P, Np, and Np-Completeness: The Basics of Computational Complexity (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780521122542)

The focus of this book is the P-versus-NP Question and the theory of NP-completeness. It also provides adequate preliminaries regarding computational problems and computational models. The P-versus-NP Question asks whether or not finding solutions is harder than checking the correctness of solutions. An alternative formulation asks whether or not discovering proofs is harder than verifying their correctness. It is widely believed that the answer to these equivalent formulations is positive, and this is captured by saying that P is different from NP. Although the P-versus-NP Question remains unresolved, the theory of NP-completeness offers evidence for the intractability of specific problems in NP by showing that they are universal for the entire class. Amazingly enough, NP-complete problems exist, and furthermore hundreds of natural computational problems arising in many different areas of mathematics and science are NP-complete.

Author: Oded Goldreich
ISBN-10: 0521122546
ISBN-13: 9780521122542
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/16/2010
Pages: 216
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.60d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2011
Scitech Book News 12/01/2010 pg. 31