Computer Science
Tel-Aviv University

0368.416701
Sublinear time algorithms

Instructor: Ronitt Rubinfeld
Fall 2014


Brief Course Description

This course will focus on the design of algorithms that are restricted to run in sublinear time, and thus can view only a very small portion of the data. The study of sublinear time algorithms has been applied to problems from a wide range of areas, including algebra, graph theory, geometry, string and set operations, optimization and probability theory. This course will introduce many of the various techniques that have been applied to analyzing such algorithms.

Grading

Will be based on the solutions to homework exercises, a class project and class participation.

Prerequisites

Algorithms. Exposure to computational complexity is helpful but not required.

Time and location

The course will take place on Mondays, 13:00-16:00, in Shenkar 105.

Course Information Handout

More details on syllabus, grading, etc. (pdf) (see also "useful pointers" below)

Announcements


Lecture notes and VERY tentative plan

  1. Lecture 1 (10/27): Introductory remarks. Property testing. Diameter. Monotonicity. Element distinctness. Quick probability review. scribe notes
  2. Lecture 2 (11/3): Property testing of element distinctness. Testing properties of distributions. Uniformity. scribe notes
  3. Lecture 3 (11/10): More testing properties of distributions. scribe notes
  4. Lecture 4 (11/17): Estimating the number of connected components, minimum spanning tree. Distributed computing vs. sublinear time: a reduction. scribe notes
  5. Lecture 5 (11/24): Approximating vertex cover and maximal matching. scribe notes version 1 , scribe notes version 2
  6. Lecture 6 (12/1): Testing planarity via H-minor freeness. Approximating the average degree. scribe notes.
  7. Lecture 7 (12/8): Lower bound techniques. Yao's method. Communication complexity vs. property testing. scribe notes.
  8. Lecture 8 (12/15): Property testing in dense graphs: bipartiteness. scribe notes.
  9. Lecture 9 (12/22): Property testing in dense graphs: triangle-freeness, Szemeredi's regularity lemma. scribe notes.
  10. Lecture 10 (12/29): Property testing in dense graphs: a lower bound in epsilon. scribe notes.
  11. Lecture 11 (1/13): Testing boolean functions: Fourier basics. Testing linearity. scribe notes.
  12. Lecture 12 (1/20): Testing boolean functions: dictatorships. Testing approximate correctness of delegated computations. scribe notes. ">

Homework


Useful Pointers