Towards Solving NP-Complete and Other Hard Problems Efficiently in Practice

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Digulescu, Mircea-Adrian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Digulescu, Mircea-Adrian
author_facet Digulescu, Mircea-Adrian
contents Until now, Computer Scientists have concerned themselves with identifying efficient algorithms for solving the general case of some problem -- that is finding one which performs well when the size of the input tends to infinity. In this paper, we first introduce a theoretical framework for reasoning about finite algorithmics. It allows familiar concepts such as asymptotic complexity to be adapted to the case where the input size is bounded from above. We also present some elementary results within this theory. Secondly, we present a generic approach for automatically discovering an adequate algorithm for the finite case of some hard problem -- if one exists. Thirdly, we argue why we expect the finite case of hard problems to be easier than the general case. Fourthly, we present some relevant ideas specific to three hard problems, namely 3CNFSAT, String Compression and Integer Factorization.
format Preprint
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Towards Solving NP-Complete and Other Hard Problems Efficiently in Practice
Digulescu, Mircea-Adrian
Computational Complexity
Until now, Computer Scientists have concerned themselves with identifying efficient algorithms for solving the general case of some problem -- that is finding one which performs well when the size of the input tends to infinity. In this paper, we first introduce a theoretical framework for reasoning about finite algorithmics. It allows familiar concepts such as asymptotic complexity to be adapted to the case where the input size is bounded from above. We also present some elementary results within this theory. Secondly, we present a generic approach for automatically discovering an adequate algorithm for the finite case of some hard problem -- if one exists. Thirdly, we argue why we expect the finite case of hard problems to be easier than the general case. Fourthly, we present some relevant ideas specific to three hard problems, namely 3CNFSAT, String Compression and Integer Factorization.
title Towards Solving NP-Complete and Other Hard Problems Efficiently in Practice
topic Computational Complexity
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.16418