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Explain Halting Problem of Turing Machine

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15 views

Explain Halting Problem of Turing Machine

Flat subject notes

Uploaded by

Raees Maniyar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Q Halting problem

The halting problem of Turing machines asks a fundamental question about the limits of
computation: can we determine, for any arbitrary program (represented by a Turing machine)
and input, whether that program will eventually halt (finish execution) or run forever?

Here's a breakdown of the concept:

● Turing Machines: These are theoretical machines introduced by Alan Turing that model the
fundamental capabilities of computers. They have a tape to store data, a read/write head,
and a set of instructions that manipulate the data on the tape.
● Halting Problem: This problem asks if there exists a universal Turing machine (called a
"halting machine") that can take any other Turing machine (the "program") and an input as
input, and then determine whether the "program" will halt when run with that specific input.
The answer is always a simple yes or no.

Why is it undecidable?

In 1936, Alan Turing proved that the halting problem is undecidable. This means there can't be a
Turing machine that always correctly solves the halting problem for all possible programs and
inputs. Here's a simplified explanation of the proof's essence:

1. Assume a Halting Machine Exists: Imagine we have a halting machine, let's call it H. It
can supposedly tell us if any program P will halt with a given input.
2. Creating a Paradoxical Machine: We can then design a new Turing machine, P', that does
the following:
○ Simulates the execution of program P with its own input.
○ If H says P halts with the input, then P' enters an infinite loop (never halts).
○ If H says P doesn't halt, then P' simply halts.
3. Contradiction: This creates a contradiction. If we run P' with its own input as input:
○ If H says P' halts, then according to P''s design, it would never halt, leading to a
contradiction.
○ If H says P' doesn't halt, then according to P''s design, it should halt, again leading to a
contradiction.

This contradiction shows that a halting machine capable of solving the halting problem for all
programs cannot exist.

Impact of the Halting Problem:

The halting problem has profound implications in computer science:

● Limits of Algorithms: It tells us there are inherent limitations to what computers can solve
algorithmically. Some problems are simply uncomputable in this sense.
● Understanding Complexity: It helps us understand the complexity of different computational
problems and classify them based on their difficulty.

Even though the halting problem is undecidable, there are techniques for specific cases to
reason about whether a program might halt or not. But there's no guaranteed one-size-fits-all
Q Halting problem

solution.

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