Divide and Conquer Technique

General Method:
 The Divide and Conquer Technique splits n inputs into k
subsets , 1< k ≤ n, yielding k subproblems.

 These subproblems will be solved and then combined by using a

separate method to get a solution to a whole problem.

 If the subproblems are large, then the Divide and Conquer

Technique will be reapplied.

 Often subproblems resulting from a Divide and Conquer

Technique are of the same type as the original problem.
 For those cases the reapplication of the Divide and Conquer
Technique is naturally expressed by a recursive algorithm.

 Now smaller and smaller problems of the same kind are

generated until subproblems that are small enough to be
solved without splitting are produced.
Control Abstraction/general method for Divide and
Conquer Technique

Algorithm DAndC(p)
{
if Small(p) then return s(p);
else
{
divide p into smaller instances p1,p2,…….,pk, k≥1;
Apply DAndC to each of these subproblems;
return Combine(DAndC(p1), DAndC(p2),……,DAndC(pk));
}
}
 If the size of p is n and the sizes of the k subproblems are n1,n2,
….,nk,then the computing time of DAndC is described by the
recurrence relation

T(n)= g( n) n small
T(n1)+T(n2)+……+T(nk)+f(n) Otherwise

 Where T(n) is the time for DAndC on any input of size n and g(n) is
the time to compute the answer directly for small inputs.
 The function f(n) is the time for dividing p and combining the
solutions to subproblems.
The Complexity of many divide-and-conquer
algorithms is given by recurrences of the form

c n small
T(n)=
aT(n/b)+f(n) Otherwise

Where a , b and c are known constants.

and n is a power of (i.e n=bk )
 Applications
1.Binary search Algorithm
Iterative algorithm
Algorithm BinSearch(a,n,x)
{
low:=1; high:=n;
while(low≤high)
{
mid:=(low+high)/2;
if( x<a[mid] ) then high:=mid-1;
else if( x> a[mid] ) then low:=mid+1;
else return mid;
}
return 0;
}
Recursive Algorithm ( Divide and Conquer Technique)
Algorithm BinSrch (a,i,l,x)
//given an array a [i:l]of elements in nondecreasing
//order,1≤i≤l,determine whether x is present,and
//if so, return j such that x=a[j]; else return 0.
{
if(l=i) then // If small(P)
{
if(x=a[i]) then return i;
else return 0;
}
else
 { //Reduce p into a smaller subproblem.
mid:= (i+l)/2
if(x=a[mid]) then return mid;
else if (x<a[mid]) then
return BinSrch (a,i,mid-1,x);
else return BinSrch(a,mid+1,l,x);
}
}
 Time complexity of Binary Seaych

If the time for diving the list is a constant, then the computing time
for binary search is described by the recurrence relation

T(n) = c1 n=1, c1 is a constant

T(n/2) + c2 n>1, c2 is a constant

Assume n=2k, then

T(n) = T(n/2) + c2
=T(n/4)+c2+c2
=T(n/8) +c2+c2+c2
…..
…..
= T(1)+ kc2
= c1+kc2 =c1+ logn*c2 = O(logn)
 Time Complexity of Binary Search
Successful searches:
best average worst
O(1) O(log n) O( log n)

Unsuccessful searches :

best average worst

O(log n) O(log n) O( log n)
 2. Merge Sort
1. Base Case, solve the problem directly
if it is small enough(only one element).

1. Divide the problem into two or more

similar and smaller subproblems.

3. Recursively solve the subproblems.

3. Combine solutions to the subproblems.

 Merge Sort: Idea

Divide into
two subsists
A FirstPart SecondPart
Recursively
Recursively sort
sort
FirstPart SecondPart

Merge

A is sorted!
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Divide
A: 66 22 88 44 3 3 7 7 5 5 11
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 0, 3) , divide
A: 3 7 5 1

66 22 88 4
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 0, 1) , divide
A: 3 7 5 1

8 4

6 2
2
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 0, 0) , base case
A: 3 7 5 1

8 4

6
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 0, 0), return
A: 3 7 5 1

8 4

6 2
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 1, 1) , base case
A: 3 7 5 1

