title: What is big-O notation? How do you come up with figures like O(n)?
body: <blockquote>
    <p><strong>Possible Duplicate:</strong><br>
    <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/487258/plain-english-explanation-of-big-o">Plain english explanation of Big O</a>  </p>
  </blockquote>
  
  
  
  <p>I'd imagine this is probably something taught in classes, but as I a self-taught programmer, I've only seen it rarely.</p>
  
  <p>I've gathered it is something to do with the time, and O(1) is the best, while stuff like O(n^n) is very bad, but could someone point me to a basic explanation of what it actually represents, and where these numbers come from?</p>