Comparing Algorithms: Rules of Thumb and an Example

Published

August 24, 2004

Author(s)

Stephen B. Balakirsky, Thomas R. Kramer

Abstract

This paper provides twenty rules of thumb for comparing algorithms having the same function, one of which is to be selected for use in an intelligent system. The rules are illuminated by a specific example, the comparison of three algorithms for dealing with the collection of open nodes that is at the heart of the Dijkstra graph search method. For each rule, a description is given of how the rule was applied in building the example.

Conference Dates

August 24-26, 2004

Conference Location

Gaithersburg, MD

Conference Title

2004 Performance Metrics for Intelligent Systems (PerMIS) Workshop

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

algorithm, binary tree, compare, Dijksta, graph, jump search, list, Performance Metrics, run time, search, Software Engineering

Citation

Balakirsky, S. and Kramer, T. (2004), Comparing Algorithms: Rules of Thumb and an Example, 2004 Performance Metrics for Intelligent Systems (PerMIS) Workshop, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=822550 (Accessed October 15, 2025)