Time Complexity in Data Structures – Explained with Big-O Notation (With Examples)
Introduction When we write a program, it is not enough that it works correctly. It must also work efficiently . Imagine you create a search program that works perfectly for 10 numbers. But what happens when the data grows to 10,000 numbers? If the program becomes very slow, it is not practical. This is where Time Complexity becomes important. Time complexity helps us measure how fast or slow an algorithm runs as the input size increases. It tells us how the execution time grows when the data grows. In data structures like arrays, stacks, queues, and linked lists, understanding time complexity is very important for interviews and exams. 📌 What is Time Complexity? Time complexity is a way to represent the performance of an algorithm using mathematical notation. It does not measure exact seconds. Instead, it measures how the number of operations increases with input size (n). We use something called: 📊 Big-O Notation Big-O notation describes the worst-case scenario o...