

Say O(n²) Eighty Eight Times Fast - IanKelling
https://iankelling.org/09-29-2014/say-On2.html

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ggchappell
"O(n^2)" should definitely _not_ have a literal reading involving any words
like "algorithm", "efficiency", or "time". This notation is not about
algorithms or anything else in computing; it is about the growth of a
(mathematical) function.

In computer science, the foremost application of such notation is to the time-
complexity function of an algorithm. But there are other applications within
C.S., and many more outside it.

OTOH, there is a difference between reading the notation as written, and
interpreting the concept. Certainly there is a place in computing for talking
about "quadratic time complexity". In such a situation, we might write
"O(n^2)". That would be literally read as "(big-)Oh of n squared", but _in
context_ it might be telling us something about time complexity, and there
isn't anything wrong with reading it that way.

Note: I always say the "big" in "big-O", because standard mathematical
notation also includes "little-o", which is also about asymptotic growth rate.
Little-o is far less common in C.S., though.

~~~
kpil
'Ordo n squared' \- to pretentious?

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icodestuff
> The result is 89 terms which have the same meaning in a conversation (unless
> your votes/comments say otherwise). And that doesn’t even consider whether
> to say someting[sic] _is_ O(n²), _has_ O(n²), or _is of_ O(n²).

That has more to do with how the rest of the sentence is constructed, and to
some extent the selection of pronunciation of O(n²). e.g., selecting "order
n-squared" makes "is of" the natural choice, while "big-oh n-squared" is less
grammatically awkward with "is" (arguably, the former example could be "of
order n-squared", in which case "is of" is not actually different from "is").
To completely disambiguate, one should specify what the growth is in respect
to: time, space, or something else. For example "In the worst case, quicksort
is oh of n-squared with respect to time." "Has" should be reserved for when
using O(n²) as an adjective, e.g. "Quicksort normally has oh of n log n growth
in time."

