Streaming algorithm (original) (raw)

In computer science, streaming algorithms are algorithms for processing data streams in which the input is presented as a sequence of items and can be examined in only a few passes (typically just one). In most models, these algorithms have access to limited memory (generally logarithmic in the size of and/or the maximum value in the stream). They may also have limited processing time per item. These constraints may mean that an algorithm produces an approximate answer based on a summary or "sketch" of the data stream.