Why Algorithms with logarithmic time are considered to be fast?

Question

My knowledge of big-O notation is limited , but I read in some posts that algorithms with logarithmic time are fast , can someone explain it please .

There are many resources on this topic. Have you tried a simple search? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_complexity#Logarithmic_time — Michael Petito, Nov 08 '15 at 01:02

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 08 '15 at 01:01

For large N, the percentage of saved operations compared to linear equivalents grows rapidly. As the gradient of a log(N) is proportional to 1/N, for large N O(NlogN) behaves more like O(N) than O(N^2) - for this reason they are often called "linearithmic" or "quasi-linear".

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:22

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To add-on to what willyonka said, here is a graph:

See What is a plain English explanation of "Big O" notation?

edited May 23 '17 at 12:22

Community

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answered Nov 08 '15 at 01:09

devoxel

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Why Algorithms with logarithmic time are considered to be fast?

2 Answers2