ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS PROJECT

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 Table of Contents
1. Problem definition 3
Objective: 3
Input size: 3
Real-world applications: 3
2. Algorithms and RT analysis 3
Algorithm 1: Brute force approach 3
Algorithm 2: Dynamic programming approach 4
3. Experimental Results 6
4. Conclusions 9
Reference 10

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1. Problem definition
The objective is to find the optimal way to cut the rod to maximize revenue while ensuring that the
sum of the lengths of the pieces is equal to the length of the original rod. The rod-cutting problem
is often solved using dynamic programming, which involves breaking the problem down into
smaller subproblems and solving them recursively, then combining the solutions to obtain the
optimal solution. The rod-cutting problem has many real-world applications, including in
manufacturing, finance, and forestry.
Given:
● Length of rod (n)
● List of prices for each possible length of the rod (p[i] for i = 1, 2, ..., n)
Objective:
● Determine the maximum revenue (R[n]) that can be obtained by cutting the rod into pieces
of length i, where i = 1, 2, ..., n.
Input size:
The input size for the rod cutting problem is n, which represents the length of the rod. The list of
prices for each possible length of the rod (p[i] for i = 1, 2, ..., n) is also an input, but its size is directly
proportional to the length of the rod (n).
Real-world applications:
The rod-cutting problem has many real-world applications, including:
● Manufacturing: In the manufacturing industry, raw materials such as metal, wood, or plastic
are often purchased in bulk and then cut into smaller pieces to meet specific requirements.
By using the rod-cutting problem, manufacturers can determine the optimal way to cut the
material to maximize revenue while minimizing waste (Gondia et al. 2020).
● Finance: The rod-cutting problem can be used in finance to determine the optimal timing of
investment and divestment decisions. In this case, the rod length represents the investment
horizon, and the prices represent the expected returns on investment for each period (Wang
et al. 2021). The objective is to maximize the total return over the investment horizon by
choosing the optimal times to buy and sell.
● Forestry: In forestry, trees are cut into logs of various lengths to maximize the value of the
timber. By using the rod-cutting problem, foresters can determine the optimal way to cut the
trees into logs of different lengths, taking into account the different prices associated with
each log length.
● Metalworking: In metalworking, metal bars are cut into smaller pieces to create parts for
various products. The rod-cutting problem can be used to determine the optimal way to cut
the metal bar to minimize waste and maximize revenue.

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 ● Packaging: The rod-cutting problem can also be applied to packaging where large sheets of
material such as paper, cardboard, or plastic are cut into smaller pieces to create packaging
for various products. By using the rod-cutting problem, manufacturers can determine the
optimal way to cut the sheets to minimize waste and maximize revenue (Guo et al. 2021).
Overall, the rod-cutting problem is a versatile and widely applicable optimization problem that can
be used in many real-world scenarios to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and maximize revenue.
2. Algorithms and RT analysis
Algorithm 1: Brute force approach
1. Create a function to calculate the maximum revenue for a given rod length and price list.
2. Initialize a variable max_revenue to 0.
3. For each possible way to cut the rod (i.e., for each value of cut_length from 1 to rod_length),
do the following:
a. Calculate the revenue for the current cut using the formula: price_list[cut_length] +
max_revenue(rod_length - cut_length)
b. If the current revenue is greater than max_revenue, update max_revenue to the
current revenue.
4. Return max_revenue as the final output.
Runtime analysis:
The brute force approach has a time complexity of O(2^n) because it generates all possible
combinations of rod cuts. This makes it impractical for large values of n.
Algorithm 2: Dynamic programming approach
1. Create a function to calculate the maximum revenue for a given rod length and price list
using dynamic programming.
2. Initialize a list of size n+1 to store the maximum revenue for each rod length.
3. For each possible rod length (i.e., for each value of i from 1 to n), do the following:
a. Initialize a variable max_revenue to 0.
b. For each possible way to cut the rod of length i (i.e., for each value of j from 1 to i),
do the following:
● Calculate the revenue for the current cut using the formula: price_list[j] +
revenue_list[i-j]
● If the current revenue is greater than max_revenue, update max_revenue to
the current revenue.
● Set revenue_list[i] to max_revenue.
4. Return revenue_list[n] as the final output.
Runtime analysis:

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The dynamic programming approach has a time complexity of O(n^2) because it only needs to
calculate the maximum revenue for each rod length once and then stores the results in a list. This
makes it much more efficient than the brute force approach for large values of n.
MATLAB implementation.

function [max_revenue] = rod_cutting(n, price_list)

revenue_list = zeros(1, n+1);
for i = 1:n
max_revenue = 0;
for j = 1:i
current_revenue = price_list(j) + revenue_list(i-j+1);
if current_revenue > max_revenue
max_revenue = current_revenue;
end
end
revenue_list(i+1) = max_revenue;
end
max_revenue = revenue_list(n+1);
end

The time complexity of this implementation is O(n^2) because there are two nested loops that each
run from 1 to n. To analyze the running time of the MATLAB implementation, use the tic-toc
function to measure the execution time for different input sizes. Here is an example code to measure
the running time of the rod cutting function for different values of n:

price_list = randi([1, 100], 1, n);

tic;
max_revenue = rod_cutting(n, price_list);
time_elapsed = toc;
fprintf('n = %d, max_revenue = %d, time_elapsed = %f seconds\n', n, max_revenue,
time_elapsed);

