P and NP Class of Problems
In computational complexity theory, P and NP are two important classes
of problems that are related to the time complexity of algorithms used to
solve them.
P (Polynomial Time):
Definition: The class P consists of decision problems (problems
with yes/no answers) that can be solved by a deterministic Turing
machine in polynomial time. This means that there exists an
algorithm to solve the problem whose running time is bounded by a
polynomial function of the input size.
Example: Sorting a list, finding the greatest common divisor (GCD),
matrix multiplication, etc.
In simple terms, if a problem is in P, there exists an efficient (polynomial-
time) algorithm to solve it.
NP (Nondeterministic Polynomial Time):
Definition: The class NP consists of decision problems for which a
proposed solution can be verified in polynomial time. More
formally, if a solution is provided, you can check whether it's correct
in polynomial time, even though finding the solution might be hard.
o Nondeterministic Turing Machine: A machine that can
"guess" a solution from all possible solutions and verify it in
polynomial time.
Example: The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), where, given
a set of cities and distances, it asks whether a salesperson can visit
each city exactly once and return to the starting city, all within a
given distance. While finding the path is hard, verifying a given path
(if someone gives you the path) can be done in polynomial time.
Key Insight: A problem is in NP if, given a candidate solution, you can
verify it in polynomial time. The major difference from P is that finding the
solution might not be polynomial time, but verifying it is.
P vs NP:
P is the class of problems that can be solved in polynomial time.
NP is the class of problems for which solutions can be verified in
polynomial time.
It is still an open question in computer science whether P = NP or P
≠ NP. That is, we do not know if every problem that can be verified
in polynomial time can also be solved in polynomial time.
NP-Hard and NP-Complete Problems
Both NP-Hard and NP-Complete refer to subsets of NP problems, but
they have distinct characteristics. Let's differentiate between them:
NP-Hard:
Definition: A problem is NP-Hard if it is at least as hard as the
hardest problems in NP. In other words, every problem in NP can be
reduced to an NP-Hard problem in polynomial time.
o Key property: An NP-Hard problem doesn't necessarily have
to be in NP itself; it could be a decision problem or an
optimization problem.
o Verification: You cannot necessarily verify a solution to an
NP-Hard problem in polynomial time.
o Example: The Halting Problem is NP-Hard. It is not even in
NP because there is no known way to verify whether a
program halts for all inputs in polynomial time.
NP-Complete:
Definition: A problem is NP-Complete if:
1. It is in NP (its solution can be verified in polynomial time).
2. It is NP-Hard (every problem in NP can be reduced to it in
polynomial time).
This means an NP-Complete problem is both in NP and as hard as any
problem in NP.
Key property: If you can solve an NP-Complete problem in
polynomial time, you can solve all problems in NP in polynomial time
(i.e., P = NP would be true).
Example: The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), the
Knapsack Problem, and Boolean Satisfiability Problem (SAT)
are all NP-Complete problems.
Differentiating Between NP-Hard and NP-Complete
Property NP-Hard NP-Complete
Belongs to NP? No (can be outside NP) Yes (must be in NP)
Property NP-Hard NP-Complete
Harder than or equivalent Belongs to NP and is as
Definition to the hardest problems in hard as the hardest
NP problems in NP
May or may not have
Has polynomial-time
Verification polynomial-time
verification for solutions
verification
Halting Problem,
Example TSP, Knapsack, SAT
Optimization Problems
Can we solve in Unknown (typically no
If solved in polynomial
polynomial known polynomial-time
time, implies P = NP
time? solution)
Key Takeaways:
P: Problems solvable in polynomial time.
NP: Problems whose solutions can be verified in polynomial time.
NP-Hard: Problems that are at least as hard as the hardest
problems in NP. They may or may not be in NP, and their solutions
may not be verifiable in polynomial time.
NP-Complete: Problems that are both in NP and NP-Hard. These are
the hardest problems in NP, and solving one NP-Complete problem
in polynomial time would imply P = NP.
