ComplexityFunction

ComplexityFunction

is an option for Simplify and other functions which gives a function to rank the complexity of different forms of an expression.

Details

  • With the default setting ComplexityFunction->Automatic, forms are ranked primarily according to their LeafCount, with corrections to treat integers with more digits as more complex.
  • Simplify[expr,ComplexityFunction->f] applies f to each intermediate expression generated by Simplify, treating the one which yields the smallest numerical value as simplest.

Examples

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Basic Examples  (2)

The default ComplexityFunction counts the subexpressions and digits of integers:

LeafCount counts only the number of subexpressions:

By default this expression is not simplified:

This complexity function makes ChebyshevT more expensive than other functions:

Scope  (1)

With the default ComplexityFunction, Abs[x] is simpler than the FullForm of -x:

This complexity function counts characters in the InputForm of the expression:

Now -x is simpler than Abs[x]:

Properties & Relations  (1)

The automatic complexity function:

Wolfram Research (1996), ComplexityFunction, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ComplexityFunction.html.

Text

Wolfram Research (1996), ComplexityFunction, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ComplexityFunction.html.

CMS

Wolfram Language. 1996. "ComplexityFunction." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ComplexityFunction.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (1996). ComplexityFunction. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ComplexityFunction.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2024_complexityfunction, author="Wolfram Research", title="{ComplexityFunction}", year="1996", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ComplexityFunction.html}", note=[Accessed: 21-December-2024 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2024_complexityfunction, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={ComplexityFunction}, year={1996}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ComplexityFunction.html}, note=[Accessed: 21-December-2024 ]}