Activity Select

V.
Greedy Algorithms
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Greedy algorithms – Overview
I Algorithms for solving (optimization) problems typically go through a
sequence of steps, with a set of choices at each step.
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I A greedy algorithm always makes the choice that looks best at the
moment, without regard for future consequence,
i.e., “take what you can get now” strategy
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I A greedy algorithm always makes the choice that looks best at the
moment, without regard for future consequence,
i.e., “take what you can get now” strategy
I Greedy algorithms do not always yield optimal solutions,
Local optimum =⇒
? Global optimum
but for many problems they do.
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Activity-selection problem
Problem statement:
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Problem statement:
Input: Set S = {1, 2, . . . , n} of n activities

si = start time of activity i
fi = finish time of activity i
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Problem statement:

Output: Maximum-size subset A ⊆ S of compatible activities
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Problem statement:

Remarks:
I Activities i and j are compatible if the intervals [si , fi ) and [sj , fj ) do
not overlap.
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Problem statement:

Remarks:
I Activities i and j are compatible if the intervals [si , fi ) and [sj , fj ) do
not overlap.
I Without loss of generality, assume
f1 ≤ f2 ≤ · · · ≤ fn
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Example
i si fi
1 1 4
2 3 5
3 0 6
4 5 7
5 3 8
6 5 9
7 6 10
8 8 11
9 8 12
10 2 13
11 12 14
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Example
i si fi
1 1 4
2 3 5
3 0 6
4 5 7
5 3 8
6 5 9
7 6 10
8 8 11
9 8 12
10 2 13
11 12 14
A = {1, 4, 8, 11} is an optimal (why?) solution.
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Example
i si fi
1 1 4
2 3 5
3 0 6
4 5 7
5 3 8
6 5 9
7 6 10
8 8 11
9 8 12
10 2 13
11 12 14
A = {1, 4, 8, 11} is an optimal (why?) solution.

A = {2, 4, 9, 11} is also an optimal solution.
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Greedy algorithm:
I pick the compatible activity with the earliest finish time.
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Greedy algorithm:
Why?
I Intuitively, this choice leaves as much opportunity as possible for the
remaining activities to be scheduled
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Greedy algorithm:
Why?
I Intuitively, this choice leaves as much opportunity as possible for the
remaining activities to be scheduled
I That is, the greedy choice is the one that maximizes the amount of
unscheduled time remaining.
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Greedy_Activity_Selector(s,f)
n = length(s)
A = {1}
j = 1
for i = 2 to n
if s[i] >= f[j]
A = A U {i}
j = i
end if
end for
return A
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Greedy_Activity_Selector(s,f)
n = length(s)
A = {1}
j = 1
for i = 2 to n
if s[i] >= f[j]
A = A U {i}
j = i
end if
end for
return A
Remarks
I Assume the array f already sorted
I Complexity: T (n) = O(n)
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Example
i si fi
1 1 4
2 3 5
3 0 6
4 5 7
5 3 8
6 5 9
7 6 10
8 8 11
9 8 12
10 2 13
11 12 14
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Example
i si fi
1 1 4
2 3 5
3 0 6
4 5 7
5 3 8
6 5 9
7 6 10
8 8 11
9 8 12
10 2 13
11 12 14
Solution A = {1, 4, 8, 11} by Greedy Activity Selector.
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Question: Does Greedy Activity Selector work?
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Answer: Yes!
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Answer: Yes!
Theorem. Algorithm Greedy Activity Selector produces a solution of

the activity-selection problem.
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The proof of Theorem is based on the following two properties:
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Property 1.
There exists an optimal solution A such that the greedy choice
“1” in A.
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Property 1.
“1” in A.
Proof:
I let’s order the activities in A by finish time such that the first
activity in A is “k1 ”.
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Property 1.
“1” in A.
Proof:
I If k1 = 1, then A begins with a greedy choice
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Property 1.
“1” in A.
Proof:
I If k1 6= 1, then let A0 = (A − {k1 }) ∪ {1}.
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Property 1.
“1” in A.
Proof:
I If k1 6= 1, then let A0 = (A − {k1 }) ∪ {1}.
Then
1. the sets A − {k1 } and {1} are disjoint
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Property 1.
“1” in A.
Proof:
I If k1 6= 1, then let A0 = (A − {k1 }) ∪ {1}.
Then
2. the activities in A0 are compatible
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Property 1.
“1” in A.
Proof:
I If k1 6= 1, then let A0 = (A − {k1 }) ∪ {1}.
Then
3. A0 is also optimal, since |A0 | = |A|
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Property 1.
“1” in A.
Proof:
I If k1 6= 1, then let A0 = (A − {k1 }) ∪ {1}.
Then
3. A0 is also optimal, since |A0 | = |A|
I Therefore, we conclude that there always exists an optimal
solution that begins with a greedy choice.
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Property 2.
If A is an optimal solution, then A0 = A − {1} is an optimal
solution to S 0 = {i ∈ S, s[i] ≥ f [1]}.
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Property 2.
If A is an optimal solution, then A0 = A − {1} is an optimal
solution to S 0 = {i ∈ S, s[i] ≥ f [1]}.
Proof: By contradiction. If there exists B 0 to S 0 such that
|B 0 | > |A0 |, then let
B = B 0 ∪ {1},
we have
|B| > |A|,
which is contradicting to the optimality of A.
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Proof of Theorem: By Properties 1 and 2, we know that
I After each greedy choice is made, we are left with an optimization
problem of the same form as the original.
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Proof of Theorem: By Properties 1 and 2, we know that
I After each greedy choice is made, we are left with an optimization
problem of the same form as the original.
I By induction on the number of choices made, making the greedy
choice at every step proceduces an optimal solution.
Therefore, the Greedy Activity Selector produces an optimal solution
of the activity-selection problem.
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I Property 1 is called the greedy-choice property, generally casted as
a globally optimal solution can be arrived at by making a
locally optimal (greedy) choice.
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I Property 1 is called the greedy-choice property, generally casted as
a globally optimal solution can be arrived at by making a
locally optimal (greedy) choice.
I Property 2 is called the optimal substructure property, generally

casted as
an optimal solution to the problem contains within it optimal
solution to subprograms.
These are two key properties for the success of greedy algorithms!
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V.

I Greedy algorithms do not always yield optimal solutions,

but for many problems they do.

Input: Set S = {1, 2, . . . , n} of n activities

Input: Set S = {1, 2, . . . , n} of n activities

Output: Maximum-size subset A ⊆ S of compatible activities

Input: Set S = {1, 2, . . . , n} of n activities

Output: Maximum-size subset A ⊆ S of compatible activities

Input: Set S = {1, 2, . . . , n} of n activities

Output: Maximum-size subset A ⊆ S of compatible activities

A = {1, 4, 8, 11} is an optimal (why?) solution.

A = {1, 4, 8, 11} is an optimal (why?) solution.

Solution A = {1, 4, 8, 11} by Greedy Activity Selector.

Theorem. Algorithm Greedy Activity Selector produces a solution of

I Property 2 is called the optimal substructure property, generally

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