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tractable problem

computer science

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In computer science, a tractable problem is one that can be solved efficiently by a computer algorithm. This means the time or number of steps required to find a solution grows as a polynomial function of the problem's size, denoted as n. These are considered "easy" problems.

In contrast, intractable problems require time that grows exponentially with the problem size. These are considered "hard" or inefficient to solve. Many significant computer science problems, such as the traveling salesman problem, fall into the category of NP-complete problems, which are a class of problems for which no efficient algorithm has been found. Determining if these NP-complete problems are tractable or intractable is a major question in theoretical computer science.12

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