Computational Complexity

This new text offers a comprehensive and accessible treatment of the theory of algorithms and complexity - the elegant body of concepts and methods developed by computer scientists over the past 30 years for studying the performance and limitations of computer algorithms. Among topics covered are: reductions and NP-completeness, cryptography and protocols, randomized algorithms, and approximability of optimization problems, circuit complexity, the "structural" aspects of the P=NP question, parallel computation, the polynomial hierarchy, and many others. Several sophisticated and recent results are presented in a rather simple way, while many more are developed in the form of extensive notes, problems, and hints. The book is surprisingly self-contained, in that it develops all necessary mathematical prerequisites from such diverse field as computability, logic, number theory, combinatorics, and probability. Features First unified introduction to computational complexity. Integrates computation, applications, and logic throughout. Provides an accessible introduction to logic, including Boolean logic, first-order logic, and second-order logic. Includes extensive exercises including historical notes, references, and challeging problems. 0201530821B04062001