When is a problem said to be decidable or undecidable?

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In summary, a decision problem is a problem where the output is in the form of yes/no or true/false. The goal of a decision algorithm is to compute the correct truth value for each input instance of the problem and it must terminate on all inputs. It can be decidable if there is an algorithm to solve it, otherwise it is undecidable. The inputs for a decision problem are not true or false, but rather problems with answers that are true or false. For a comprehensive list of undecidable problems, refer to the provided link.
  • #1
shivajikobardan
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Homework Statement
When is a problem said to be decidable or undecidable?
Relevant Equations
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Definition 1-:
wtGjGqu-i0wn4WVOCCfvoeFuVtnO9lMPSpKZ_Yxs2ORZPLgD6r.png

Taken from here-: https://research.cs.queensu.ca/home/cisc462/moni/m3.pdf

This in my opinion, just makes things complicated. Decision problem is just something where we get output in the form of yes/no…T/F…etc.
But it says it gives input true or false…can you give me example about that?

I thought the goal of decision algorithm should be to find answer in the form of yes or no.

Definition 2-:
fzHcLn1QUn_om-xDpuG41kpy22GTpqUTWkyNAri5g-xJIA46ab.png

Source-: http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~evans/cs302/classes/class17.pdf

This says something else.

Definition 3-:
k6ykZ9EkIDhGTiGQ3QYGzpeB7QKsOqhAdOehkXaKuDIe2ZSDAu.png


Source-:

This says something else.

I am confused in this seemingly simple thing. What I feel is that “if there is an algorithm to solve it(basically a turing machine) then it is decidable”...else undecidable. Am I right?
 
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  • #2
shivajikobardan said:
But it says it gives input true or false…can you give me example about that?
That's not what the 2nd bullet of Def. 1 says:
A decision algorithm is an algorithm that computes the correct truth value for each input instance of a decision problem. The algorithm has to terminate on all inputs!
The inputs are not true or false. The inputs are problems that have answers that are true or false.

For an extensive list of undecidable problems, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_...wer.?msclkid=ba518877c26211eca77096aa5f91dd81
 
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FAQ: When is a problem said to be decidable or undecidable?

What is the definition of a decidable problem?

A decidable problem is a problem that can be solved using an algorithm or a set of rules that will always terminate and provide a correct answer for any given input.

What is the definition of an undecidable problem?

An undecidable problem is a problem that cannot be solved using an algorithm or a set of rules that will always terminate and provide a correct answer for any given input. This means that there is no way to determine whether a given input will result in a yes or no answer.

How can you determine if a problem is decidable or undecidable?

To determine if a problem is decidable or undecidable, you can try to find an algorithm or set of rules that will always provide a correct answer for any given input. If such an algorithm exists, the problem is decidable. If not, the problem is undecidable.

What are some examples of decidable problems?

Some examples of decidable problems include addition and multiplication of integers, sorting a list of numbers, and finding the shortest path between two points on a graph.

What are some examples of undecidable problems?

Some examples of undecidable problems include the halting problem, the decision problem for the theory of natural numbers, and the Post correspondence problem. These problems have been proven to be undecidable, meaning that there is no algorithm that can solve them for all inputs.

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