Complexity Theory
Postgraduate course
- ECTS credits
- 10
- Teaching semesters
- Spring
- Course code
- INF235
- Number of semesters
- 1
- Teaching language
- English
- Resources
- Schedule
Course description
Objectives and Content
Objectives: The complexity of a problem describes whether the problem can be solved using algorithms, and how much resources (in form of time and space) it takes to solve a problem algorithmically. The course studies problems that cannot be solved and problems for which it is difficult to design efficient algorithms. We see how we can recognize such hard problems.
Content:
The course gives a precise definition of what an algorithms is via Turing machines. The main focus is on central complexity classes, in particular NP-complete problems.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge
The student
- Understands what an algorithm is, and which problems that be solved by an algorithm.
- Understands the relationship between formal languages and Turing machines.
- Knows about various complexity classes and the relationship between them
Skills
The student is able to
- Recognize problems that cannot be solved computationally, and recognize NP-hard problems.
- Prove the NP-completeness of some of the most basic hard problems.
- Perform polynomial-time reductions
General competence
- The student can recognize computationally hard problems, and contribute to research on classification of new problems as tractable or intractable.
Full-time/Part-time
ECTS Credits
Level of Study
Semester of Instruction
Required Previous Knowledge
Recommended Previous Knowledge
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
Access to the Course
Teaching and learning methods
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
Exercises.
Compulsory assignments are valid two semesters, the semester of the approval and the following semester.
Forms of Assessment
Up to 30% of the final grade may be based on course activities during the semester, such as in-class midterms or hand-in assignments. The students will be notified of these activities and their final weight in the grade at the beginning of the semester.