Question 1

What is a greedy algorithm?

Accepted Answer

A greedy algorithm is an algorithmic paradigm that makes the locally optimal choice at each step with the hope of finding a global optimum. It does not always guarantee an optimal solution, but it is often used for optimization problems.

Question 2

When does a greedy algorithm work?

Accepted Answer

A greedy algorithm works if the problem exhibits two properties: the greedy choice property (a global optimum can be arrived at by selecting a local optimum) and optimal substructure (an optimal solution to the problem contains optimal solutions to its subproblems).

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