knapsack problem


nounMathematics.
  1. the problem of determining which numbers from a given collection of numbers have been added together to yield a specific sum: used in cryptography to encipher (and sometimes decipher) messages.

Origin of knapsack problem

1
So called because the problem is similar to determining what packages are in a closed knapsack when the weights of the individual packages and the filled knapsack are known

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024