What is "lookahead"

n. (context computing English) The analysis in advance of subsequent decisions that would be made if a particular branch of an algorithm was followed.

Lookahead or Look Ahead may refer to:

• A parameter of some combinatorial search algorithms, describing how deeply the graph representing the problem is explored
• A parameter of some parsing algorithms; the maximum number of tokens that a parser can use to decide which rule to use
• In dynamic range compression, signal processing design to avoid compromise between slow attack rates that produce smooth-sounding gain changes, and fast attack rates capable of catching transients
• Look-ahead (backtracking), a subprocedure that attempts to predict the effects of choosing a branching variable to evaluate or one of its values
• Lookahead carry unit, a logical unit in digital circuit design used to decrease calculation time in adder units