8 4

2
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 1, 1), return
A: 3 7 5 1

8 4

6 2
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge(A, 0, 0, 1)
A: 3 7 5 1

8 4

2 6
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 0, 1), return
A: 3 7 5 1

2 6 8 4
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 2, 3) , divide
A: 3 7 5 1

2 6

8 4
4
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 2, 2), base case
A: 3 7 5 1

2 6

8
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 2, 2), return
A: 3 7 5 1

2 6

8 4
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 3, 3), base case
A:

2 6

4
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 3, 3), return
A: 3 7 5 1

2 6

8 4
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge(A, 2, 2, 3)
A: 3 7 5 1

2 6

4 8
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 2, 3), return
A: 3 7 5 1

2 6 4 8
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge(A, 0, 1, 3)
A: 3 7 5 1

2 4 6 8
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 0, 3), return
A: 2 4 6 8 3 7 5 1
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 4, 7)
A: 2 4 6 8

3 7 5 1
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge (A, 4, 5, 7)
A: 2 4 6 8

1 3 5 7
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A, 4, 7), return
A: 2 4 6 8 1 3 5 7
 Merge-Sort(A, 0, 7)
Merge-Sort(A,
Merge(A, 0, 3, 0,
7)7), done!
A: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
 Ex:- [ 179, 254, 285, 310, 351, 423, 450, 520,
652,861 ]
Tree of calls of merge sort

1,10

1,5 6,10

1,3 4,5 6,8 9,10

1,2 3,3 4,4 5,5 6,7 8,8 9,9 10,10

1,1 2,2 6,6 7,7

 Merge Sort: Algorithm
MergeSort ( low,high)
// sorts the elements a[low],…,a[high] which reside in the global array
//a[1:n] into ascending order.
// Small(p) is true if there is only one element to sort. In this case the list is
// already sorted.

{ if ( low<high ) then // if there are more than one element

{
mid ← (low+high)/2; Recursive Calls

MergeSort(low,mid);
MergeSort(mid+1, high);
Merge(low, mid, high);

}
}
 Merge-Sort: Merge Example
low mid high
A: 2
5 3
5 7 28
15 8 30
1 4
6 5 14
10 6

B: 5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14

L R
: 3 5 15 28 : 6 10 14 22
 Merge-Sort: Merge Example

A: 5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14
B:
3
1 5 15 28 30 6 10 14

k=low

L: R:
3
2 15
3 28
7 30
8 6
1 10
4 14
5 22
6

i=low j=mid+1
 Merge-Sort: Merge Example

A: 5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14
B:
1 2
5 15 28 30 6 10 14

L: R:
3
2 5
3 15
7 28
8 6
1 10
4 14
5 22
6

i j
 Merge-Sort: Merge Example

A: 5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14
B:
1 2 3 28 30
15 6 10 14

L: R:
2 3 7 8 6
1 10
4 14
5 22
6

i j
 Merge-Sort: Merge Example

A: 5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14
B:
1 2 3 4 6 10 14

L: R:
2 3 7 8 6
1 10
4 14
5 22
6

i j
 Merge-Sort: Merge Example

A: 5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14
B:
1 2 3 4 5 6 10 14

L: R:
2 3 7 8 6
1 10
4 14
5 22
6

i j
 Merge-Sort: Merge Example

A: 5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14
B:
1 2 3 4 5 6 10 14

L: R:
2 3 7 8 6
1 10
4 14
5 22
6

i j
 Merge-Sort: Merge Example

A: 5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14
B:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 14

L: R:
2 3 7 8 6
1 10
4 14
5 22
6

i j
 Merge-Sort: Merge Example

A: 5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14
B:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
14

L: R:
3
2 5
3 15
7 28
8 6
1 10
4 14
5 22
6

i j
 Merge-Sort: Merge Example

A: 5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14
B:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

