Re: [Algorithms] Compose rectangles within another rectangle

[Jon W. <jw...@gm...>]

On Sat, Jan 23, 2010 at 2:46 AM, Arno Gerretsen <ar...@ag...> wrote:

> Thank you both for the reply. Knowing the exact scientific name makes it
> a lot easier to find more information on this. So thanks for putting me
> in the right direction. I am sure I will be able to find a way that I
> can implement on my tool.
>
> Arno
>
>
You might also want to search for references to the "knapsack problem,"
which is closely related. It is one of the canonical NP-complete problems,
meaning that there currently exists no know algorithm that will find the
optimal solution in polynomial time (like N^2 or N^3). Thus, most solutions
are approximations that give you "good enough" answers in relatively fast
time, or solutions that take a lot of time to try *all* (or a substantial
subset) of solutions, to get the optional solution.

Sincerely,

jw


--
Americans might object: there is no way we would sacrifice our living
standards for the benefit of people in the rest of the world. Nevertheless,
whether we get there willingly or not, we shall soon have lower consumption
rates, because our present rates are unsustainable.