range(n):
    for j in range(n):
        # O(1)

Recursive Analysis

Linear Recursion

# O(n)
def factorial(n):
    if n <= 1: return 1
    return n * factorial(n-1)

Binary Recursion

# O(2ⁿ)
def fibonacci(n):
    if n <= 1: return n
    return fibonacci(n-1) + fibonacci(n-2)

Divide & Conquer

# O(n log n)
def mergeSort(arr):
    if len(arr) <= 1: return arr
    mid = len(arr) // 2
    left = mergeSort(arr[:mid])
    right = mergeSort(arr[mid:])
    return merge(left, right)

Optimization Red Flags

Hidden Loops

# String operations
for c in string:
    newStr += c  # O(n²)

# List comprehension
[x for x in range(n) for y in range(n)]  # O(n²)

Built-in Functions

len()           # O(1)
min(), max()    # O(n)
sorted()        # O(n log n)
list.index()    # O(n)

Tips for Analysis

Count nested loops
Check recursive branching
Consider hidden operations
Look for divide & conquer
Check built-in function complexity
Consider average vs worst case
Watch for loop variables
Consider input constraints

Thank you for reading, please give the thumbs up on the post if you found this helpful. Cheers!

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