Optimizing memory usage for a hyperloglog estimator

A system configured to optimize memory usage for a hyperloglog (HLL) estimator, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• memory in electronic communication with the one or more processors;
• and
• instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the one or more processors to:
• create a sparse representation of a sketch that represents information generated by applying a multiset to the HLL estimator;
• sort the sparse representation of the sketch whenever a total number of buckets in the sparse representation is evenly divisible by a sorting threshold and is also less than a transition threshold;
• and
• convert the sparse representation of the sketch to a dense representation of the sketch when the total number of buckets in the sparse representation reaches the transition threshold.