Thursday, May 01, 2008

Approximation Algorithm vs Heuristic

Approximation algorithm: identifies approximate solutions to problems (mostly often NP-complete and NP-hard problems) to a certain bound. Or maybe provide optimality in only certain situations.

Heuristic: A computational method that uses trial and error methods to approximate a solution for computationally difficult problems. It does not aim to find the optimal solution, sacrificing optimality for improved runtime.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

nice explanation.....

Unknown said...

thx :P