<algorithm> An algorithm that returns the best answer possible even if it is not allowed to run to completion, and may improve on the answer if it is allowed to run longer. For example, a program displaying an image downloaded over a slow link could display it top to bottom, but an anytime program would show a low-resolution (fuzzy or grainy) picture immediately, then gradually sharpen it as more details are downloaded. Another example is an iterative deepening search.
(26 Nov 1995)