Lineaaralgoritm

Lineaaralgoritm refers to an algorithm that operates on linear structures or performs linear transformations. In computer science, this can encompass a wide range of processes, including those that manipulate data stored in arrays, linked lists, or matrices. For example, a linear search algorithm, which examines each element of a list sequentially until a target is found, is considered a linear algorithm. Similarly, algorithms that implement matrix addition or multiplication, where operations are performed element-wise or according to specific linear algebra rules, fall under this category. The efficiency of linear algorithms is often analyzed in terms of their time complexity, which typically grows linearly with the size of the input data, denoted as O(n). This means that if the input size doubles, the execution time also roughly doubles. Understanding linear algorithms is fundamental to many areas of computing, including data processing, scientific computing, and machine learning, where linear operations are ubiquitous. The term can also be applied in mathematics to describe algorithms used for solving systems of linear equations or performing operations within vector spaces. The core principle is the direct relationship between the computational effort and the scale of the linear data being processed.