best effort
A classification of low priority network traffic, used especially the Internet.
Different kinds of traffic have different priorities. Videoconferencing and other types of real-time communication, for example, require a certain minimum guaranteed bandwidth and latency and so must be given a high priority. Electronic mail, on the other hand, can tolerate an arbitrarily long delay and is classified as a "best-effort" service. [Scientific American, Nov. 1994, pp. 83-84].Last updated: 1995-04-04
best first search
A graph search algorithm which optimises breadth first search by ordering all current paths according to some heuristic. The heuristic attempts to predict how close the end of a path is to a solution. Paths which are judged to be closer to a solution are extended first.
See also beam search, hill climbing.Last updated: 1995-12-09
best fit
A resource allocation scheme (usually for memory). Best Fit allocates resources in a way that optimises some parameter. Alternative schemes such as first fit or random allocation are likely to be quicker but sub-optimal in use of resources.
For example, when allocating a new block of memory from a pool of free blocks (a heap), one might choose the smallest space which is big enough. This would leave larger spaces free to satisfy larger requests and reduce fragmentation of the remaining free space.Last updated: 2015-01-31
Nearby terms:
Berzerkley ♦ bespoke ♦ best effort ♦ best first search ♦ best fit ♦ BETA
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