AI engineering glossary · Data structures algorithms
What is time complexity?
Time complexity: A function describing how the number of basic steps an algorithm performs grows as the input size grows. It is usually written with Big-O and lets you predict whether a solution will still work when the data gets 1,000 times larger.
Time complexity: an example
A linear scan over 1 lakh orders is O(n), about 100,000 steps. A nested loop over the same data is O(n^2), about 10 billion steps and far too slow.
Related terms
More Data structures algorithms terms
Where you learn it
Time complexity is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.