Introduction to P, NP problems
and
Non deterministic Algorithms
Dr.V.Sireesha
Asst. Prof., Dept of CSE
Contents
Problems – Classification
Polynomial time algorithms
Exponential time algorithms
Exponential to Polynomial
Non-deterministic Algorithms
P Class
NP Class
P vs NP
Problems-Classification
In Computer Science, many problems are solved where
the objective is to maximize or minimize some
values, whereas in other problems we try to find
whether there is a solution or not. Hence, the
problems can be categorized as follows
Optimization Problem
Decision Problem
Optimization Problem
Optimization problems are those for which the
objective is to maximize or minimize some
values.
For example,
Finding the minimum number of colors needed
to color a given graph.
Finding the shortest path between two vertices
in a graph.
Decision Problem
There are many problems for which the answer
is a Yes or a No. These types of problems are
known as decision problems. For example,
Whether a given graph can be colored by only
4-colors.
Finding Hamiltonian cycle in a graph is not a
decision problem, whereas checking a graph is
Hamiltonian or not is a decision problem.
What is Language?
Every decision problem can have only two
answers, yes or no. Hence, a decision problem
may belong to a language if it provides an
answer ‘yes’ for a specific input. A language is
the totality of inputs for which the answer is
Yes. Most of the algorithms discussed in the
previous units are polynomial time
algorithms.
For input size n, if worst-case time complexity
of an algorithm is O(nk), where k is a constant,
the algorithm is a polynomial time algorithm.
Tractability
Some problems are intractable:
as they grow large, we are unable to solve them
in reasonable time
What constitutes reasonable time?
» Standard working definition: polynomial time
» On an input of size n the worst-case running
time is O(nk) for some constant k
» O(n2), O(n3), O(1), O(n lg n), O(2n), O(nn),
O(n!)
» Polynomial time: O(n2), O(n3), O(1), O(n lg n)
» Not in polynomial time: O(2n), O(nn), O(n!)
Polynomial Time Algorithms
Linear Search O(n)
Binary Search O(log n)
Insertion sort O(n2)
Merge Sort O(n log n)
Matrix multiplication O(n3)
Algorithms such as Matrix Chain Multiplication, Single
Source Shortest Path, All Pair Shortest Path, Minimum
Spanning Tree, etc. run in polynomial time.
Exponential Time Algorithms
0/1 Knapsack
Travelling Salesperson Problem
Sum of subsets 2 n
Graph Coloring
Hamiltonian Cycle
However there are many problems, such as traveling salesperson, optimal
graph coloring, Hamiltonian cycles, finding the longest path in a graph, and
satisfying a Boolean formula, for which no polynomial time algorithms is
known. These problems belong to an interesting class of problems, called
the NP- problems, whose status is unknown.
Exponential Polynomial Time
1.Determine Similarity between the
Exponential time algorithms. If one
problem is solved in polynomial time,
then remaining problems also can be
solved in polynomial time.
2. Write a Non-deterministic algorithm for
solving an exponential time algorithm to
polynomial time algorithm.
Deterministic Algorithms
Deterministic: The algorithm in which
every operation is uniquely defined is
called deterministic algorithm.
Examples:
Linear Search
Binary Search
Bubble Sort
Merge Sort
Non-deterministic Algorithms
The algorithm in which the operations are not
uniquely defined but are limited to specific set of
possibilities for every operation, such an
algorithm is called non-deterministic algorithm.
The non-deterministic algorithms use the
following functions:
1. Choice: Arbitrarily chooses one of the element
from given set.
2. Failure: Indicates an unsuccessful completion
3. Success: Indicates a successful completion
Non-deterministic algorithms
A non-deterministic algorithm terminates
unsuccessfully if and only if there exists no set
of choices leading to a success. Whenever, there
is a set of choices that leads to a successful
completion, then one such set of choices is
selected and the algorithm terminates
successfully.
In case of successful completion then the time
required is the minimum number of steps
needed to reach a successful completion of
O(n) where n is the number of inputs.
Non-deterministic algorithms
The problems that are solved in polynomial time are called
tractable problems and the problems that require super polynomial
time are called non-tractable problems. All deterministic polynomial
time algorithms are tractable and the non-deterministic
polynomials are intractable.
A nondeterministic algorithm is considered as a superset for
deterministic algorithm i.e., the deterministic algorithms are a
special case of nondeterministic algorithms.
Non-deterministic algorithm-
Search
Non-deterministic algorithm-Sort
Non-deterministic Algorithm-
0/1 Knapsack Problem
Non-deterministic Algorithm-
0/1 Knapsack Problem
Guess What?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P or NP ?
P-CLASS
The class P consists of those problems that are solvable in
polynomial time, i.e. these problems can be solved in
time O(nk) in worst-case, where k is constant.
These problems are called tractable, while others are
called intractable or superpolynomial.
Formally, an algorithm is polynomial time algorithm, if there
exists a polynomial p(n) such that the algorithm can solve
any instance of size n in a time O(p(n)).
Problem requiring Ω(n50) time to solve are essentially
intractable for large n. Most known polynomial time
algorithm run in time O(nk) for fairly low value of k.
P CLASS
NP-CLASS
The class NP consists of those problems that are
verifiable in polynomial time.
NP is the class of decision problems for which it is easy
to check the correctness of a claimed answer, with the
aid of a little extra information.
Hence, we aren’t asking for a way to find a solution, but
only to verify that an alleged solution really is correct.
Every problem in this class can be solved in exponential
time using exhaustive search.
NP CLASS
P vs NP
Every decision problem that is solvable by a
deterministic polynomial time algorithm is also solvable
by a polynomial time non-deterministic algorithm.
All problems in P can be solved with polynomial time
algorithms,whereas all problems in NP are intractable.
It is not known whether P = NP. However, many
problems are known in NP with the property that if
they belong to P, then it can be proved that P = NP.
The problem belongs to class P if it’s easy to find a
solution for the problem. The problem belongs to NP, if
it’s easy to check a solution that may have been very
tedious to find.
P-NP
