The algorithmic solution of problems has always been one of the major concerns of mathematics. For a long time such solutions were based on an intuitive notion of algorithm. It is only in this century that metamathematical problems have led to the intensive search for a precise and sufficiently general formalization of the notions of computability and algorithm. In the 1930s, a number of quite different concepts for this purpose were pro posed, such as Turing machines, WHILE-programs, recursive functions, Markov algorithms, and Thue systems. All these concepts turned out to be equivalent, a...

One of the most important and successful theories in computational complex ity is that of NP-completeness. This discrete theory is based on the Turing machine model and achieves a classification of discrete computational prob lems according to their algorithmic difficulty. Turing machines formalize al gorithms which operate on finite strings of symbols over a finite alphabet. By contrast, in algebraic models of computation, the basic computational step is an arithmetic operation (or comparison) of elements of a fixed field, for in stance of real numbers. Hereby one assumes exact arithmetic....

The algorithmic solution of problems has always been one of the major concerns of mathematics. For a long time such solutions were based on an intuitive notion of algorithm. It is only in this century that metamathematical problems have led to the intensive search for a precise and sufficiently general formalization of the notions of computability and algorithm. In the 1930s, a number of quite different concepts for this purpose were pro posed, such as Turing machines, WHILE-programs, recursive functions, Markov algorithms, and Thue systems. All these concepts turned out to be equivalent, a...

One of the most important and successful theories in computational complex ity is that of NP-completeness. This discrete theory is based on the Turing machine model and achieves a classification of discrete computational prob lems according to their algorithmic difficulty. Turing machines formalize al gorithms which operate on finite strings of symbols over a finite alphabet. By contrast, in algebraic models of computation, the basic computational step is an arithmetic operation (or comparison) of elements of a fixed field, for in stance of real numbers. Hereby one assumes exact arithmetic....

This book gathers threads that have evolved across different mathematical disciplines into seamless narrative. It deals with condition as a main aspect in the understanding of the performance ---regarding both stability and complexity--- of numerical algorithms. While the role of condition was shaped in the last half-century, so far there has not been a monograph treating this subject in a uniform and systematic way. The book puts special emphasis on the probabilistic analysis of numerical algorithms via the analysis of the corresponding condition. The exposition's level increases along the...

This book deals with condition as a main aspect in the understanding of the performance regarding both stability and complexity of numerical algorithms. It offers partial solutions for Smale's 17th problem.