4.1. Chapter Introduction¶

This chapter presents mathematical notation, background, and techniques used throughout the modules. This material is provided primarily for review and reference. You might wish to return to the relevant sections when you encounter unfamiliar notation or mathematical techniques in later chapters.

The concept of estimation might be unfamiliar to many readers. Estimation is not a mathematical technique, but rather a general engineering skill. It is enormously useful to computer scientists doing design work, because any proposed solution whose estimated resource requirements fall well outside the problem’s resource constraints can be discarded immediately, allowing time for greater analysis of more promising solutions.