Da wikipedia, Algoritmo Anytime
In computer science an anytime algorithm is an algorithm that can return a valid solution to a problem even if it's interrupted at any time before it ends. The algorithm is expected to find better and better solutions the more time it keeps running.
Hill climbing can often produce a better result than other algorithms when the amount of time available to perform a search is limited, such as with real-time systems. It is an anytime algorithm: it can return a valid solution even if it's interrupted at any time before it ends.
L'algoritmo di salita alla collina può essere bloccato in optima o cresta locale, dopo di che, anche se viene eseguito un tempo infinito, il risultato non sarà migliore. Allora, perché la salita in collina è chiamata algoritmo anytime?