AI engineering glossary · Data structures algorithms
What is heuristic?
Heuristic: A practical rule or shortcut that finds a good, though not guaranteed optimal, answer quickly. Heuristics are used when exact methods are too slow and can also guide searches such as A*.
Heuristic: an example
Always going to the nearest unvisited city is a simple heuristic for delivery routes that gives decent tours without checking all orders.
Related terms
More Data structures algorithms terms
- Huffman coding
- In-place algorithm
- Insertion sort
- Interval scheduling
- Kadane's algorithm
- Knapsack problem
- Knuth-Morris-Pratt algorithm
- Kruskal's algorithm
Where you learn it
Heuristic is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.