effective/efficient computational algorithm of digital signal processing

[milan2003_07]

Hello,

There are 2 words in English "effective" and "efficient" which learners often find confusing. Am I right that "effective" means "very good in performance", while "efficient" implies "working fast, doing what it has to do without spending extra time, money and other resources"?

I'm in doubt about "effective/efficient computational algorithm of digital signal processing". Should it be "effective" according to the explanation above?

Thanks

 

[Tdol]

If it's effective, it works well. If it is efficient, it doesn't cost much. Does the algorithm do the job without ramping prices up? IF so, it is effective. Doet do it much better than other programs? If so, it's more efficient, and possibly more effective. What should it be according to your description? I am afraid that I cannot tell. What do you want it to achieve?

 

[SoothingDave]

"Effective" only means that it does the job it is intended for. There is no "very good performance" implied. Only that it is functional.

"Efficient," as you said, is about doing the job with a minimum of waste and time and resources needed.

An effective algorithm will compute what you want computed. An efficient one will do so in the quickest and least resource-hogging manner.

 

[milan2003_07]

"Effective" only means that it does the job it is intended for. There is no "very good performance" implied. Only that it is functional.

If so, what do people mean by saying that "one algorithm is more effective that the other"? If I saw a similar phrase with "efficient" I would understand the meaning because it would mean that one algorithm is faster or less resource-consuming than the other taking part in this comparison. But what about "more effective"?

Thanks

 

[SoothingDave]

If so, what do people mean by saying that "one algorithm is more effective that the other"? If I saw a similar phrase with "efficient" I would understand the meaning because it would mean that one algorithm is faster or less resource-consuming. But what about "more effective"?

Thanks

People do use "effective" in that manner. I checked the dictionary and it agrees with me. The first definition is "adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result."

People do like to measure results, so something that does the task "better" can be called "more effective."

In terms of algorithms, I would think the words "effective" and "efficient" can be synonymous.

 

[milan2003_07]

People do use "effective" in that manner. I checked the dictionary and it agrees with me. The first definition is "adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result."

People do like to measure results, so something that does the task "better" can be called "more effective."

In terms of algorithms, I would think the words "effective" and "efficient" can be synonymous.

Nevertheless, I can't understand how can object 1 do something better than object 2 if they've both done what they had to do. Maybe you could provide some examples from our everyday llife to make it clearer. I would appreciate personal examples from your life as well.

Concerning "algorithms" I think "efficient" works better because there could be several algorithms for the same task, but the first one is faster and hence more efficient.

 

[SoothingDave]

Say you are producing a germ killer. If it kills 99% of germs, it is certainly "effective." Now, if you come up with a new formula that kills 99.9%, it is "more effective" than the old one.

Say you make a car that can get you to and from work. It is effective at doing that. But it requires new tires and an engine overhaul every 5000 miles. A car that can go 100,000 miles without needed major engine work would be more effective.

I agree that "efficient" is the best when talking about algorithms. Any algorithm that does the job is effective. A bubble sort will sort your data, but there are more efficient methods.