P (complexity) - Definition

Definition

A language L is in P if and only if there exists a deterministic Turing machine M, such that

  • M runs for polynomial time on all inputs
  • For all x in L, M outputs 1
  • For all x not in L, M outputs 0

P can also be viewed as a uniform family of boolean circuits. A language L is in P if and only if there exists a polynomial-time uniform family of boolean circuits, such that

  • For all, takes n bits as input and outputs 1 bit
  • For all x in L,
  • For all x not in L,

The circuit definition can be weakened to use only a logspace uniform family without changing the complexity class.

Read more about this topic:  P (complexity)

Famous quotes containing the word definition:

    ... we all know the wag’s definition of a philanthropist: a man whose charity increases directly as the square of the distance.
    George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)

    I’m beginning to think that the proper definition of “Man” is “an animal that writes letters.”
    Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)

    It is very hard to give a just definition of love. The most we can say of it is this: that in the soul, it is a desire to rule; in the spirit, it is a sympathy; and in the body, it is but a hidden and subtle desire to possess—after many mysteries—what one loves.
    François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)