Skip to main content
Post Closed as "Duplicate" by Barry Fruitman, Yuval Filmus algorithms
edited tags
Link
Raphael
  • 72.9k
  • 30
  • 181
  • 393
Source Link
Barry Fruitman
  • 755
  • 3
  • 10
  • 16

Asymptotic vs real-world complexity

Let's say an algorithm has an asymptotic time complexity of $\Theta(N)$. However in practice, $N$ is bound by a small upper limit (e.g. the size of a character set). Can we then say the complexity is $\Theta(1)$? Or is there a better way of describing the performance of an algorithm in a particular real-life situation?