L: R:
3
2 5
3 15
7 28
8 6
1 10
4 14
5 22
6

i j
A:
5 5 15 28 30 6 10 14

B: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Algorithm Merge(low,mid,high)
// a[low:high] is a global array containing two sorted subsets in a[low:mid]
// and in a[mid+1:high]. The goal is to merge these two sets into a single set
// residing in a [low:high]. b[ ] is a temporary global array.
{
h:=low; i:=low; j:=mid+1;
while( h ≤ mid ) and ( j ≤ high ) do
{
if( a[h] ≤ a[j] ) then
{
b[i]:=a[h]; h:=h+1;
}
else
{
b[i]:=a[j]; j:=j+1;
}
i:=i+1;
}
 if( h > mid ) then
for k:=j to high do
{
b[i] := a[k]; i:= i+1;
}
else
for k:=h to mid do
{
b[i] := a[k]; i:= i+1;
}
for k:= low to high do a[k]:=b[k];
}
 Merge-Sort Analysis

n/2 n/2

n/4 n/4 n/4 n/4

2 2 2
Merge-Sort Time Complexity
If the time for the merging operation is proportional to n, then the
computing time for merge sort is described by the recurrence relation

c1 n=1, c1 is a constant
T(n) =
2T(n/2) + c2n n>1, c2 is a constant

Assume n=2k, then

T(n) =2T(n/2) + c2n
=2(2T(n/4)+c2n/2)+cn
=4T(n/4)+2c2n

…..
…..
=2k T(1)+ kc2n
= c1n+c2nlogn = = O(nlogn)
 Summary
• Merge-Sort
– Most of the work done in combining the
solutions.
– Best case takes o(n log(n)) time
– Average case takes o(n log(n)) time
– Worst case takes o(n log(n)) time
 3. Quick Sort
• Divide:
• Pick any element as the pivot, e.g, the first
element
• Partition the remaining elements into
FirstPart, which contains all elements < pivot
SecondPart, which contains all elements > pivot

• Recursively sort FirstPart and SecondPart.

• Combine: no work is necessary since sorting is done in
place.
pivot divides a into two sublists x and y.

4 2 7 8 1 9 3 6 5
pivo
t

x y
 The whole process

4 2 7 8 1 9 3 6 5

2 1 3 4 7 8 9 6 5

1 2 3 6 5 7 8 9

1 3 5 6 8 9

5 9
 Process:
Keep moving from left side as long as a[ i ]<pivot and from the
right side as long as a[ j ]>pivot

pivot 85 24 63 95 17 31 45 98

i j

85 24 63 95 17 31 45 98

i j

85 24 63 95 17 31 45 98

i j

85 24 63 95 17 31 45 98

i j
If i<j interchange ith and j th elements and
then Continue the process.

85 24 63 45 17 31 95 98

i j

85 24 63 45 17 31 95 98

i j

85 24 63 45 17 31 95 98

i
 85 24 63 45 17 31 95 98

85 24 63 45 17 31 95 98

j i

If i ≥j interchange jth and pivot elements

and then divide the list into two sublists.
 35 24 63 45 17 85 95 98
j

Two sublists:

35 24 63 45 17 95 98
85

Recursively sort
FirstPart and SecondPart
QickSort( low, j-1 ) QickSort( j+1,high )
Quick Sort Algorithm :
Algorithm QuickSort(low,high)
//Sorts the elements a[low],…..,a[high] which resides
//in the global array a[1:n] into ascending order;
// a[n+1] is considered to be defined and must ≥ all the
// elements in a[1:n].
{
if( low< high ) // if there are more than one element
{ // divide p into two subproblems.
j :=Partition(low,high);
// j is the position of the partitioning element.
QuickSort(low,j-1);
QuickSort(j+1,high);
// There is no need for combining solutions.
}
}
Algorithm Partition(l,h)
{
pivot:= a[l] ; i:=l; j:= h+1;
while( i < j ) do
{
i++;
while( a[ i ] < pivot) do
i++;
j--;
while( a[ j ] >= pivot ) do
j--;

if ( i < j ) then Interchange(i,j ); // interchange ith and

} // jth elements.

Interchange(l, j ); return j; // interchange pivot and jth element.

}
Algorithm interchange (x,y )
{
temp=a[x];
a[x]=a[y];
a[y]=temp;
}
Time complexity analysis
A worst/bad case

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4 5 6 7 8 9
5 6 7 8 9 O(n2)
6 7 8 9
7 8 9
8 9
9
 Worst/bad Case
n cn

n-1 c(n-1)

n-2 c(n-2)

3c
3
Happens only if
• input is sortd 2 2c
• input is reversely sorted 1c
1

Total time:
O(n2)
 A best/good case
• It occurs only if each partition divides the list into two
equal size sublists.

