Key-Independent Optimality

A new form of optimality for comparison based static dictionaries is introduced. This type of optimality, keyindependent optimality, is motivated by applications that assign key values randomly. It is shown that any data structure that is key-independently optimal is expected to execute any access sequence where the key values are assigned arbitrarily to unordered data as fast as any offline binary search tree algorithm, within a multiplicative constant. Asymptotically tight upper and lower bounds are presented for key-independent optimality. Splay trees are shown to be key-independently optimal.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2005
• Where: ALGORITHMICA
• Authors: John Iacono
• Keywords: ALGORITHMICA 2005, Key Values, Keyindependent Optimality, Static Dictionaries