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Comment by quickthrower2 | Hacker News Reader

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quickthrower2·

Hate to be that nitpicky guy but O(100) isn't a thing. You'd write O(1) or O(N), O(N^2) etc.

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While not technically correct the meaning is clear enough and commonly used as shorthand for "on the order of"

I thought O(1) = O(100) so it would still technically be correct, no?

Edit: O(1) technically is O(100) but that's probably not what they meant.

It would be technically correct if what he meant was that the problem would be solved in constant time.

I bet it wasn't.

That is the sort of pedantry up with which I will not put. From the definition of big-oh, the choice of the number one is completely arbitrary.

> From the definition of big-oh, the choice of the number one is completely arbitrary.

is it? not up on the formal theory, but:

O(n) -> on the order of n x 1 time intervals of processing

O(n)^2 -> on the order of n x n time intervals of processing

etc.

so if there is a single fixed interval, N is irrelevant, leaving you with 1, denoting the single fixed interval

f(x) is O(1) means that there exists x0, M > 0 such that for all x > x0, |f(x)| <= M. Clearly, the statement still holds (for different M) if 1 is replaced by any positive number.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_O_notation

You wouldn't last long among the product managers at my company. Everything in all their docs and slides is O(3 weeks) or O(4 eng).

That'd drive me mental. Especially when there is c. or ~ for that job.

“We’ve received the O(pizzas); they’re in the kitchen.”

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