Dynamic programming

How it is used

Common in algorithm study, coding interviews, and optimization tasks. Often discussed with memoization, tabulation, states, and transitions.

Example sentences

1. We switched to dynamic programming after the recursive version timed out on long input sequences in the nightly benchmark.

   Here the term means storing intermediate answers so the program avoids recalculating the same subproblems many times.

2. The candidate explained the pricing optimizer with dynamic programming, defining each state by day and remaining inventory.

   In this example, it refers to modeling a problem as states with decisions, then building the best result from smaller cases.

Common collocations

• dynamic programming solution
• dynamic programming table
• use dynamic programming

Related terms

• algorithmA clear, step-by-step method for solving a problem or doing a task, such as sorting a list or finding the shortest route between two points.
• time complexityHow the number of steps an algorithm takes grows as the size of its input grows, usually written in Big O notation.

More terms: Data Structures and Algorithms

• data structure
• array
• iterate
• hash map
• recursion
• Big O notation
• index
• sort
• stack
• queue
• linked list
• tree