Heuristic Algorithms for Scheduling Independent Tasks on Nonidentical Processors

The finishing time properties of several heuristic algorithms for scheduling n independent tasks on m nonidentical processors are studied. In particular, for m = 2 an n log n time-bounded algorithm is given which generates a schedule having a finishing time of at most (√5 + 1)/2 of the optimal finishing time. A simplified scheduling problem involving identical processors and restricted task sets is shown to be P-complete. However, the LPT algorithm applied to this problem yields schedules which are near optimal for large n .