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Reduction (complexity)
In computability theory and computational complexity theory, a reduction is an algorithm for transforming one problem into another problem. A sufficiently efficient reduction from one problem to another may be used to show that the second problem is at least as difficult as the first. Intuitively, problem ''A'' is reducible to problem ''B'', if an algorithm for solving problem ''B'' efficiently (if it existed) could also be used as a subroutine to solve problem ''A'' efficiently. When this is true, solving ''A'' cannot be harder than solving ''B''. "Harder" means having a higher estimate of the required computational resources in a given context (e.g., higher time complexity, greater memory requirement, expensive need for extra hardware processor cores for a parallel solution compared to a single-threaded solution, etc.). The existence of a reduction from ''A'' to ''B'', can be written in the shorthand notation ''A'' ≤m ''B'', usually with a subscript on the ≤ to indicate the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Approximation-preserving Reduction
In computability theory and computational complexity theory, especially the study of Approximation_algorithm, approximation algorithms, an approximation-preserving reduction is an algorithm for transforming one computational problem, optimization problem into another problem, such that the distance of solutions from optimal is preserved to some degree. Approximation-preserving reductions are a subset of more general Reduction_(complexity), reductions in complexity theory; the difference is that approximation-preserving reductions usually make statements on Approximation_algorithm, approximation problems or Optimization_problem, optimization problems, as opposed to Decision_problem, decision problems. Intuitively, problem A is reducible to problem B via an approximation-preserving reduction if, given an instance of problem A and a (possibly approximate) solver for problem B, one can convert the instance of problem A into an instance of problem B, apply the solver for problem B, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3SAT Reduced Too VC
In logic and computer science, the Boolean satisfiability problem (sometimes called propositional satisfiability problem and abbreviated SATISFIABILITY, SAT or B-SAT) is the problem of determining if there exists an interpretation that satisfies a given Boolean formula. In other words, it asks whether the variables of a given Boolean formula can be consistently replaced by the values TRUE or FALSE in such a way that the formula evaluates to TRUE. If this is the case, the formula is called ''satisfiable''. On the other hand, if no such assignment exists, the function expressed by the formula is FALSE for all possible variable assignments and the formula is ''unsatisfiable''. For example, the formula "''a'' AND NOT ''b''" is satisfiable because one can find the values ''a'' = TRUE and ''b'' = FALSE, which make (''a'' AND NOT ''b'') = TRUE. In contrast, "''a'' AND NOT ''a''" is unsatisfiable. SAT is the first problem that was proved to be NP-complete ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Power Set
In mathematics, the power set (or powerset) of a set is the set of all subsets of , including the empty set and itself. In axiomatic set theory (as developed, for example, in the ZFC axioms), the existence of the power set of any set is postulated by the axiom of power set. The powerset of is variously denoted as , , , \mathbb(S), or . The notation , meaning the set of all functions from S to a given set of two elements (e.g., ), is used because the powerset of can be identified with, equivalent to, or bijective to the set of all the functions from to the given two elements set. Any subset of is called a ''family of sets'' over . Example If is the set , then all the subsets of are * (also denoted \varnothing or \empty, the empty set or the null set) * * * * * * * and hence the power set of is . Properties If is a finite set with the cardinality (i.e., the number of all elements in the set is ), then the number of all the subsets of is . This fact as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Log-space Reduction
In computational complexity theory, a log-space reduction is a reduction computable by a deterministic Turing machine using logarithmic space. Conceptually, this means it can keep a constant number of pointers into the input, along with a logarithmic number of fixed-size integers.Arora & Barak (2009) p. 88 It is possible that such a machine may not have space to write down its own output, so the only requirement is that any given bit of the output be computable in log-space. Formally, this reduction is executed via a log-space transducer. Such a machine has polynomially-many configurations, so log-space reductions are also polynomial-time reductions. However, log-space reductions are probably weaker than polynomial-time reductions; while any non-empty, non-full language in P is polynomial-time reducible to any other non-empty, non-full language in P, a log-space reduction from an NL-complete language to a language in L, both of which would be languages in P, would imply the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NL (complexity)
In computational complexity theory, NL (Nondeterministic Logarithmic-space) is the complexity class containing decision problems that can be solved by a nondeterministic Turing machine using a logarithmic amount of memory space. NL is a generalization of L, the class for logspace problems on a deterministic Turing machine. Since any deterministic Turing machine is also a nondeterministic Turing machine, we have that L is contained in NL. NL can be formally defined in terms of the computational resource nondeterministic space (or NSPACE) as NL = NSPACE(log ''n''). Important results in complexity theory allow us to relate this complexity class with other classes, telling us about the relative power of the resources involved. Results in the field of algorithms, on the other hand, tell us which problems can be solved with this resource. Like much of complexity theory, many important questions about NL are still open (see Unsolved problems in computer science). Occasionally NL ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NC (complexity)
