Time complexity is a way to see how quickly a computer program works as the input gets larger.

Think of it like a race: the bigger the racecourse (input), the longer it takes to finish!

Why Is This Important?

1. Efficiency: Knowing about time complexity helps you create quicker programs.
2. Problem-Solving: It helps you pick the best algorithms for different tasks.

Example

Imagine you have a list of 100 names and want to find one specific name.

Searching through every single name takes a lot of time. But what if you could jump straight to the name? Wouldn't that be faster?

We often use Big O notation to explain this idea. For example, $O(n)$ means that the time it takes increases in a straight line as the input size grows.

Getting to know this can help you write better and faster programs!