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Algorithm: Computational Complexity Theory Focuses On Classifying Computational Problems

Computational complexity theory classifies computational problems according to their inherent difficulty and relates problem classes. A problem is considered inherently difficult if solving it requires significant resources like time or storage, no matter the algorithm. The theory introduces models of computation to study problems and quantify complexity, determining practical limits on what computers can do. Closely related fields analyze specific algorithms or ask what problems can theoretically be solved algorithmically.

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26 views1 page

Algorithm: Computational Complexity Theory Focuses On Classifying Computational Problems

Computational complexity theory classifies computational problems according to their inherent difficulty and relates problem classes. A problem is considered inherently difficult if solving it requires significant resources like time or storage, no matter the algorithm. The theory introduces models of computation to study problems and quantify complexity, determining practical limits on what computers can do. Closely related fields analyze specific algorithms or ask what problems can theoretically be solved algorithmically.

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hari k
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Computational complexity theory focuses on classifying computational problems

according to their inherent difficulty, and relating these classes to each other. A
computational problem is a task solved by a computer. A computation problem is solvable by
mechanical application of mathematical steps, such as an algorithm.

A problem is regarded as inherently difficult if its solution requires significant resources,


whatever the algorithm used. The theory formalizes this intuition, by introducing
mathematical models of computation to study these problems and quantifying
their computational complexity, i.e., the amount of resources needed to solve them, such as
time and storage. Other measures of complexity are also used, such as the amount of
communication (used in communication complexity), the number of gates in a circuit (used
in circuit complexity) and the number of processors (used in parallel computing). One of the
roles of computational complexity theory is to determine the practical limits on what
computers can and cannot do. The P versus NP problem, one of the seven Millennium Prize
Problems, is dedicated to the field of computational complexity. [1]
Closely related fields in theoretical computer science are analysis of
algorithms and computability theory. A key distinction between analysis of algorithms and
computational complexity theory is that the former is devoted to analyzing the amount of
resources needed by a particular algorithm to solve a problem, whereas the latter asks a
more general question about all possible algorithms that could be used to solve the same
problem. More precisely, computational complexity theory tries to classify problems that can
or cannot be solved with appropriately restricted resources. In turn, imposing restrictions on
the available resources is what distinguishes computational complexity from computability
theory: the latter theory asks what kind of problems can, in principle, be solved
algorithmically.

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