Complexity
Algorithmic complexity is generally specified using Big O Notation. This makes no comment on how long something takes to run or how much memory it uses, but how its increase depends on the size of the input. Overhead is deliberately not part of this calculation, since it varies from one machine to another, whereas the fundamental running time of an algorithm does not.
This should be contrasted with efficiency, which takes into account all kinds of resources – a combination (though not a trivial one) of complexity and overhead.
Read more about this topic: Overhead (computing)
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