New algorithms for the LCS problem

AbstractThe LCS problem is to determine a longest common subsequence (LCS) of two symbol sequences. Two algorithms which improve two existing results, respectively, are presented. Let m, n be the lengths of the two input strings, with m ⩽ n, p being the length of the LCS, and s being the number of distinct symbols appearing in the two strings. It is shown that the first algorithm presented requires at most O(n log s) preprocessing time and O(pm log(nm)+pm) processing time to solve the problem. This bound is better than that of previous algorithms especially when n is much greater than m. The algorithm also exhibits desirable properties under conditions of sparse matches. The second scheme achieves essentially the same bound (O(pm log(np)+pm)) by employing efficient merging methods in the computations. It also outperforms existing algorithms designed for sparsely-matched situations. Together, the two algorithms provide interesting contrasts of different approaches to one problem; they also offer improved alternatives for actual implementation