What is the definition of the word fractional in algorithms? I have encountered the word in phrases like fractional algorithm, fractional node routing problem.Note: English is not my native language
Definition of fractional in theoretical CS
graph algorithms;online algorithms
The most common use of 'fractional' is when you're solving an integer program. You relax it by dropping the constraints that the solution be integers, thus yielding a linear program in which the variables can take fractional values (fractional comes from fraction). Later, you can convert the fractional values into integers via a process called 'rounding'. 