Big O - A Little Math

Example

Big O does not use measurements. We will use numbers here only for understanding.

We see in the example we have a loop, but we also have the two operations highlighted. So should the Big O be:

O(n) + O(1)

Remember O(1) is a constant relatively small number and O(n) is a very (very) large number. Let us use a quadrillion for n, and (2) for the constant.

1000000000000000 + 2

The constant (2) is not significant (it is washed away).

public int demo_n(int[] aStructure)  {
	int sum;
	sum = 0;
	for (int eachNumber: aStructure) {
		sum += eachNumber;
	}
	return sum;
}