In computational complexity theory, the class NC (for "Nick's Class") is the set of decision problems decidable in polylogarithmic time on a parallel computer with a polynomial number of processors. In other words, a problem with input size ''n'' is in NC if there exist constants ''c'' and ''k'' such that it can be solved in time using parallel processors. Stephen Cook coined the name "Nick's class" after Nick Pippenger, who had done extensive research on circuits with polylogarithmic depth and polynomial size.Arora & Barak (2009) p.120 Just as the class P can be thought of as the tractable problems ( Cobham's thesis), so NC can be thought of as the problems that can be efficiently solved on a parallel computer.Arora & Barak (2009) p.118 NC is a subset of P because polylogarithmic parallel computations can be simulated by polynomial-time sequential ones. It is unknown whether NC = P, but most researchers suspect this to be false, meaning that there are probably some tractable pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynomial-time Reduction
In computational complexity theory, a polynomial-time reduction is a method for solving one problem using another. One shows that if a hypothetical subroutine solving the second problem exists, then the first problem can be solved by transforming or reducing it to inputs for the second problem and calling the subroutine one or more times. If both the time required to transform the first problem to the second, and the number of times the subroutine is called is polynomial, then the first problem is polynomial-time reducible to the second. A polynomial-time reduction proves that the first problem is no more difficult than the second one, because whenever an efficient algorithm exists for the second problem, one exists for the first problem as well. By contraposition, if no efficient algorithm exists for the first problem, none exists for the second either. Polynomial-time reductions are frequently used in complexity theory for defining both complexity classes and complete problems ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynomial Hierarchy
In computational complexity theory, the polynomial hierarchy (sometimes called the polynomial-time hierarchy) is a hierarchy of complexity classes that generalize the classes NP and co-NP. Each class in the hierarchy is contained within PSPACE. The hierarchy can be defined using oracle machines or alternating Turing machines. It is a resource-bounded counterpart to the arithmetical hierarchy and analytical hierarchy from mathematical logic. The union of the classes in the hierarchy is denoted PH. Classes within the hierarchy have complete problems (with respect to polynomial-time reductions) which ask if quantified Boolean formulae hold, for formulae with restrictions on the quantifier order. It is known that equality between classes on the same level or consecutive levels in the hierarchy would imply a "collapse" of the hierarchy to that level. Definitions There are multiple equivalent definitions of the classes of the polynomial hierarchy. Oracle definition For the oracle def ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NP (complexity)
In computational complexity theory, NP (nondeterministic polynomial time) is a complexity class used to classify decision problems. NP is the set of decision problems for which the problem instances, where the answer is "yes", have proofs verifiable in polynomial time by a deterministic Turing machine, or alternatively the set of problems that can be solved in polynomial time by a nondeterministic Turing machine.''Polynomial time'' refers to how quickly the number of operations needed by an algorithm, relative to the size of the problem, grows. It is therefore a measure of efficiency of an algorithm. An equivalent definition of NP is the set of decision problems ''solvable'' in polynomial time by a nondeterministic Turing machine. This definition is the basis for the abbreviation NP; " nondeterministic, polynomial time". These two definitions are equivalent because the algorithm based on the Turing machine consists of two phases, the first of which consists of a guess abou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Undecidable Problem
In computability theory and computational complexity theory, an undecidable problem is a decision problem for which it is proved to be impossible to construct an algorithm that always leads to a correct yes-or-no answer. The halting problem is an example: it can be proven that there is no algorithm that correctly determines whether arbitrary programs eventually halt when run. Background A decision problem is any arbitrary yes-or-no question on an infinite set of inputs. Because of this, it is traditional to define the decision problem equivalently as the set of inputs for which the problem returns ''yes''. These inputs can be natural numbers, but also other values of some other kind, such as strings of a formal language. Using some encoding, such as a Gödel numbering, the strings can be encoded as natural numbers. Thus, a decision problem informally phrased in terms of a formal language is also equivalent to a set of natural numbers. To keep the formal definition simple, it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computable Function
Computable functions are the basic objects of study in computability theory. Computable functions are the formalized analogue of the intuitive notion of algorithms, in the sense that a function is computable if there exists an algorithm that can do the job of the function, i.e. given an input of the function domain it can return the corresponding output. Computable functions are used to discuss computability without referring to any concrete model of computation such as Turing machines or register machines. Any definition, however, must make reference to some specific model of computation but all valid definitions yield the same class of functions. Particular models of computability that give rise to the set of computable functions are the Turing-computable functions and the general recursive functions. Before the precise definition of computable function, mathematicians often used the informal term ''effectively calculable''. This term has since come to be identified with the com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boolean Satisfiability Problem
In logic and computer science, the Boolean satisfiability problem (sometimes called propositional satisfiability problem and abbreviated SATISFIABILITY, SAT or B-SAT) is the problem of determining if there exists an interpretation that satisfies a given Boolean formula. In other words, it asks whether the variables of a given Boolean formula can be consistently replaced by the values TRUE or FALSE in such a way that the formula evaluates to TRUE. If this is the case, the formula is called ''satisfiable''. On the other hand, if no such assignment exists, the function expressed by the formula is FALSE for all possible variable assignments and the formula is ''unsatisfiable''. For example, the formula "''a'' AND NOT ''b''" is satisfiable because one can find the values ''a'' = TRUE and ''b'' = FALSE, which make (''a'' AND NOT ''b'') = TRUE. In contrast, "''a'' AND NOT ''a''" is unsatisfiable. SAT is the first problem that was proved to be NP-complete ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