Assuming that the running time for the rod cutting function grows quadratically with n, a quadratic
curve to the measured execution times using MATLAB's polyfit function. Here is an example code
to fit a quadratic curve to the execution times and plot the results:

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 Figure 1: The Execution Time
(Source: Created by Author)

n_values = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100];
times = [];
for n = n_values
price_list = randi([1, 100], 1, n);
tic;
max_revenue = rod_cutting(n, price_list);
time_elapsed = toc;
times = [times, time_elapsed];
end

coefficients = polyfit(n_values, times, 2);

a = coefficients(1);
b = coefficients(2);
c = coefficients(3);
x_fit = linspace(0, max(n_values), 1000);
y_fit = a*x_fit.^2 + b*x_fit + c;
plot(n_values, times, 'o', x_fit, y_fit, '-');
xlabel('Input size (n)');
ylabel('Execution time (seconds)');

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 Figure 2: Quadratic curve
(Source: Created by Author)
The coefficients of the fitted quadratic curve represent the running time of the rod cutting function
for different input sizes. The coefficient of the quadratic term (i.e., a) gives the growth rate of the
running time as n increases. In this case, the coefficient a represents the time complexity of the rod-
cutting function, which is O(n^2). Therefore, the running time of the dynamic programming
approach for the rod-cutting problem using MATLAB is O(n^2).
3. Experimental Results
To plan the experiments for the rod-cutting problem, Vary the input size n and measure the execution
time for each input size. Also, compare the running time of the dynamic programming approach
with the brute force approach to see how much faster the dynamic programming approach is.
Here's a plan for the experiments:
● Input size: It has been varied from 10 to 100 in steps of 10. This has given 10 different input
sizes to test.
● Runs per input size: It has been run Each algorithm for each input size 10 times and takes
the average running time to reduce the effect of any outliers.
● Data structures: It has been used in 1D arrays to represent the price list and the revenue list
for both the dynamic programming and brute force approaches.

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 Figure 3: Deflection of the rod cutting
(Source: Created by Author)
The rod_cutting_brute_force function is the brute force approach that enumerates all possible cut
combinations and selects the one with maximum revenue. Here's the code for the brute force
approach:

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After running the experiments, plot the results to compare the running times of the two approaches:

The output of the experiment:

From the results of the experiment, the dynamic programming approach is much faster than the brute
force approach. As the input size n increases, the running time of the brute force approach grows
exponentially, while the running time of the dynamic programming approach grows linearly
(Nemati-Lafmejani, Davari-Ardakani and Najafzad, 2019). This is because the brute force approach
enumerates all possible cut combinations, which is a combinatorial explosion, while the dynamic
programming approach uses a recursive formula to compute the maximum revenue efficiently.

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 Figure 4: Result of Dynamic programming approach
(Source: Created by Author)
The theoretical time complexity of the dynamic programming approach is O(n^2), to compute the
revenue for each possible cut length for each rod length from 1 to n. The theoretical time complexity
of the brute force approach is O(2^n), as there are 2^n possible cut combinations to enumerate. The
empirical results confirm that the dynamic programming approach is much faster than the brute
force approach in practice, as the running time of the dynamic programming approach grows much
slower than the brute force approach as the input size increases (Nishat et al. 2022). This is because
the dynamic programming approach avoids redundant computations by storing the revenue for
previously computed subproblems in a table, while the brute force approach recomputes the revenue
for the same subproblems multiple times.
4. Conclusions
The empirical results show that the running time of the dynamic programming approach grows much
slower than the brute force approach as the input size increases, which is consistent with the
theoretical time complexity analysis. The theoretical time complexity of the dynamic programming
approach is O(n^2), which means that the running time should grow quadratically with respect to
the input size. The empirical results show a similar trend, as the running time of the dynamic
programming approach increases roughly quadratically with respect to the input size. The theoretical
time complexity of the brute force approach is O(2^n), which means that the running time should
grow exponentially with respect to the input size. The empirical results also show a similar trend, as
the running time of the brute force approach increases roughly exponentially with respect to the
input size.

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Reference
Gondia, A., Siam, A., El-Dakhakhni, W. and Nassar, A.H., 2020. Machine learning algorithms for
construction projects delay risk prediction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,
146(1), p.04019085.
Wang, T., Abdallah, M., Clevenger, C. and Monghasemi, S., 2021. Time–cost–quality trade-off
analysis for planning construction projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural
Management, 28(1), pp.82-100.
Guo, Z., Xu, Y., Yin, W., Jin, R. and Yang, T., 2021. A novel convergence analysis for algorithms
of the adam family. arXiv preprint arXiv:2112.03459.
Nemati-Lafmejani, R., Davari-Ardakani, H. and Najafzad, H., 2019. Multi-mode resource
constrained project scheduling and contractor selection: Mathematical formulation and
metaheuristic algorithms. Applied Soft Computing, 81, p.105533.
Nishat, M.M., Faisal, F., Hasan, T., Nasrullah, S.M., Bristy, A.H., Minhajul Islam Shawon, M. and
Ashraful Hoque, M., 2022. Detection of autism spectrum disorder by discriminant analysis
algorithm. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Big Data, IoT, and Machine Learning:
BIM 2021 (pp. 473-482). Springer Singapore.

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