Seminar: Computational complexity of interactive behaviors

Post date: 17-Apr-2012 13:13:55

Upcoming Seminar

Computational complexity of interactive behaviors

May 3rd 2012 - 15.00

Aula C, Palazzo delle Scienze - Cagliari

Ugo Dal Lago

University of Bologna & FOCUS Research Team INRIA Sophia Antipolis

Abstract. The theory of computational complexity focuses on functions and, hence, studies programs whose interactive behavior is reduced to a simple question/answer pattern. We propose a broader theory whose ultimate goal is expressing and analyzing the intrinsic difficulty of fully general interactive behaviors.

To this extent, we use standard tools from concurrency theory, including labelled transition systems (formalizing behaviors) and their asynchronous extension (providing causality information). Behaviors are implemented by means of a multiprocessor machine executing CCS-like processes.

The resulting theory is shown to be consistent with the classical definitions: when we restrict to functional behaviors (i.e., question/answer patterns), we recover several standard computational complexity classes.