[seqfan] Re: What do you call an algorithm that is inefficient overall in some cases?

[franktaw at netscape.net]

I'm not sure what "inefficient overall in some cases"; but "heuristic" 
may capture the essence of what you are asking.

Franklin T. Adams-Watters

-----Original Message-----
From: Alonso Del Arte <alonso.delarte at gmail.com>

What do you call an algorithm that is inefficient overall in some 
cases, but
never at the level of an individual step? For example, the algorithm
described in A112687 fails to find 2-square solutions for numbers like 
32
and 244. But it does work for numbers like 50 and 82. I've looked up 
both
"greedy algorithm" and "myopic algorithm" in the Oxford Math Dictionary 
but
neither term seems to apply here.

Al