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Confusion about this min() operator

  1. Oct 13, 2013 #1

    Jyan

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    I'm reading about planning algorithms and I'm having some difficulty understanding a bit of notation here. The pdf i'm reading is "planning.cs.uiuc.edu/ch2.pdf" [Broken] and the equation in question is on page 11. I'm not sure I understand what the min operator with all the subscripts actually means. Can anyone try to enlighten me?

    Thanks,
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 6, 2017
    Jyan, Oct 13, 2013
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  3. Oct 13, 2013 #2

    Mark44

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    It means the minimum of the expression in braces, over uk, uk+1, ... , uK. It might help your understanding to expand the summation that's inside the braces.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 6, 2017
    Mark44, Oct 13, 2013
  4. Oct 13, 2013 #3

    Jyan

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    Why are the subscripts underneath "min" necessary? I just don't understand what meaning they add over just writing "min" alone.
     
    Jyan, Oct 13, 2013
  5. Oct 13, 2013 #4

    DrGreg

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    It tells you that everything else, that isn't a subscript, should be treated as constant.
     
    DrGreg, Oct 13, 2013
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