Separating scheduling algorithms with the relative worst order ratio

Description:

Leah Epstein, Lene M. Favrholdt, and Jens S. Kohrt. Separating scheduling algorithms with the relative worst order ratio. Technical Report PP-2006-05, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, 2006.

Abstract:

The relative worst order ratio is a measure for the quality of online algorithms. Unlike the competitive ratio, it compares algorithms directly without involving an optimal offline algorithm. The measure has been successfully applied to problems like paging and bin packing. In this paper, we apply it to machine scheduling. We show that for preemptive scheduling, the measure separates multiple pairs of algorithms which have the same competitive ratios; with the relative worst order ratio, the algorithm which is "intuitively better" is also provably better. Moreover, we show one such example for non-preemptive scheduling.

Availability:

Available as ps (270 KB), ps.gz (108 KB), and pdf (162 KB).
Also available at the DMF Preprint Server.

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