Complex Networks: A Networking and Signal Processing Perspective

Appendix DAsymptotic Behavior of Functions

Asymptotic functions or notations are used to represent the growth rate of functions which are necessary in many applications in computing, communications, networking, and signal processing. Asymptotic notations represent certain characteristics of growth functions. They are also called order notations or Landau’s notations. One of the most relevant applications is estimation of computational time complexity of algorithms. In fact, for any algorithm, the resource requirements, such as time taken to complete the execution, amount of memory required for operation, or number of messages to be exchanged for functioning, can be represented as a mathematical function. Usually, such functions are represented ...