Computability and complexity theory should be of central concern to practitioners as well as theorists. Unfortunately, however, the field is known for its impenetrability. Neil Jones's goal as an educator and author is to build a bridge between computability and complexity theory and other areas of computer science, especially programming. In a shift away from the Turing machine- and Gödel number-oriented classical approaches, Jones uses concepts familiar from programming languages to make computability and complexity more accessible to computer scientists and more applicable to practical programming problems.
According to Jones, the fields of computability and complexity theory, as well as programming languages and semantics, have a great deal to offer each other. Computability and complexity theory have a breadth, depth, and generality not often seen in programming languages. The programming language community, meanwhile, has a firm grasp of algorithm design, presentation, and implementation. In addition, programming languages sometimes provide computational models that are more realistic in certain crucial aspects than traditional models.
New results in the book include a proof that constant time factors do matter for its programming-oriented model of computation. (In contrast, Turing machines have a counterintuitive "constant speedup" property: that almost any program can be made to run faster, by any amount. Its proof involves techniques irrelevant to practice.) Further results include simple characterizations in programming terms of the central complexity classes PTIME and LOGSPACE, and a new approach to complete problems for NLOGSPACE, PTIME, NPTIME, and PSPACE, uniformly based on Boolean programs.
Foundations of Computing series
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Neil D. Jones is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
US$ 3.99 shipping within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speedsSeller: More Than Words, Waltham, MA, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. . . All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Before placing your order for please contact us for confirmation on the book's binding. Check out our other listings to add to your order for discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # BOS-T-11i-01402
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Friends of Johnson County Library, Lenexa, KS, U.S.A.
Condition: VeryGood. Hardcover book. The exterior can have some minor wear. All items ship Monday - Saturday - Fast Shipping in a secure package. Your purchase will help support the programs and collections of the Johnson County (Kansas) Library. Seller Inventory # 53DTTR000RMO
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: PAPER CAVALIER UK, London, United Kingdom
Condition: as new. Appears unread. May have a retail sticker on back cover or remainder mark on the text block. Seller Inventory # 9780262100649-2
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: dsmbooks, Liverpool, United Kingdom
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Very Good. book. Seller Inventory # D8S0-3-M-0262100649-6
Quantity: 1 available