Answers.Body: <p>No. In general, you can't find a tight bound for evolutionary algorithms, and it is one of the main difference of these algorithms with the classical algorithms. </p>
  
  <p>You should notice that it does not mean you can't find when the evolutionary algorithms are finished! But, you can't find a tight bound for the algorithms time complexity to reach to the optimal solution or how much that solution is near to the optimal solution (in contrast to the approximation algorithms).</p>
  
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Answers.Text: Thank you. So what is your opinion about this article: ([link](http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.720.9953&rep=rep1&type=pdf)), where authors have calculated  the time complexity of  ACO algorithms? Please see table_1 (page 5). Btw, could you please say that what is the reason of impossibility of finding a tight bound for evolutionary or swarm intelligence algorithms? And if so, how to evaluate this type of algorithms? Thank you
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Answers.Text: @sas see the updated answer.
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Answers.Text: Thank you. So do you mean that we need to **run** the algorithm and then calculate the **running time** instead of calculate time complexity mathematically? Am I right now? Thanks.
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Answers.Text: @sas Yes. it depends on the setting of that algorithm and you can't find in it theoretically.
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Body: <p>Which algorithms, between ant colony or classical routing algorithms, have a better time complexity for the shortest path problem?</p>
  
  <p>In general, can we compare efficiency of these two types of algorithm for the shortest path problem in a graph?</p>
  
Tags: <algorithm><swarm-intelligence><time-complexity><ant-colony-optimization>
Title: Which algorithms, between ant colony or classical routing algorithms, have a better time complexity for the shortest path problem?
UserDisplayName: Questioner
ThreadText: # Which algorithms, between ant colony or classical routing algorithms, have a better time complexity for the shortest path problem?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-08)
  
  Which algorithms, between ant colony or classical routing algorithms, have a better time complexity for the shortest path problem?
  
  In general, can we compare efficiency of these two types of algorithm for the shortest path problem in a graph?
  
  **Tags:** algorithm, swarm-intelligence, time-complexity, ant-colony-optimization
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2019-01-08. Score: 1 | Accepted answer
  
  No. In general, you can't find a tight bound for evolutionary algorithms, and it is one of the main difference of these algorithms with the classical algorithms.
  
  You should notice that it does not mean you can't find when the evolutionary algorithms are finished! But, you can't find a tight bound for the algorithms time complexity to reach to the optimal solution or how much that solution is near to the optimal solution (in contrast to the approximation algorithms).
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Thank you. So what is your opinion about this article: ([link](http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.720.9953&rep=rep1&type=pdf)), where authors have calculated  the time complexity of  ACO algorithms? Please see table_1 (page 5). Btw, could you please say that what is the reason of impossibility of finding a tight bound for evolutionary or swarm intelligence algorithms? And if so, how to evaluate this type of algorithms? Thank you  
  > **username_1**: @sas see the updated answer.  
  > **username_0**: Thank you. So do you mean that we need to **run** the algorithm and then calculate the **running time** instead of calculate time complexity mathematically? Am I right now? Thanks.  
  > **username_1**: @sas Yes. it depends on the setting of that algorithm and you can't find in it theoretically.  
  
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