KMP Meaning and
Definition
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KMP stands for Knuth-Morris-Pratt, a computer algorithm used for string matching or pattern searching in computer science and data analysis. It is named after its inventors, Donald Knuth, Vaughan Pratt, and James H. Morris. The KMP algorithm is specifically designed to efficiently search for occurrences of a specific pattern within a longer text or string. It was first published in 1977 and has since become one of the most widely used pattern matching algorithms.
The key feature of the KMP algorithm is its ability to take advantage of previously matched characters to avoid unnecessary comparisons during the search process. It achieves this by utilizing a longest proper prefix which is also a suffix (also known as the "border" or "failure" function) concept to provide guidance on where to begin the next comparison. This avoids rechecking characters that have already been matched, significantly improving the overall runtime of the algorithm.
By precomputing and storing this border function, the KMP algorithm achieves a linear time complexity of O(n), where n is the length of the text being searched. This greatly outperforms naive string matching algorithms, which have a quadratic time complexity of O(n * m), where m is the length of the search pattern.
The KMP algorithm is widely used in various applications, including string processing, bioinformatics, data compression, and text editors. Its efficiency and elegance have made it a fundamental tool for any developer or analyst dealing with pattern searching and string matching problems.
Common Misspellings for KMP
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