Flajolet-Martin algorithm

The Flajolet-Martin algorithm approximates the number of distinct elements in a data stream using a single pass, with space consumption that grows only logarithmically with the largest possible number of distinct elements. It was introduced by Philippe Flajolet and G. Nigel Martin in their 1984 paper Probabilistic Counting Algorithms for Data Base Applications, and was later refined in further papers including the LogLog and HyperLogLog cardinality-estimation techniques. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/