O(n logn)
 Best/good Case
n

n/2 n/2

n/4 n/4 n/4 n/4

2 2 2

• Total time: O(nlogn)

 Summary
• Quick-Sort
– Most of the work done in partitioning
– Best case takes O(n log(n)) time
– Average case takes O(n log(n)) time
– Worst case takes O(n2) time
4.Strassen’s Matrix Multiplication
 Basic Matrix Multiplication
Let A an B two n×n matrices. The product C=AB is also an n×n matrix.

void matrix_mult (){

for (i = 1; i <= N; i++) {

for (j = 1; j <= N; j++) {

for(k=1; k<=N; k++){
C[i,j]=C[i,j]+A[i,k]+B[k,j];
}
}}
Time complexity of above algorithm is
T(n)=O(n3)
 Divide and Conquer technique
• We want to compute the product C=AB, where each of A,B,
and C are n×n matrices.
• Assume n is a power of 2.
• If n is not a power of 2, add enough rows and columns of
zeros.
• We divide each of A,B, and C into four n/2×n/2 matrices,
rewriting the equation C=AB as follows:
Then, A11 A12 B11 B12

c11 c12 1 1 2 2  5 5 6 6
C11=A11B11+A12B21
 C11 C12   1 1 2 2  5 5 6 6
C12=A11B12+A12B22 C   
C 21 C 22 3 3 4 4  7 7 8 8
C21=A21B11+A22B21 c21 c22 3 3 4 4 7 7 8 8 
A A B B22
C22=A21B12+A22B22 21 22 21

• Each of these four equations specifies two multiplications of n/2×n/2

matrices and the addition of their n/2×n/2 products.
• We can derive the following recurrence relation for the time T(n) to
multiply two n×n matrices:

T(n)= c1 if n<=2
8T(n/2)+ c2n2 if n>2

T(n) = O(n3)

• This method is no faster than the ordinary method.

T(n)= 8T(n/2)+ c2n2
=8 8T(n/4)+ c2(n/2)2 + c2n2

= 82 T(n/4)+ c22n2 + c 2n 2

=82 8T(n/8)+ c2(n/4)2 + c22n2 + c2n2

=83 T(n/8)+ c24n2 + c22n2 + c2n2

:
=8kT(1)+ ………………+ c24n2 + c22n2 + c2n2

= 8log n
2 c1 + c n2
.
8

=nlog2 c1 + c n2 = n3 c1+ cn2 = O(n3 )

Strassen’s method

• Matrix multiplications are more expensive than matrix additions or

subtractions( O(n3) versus O(n2)).

• Strassen has discovered a way to compute the multiplication using

only 7 multiplications and 18 additions or subtractions.
• His method involves computing 7 n×n matrices M1,M2,M3,M4,M5,M6,
and M7, then cij’s are calculated using these matrices.
Formulas for Strassen’s Algorithm
M1 = (A11 + A22)  (B11 + B22)
M2 = (A21 + A22)  B11
M3 = A11  (B12 – B22)
M4 = A22  (B21 – B11)
M5 = (A11 + A12)  B22
M6 = (A21 – A11)  (B11 + B12)
M7 = (A12 – A22)  (B21 + B22)

C11=M1 + M4 - M5 + M7
C12= M3 + M5
C21= M2 + M4
C22=M1 + M3 - M2 + M6
 C11 C12 A11 A12 B11 B12
= *
C21 C22 A21 A22 B21 B22

M1 + M 4 - M 5 + M 7 M3 + M5
=
M2 + M4 M1 + M 3 - M 2 + M 6

The resulting recurrence relation for T(n) is

T(n)= c1 n<=2
7T(n/2) +c2n2 n>2
T(n)= 7kT(1) + c2n2 1+ 7/4 + (7/4)2 + (7/4) 3+……………..+ (7/4)k-1

..
.

= 7log2n c1 +c2 n2 (7/4)log2n

= nlog27 + nlog24 ( n log27-log24 )

=2 nlog27 = O(nlog27) ~ O( n2.81)