ISSN:
1573-7470
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Computer Science
,
Mathematics
Notes:
Abstract We address the question of how one evaluates the usefulness of a heuristic program on a particular input. If theoretical tools do not allow us to decide for every instance whether a particular heuristic is fast enough, might we at least write a simple, fast companion program that makes this decision on some inputs of interest? We call such a companion program a timer for the heuristic. Timers are related to program checkers, as defined by Blum (1993), in the following sense: Checkers are companion programs that check the correctness of the output produced by (unproven but bounded‐time) programs on particular instances; timers, on the other hand, are companion programs that attempt to bound the running time on particular instances of correct programs whose running times have not been fully analyzed. This paper provides a family of definitions that formalize the notion of a timer and some preliminary results that demonstrate the utility of these definitions.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1018950418415
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