The Overlooked Don't-Care Notion in Algorithmic Problem Solving

dc.creator	David GINAT
dc.date	2009-09-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:17:04Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:17:04Z
dc.identifier	1648-5831
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/c419318617754d55904ef2c17ae695ac
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/18847
dc.description	The notion of ''don't care'', that encapsulates the unimportance of which of several scenarios will occur, is a fundamental notion in computer science. It is the core of non-determinism; it is essential in various computational models; it is central in distributed and concurrent algorithms; and it also is relevant in sequential, deterministic algorithms. It is a valuable tool in algorithmic problem solving. Yet, in the teaching of (deterministic) algorithms it is not made explicit, and left unexplored. Its implicit exposition yields limited student invocations and limited student comprehension upon its utilization. These phenomena are also due to its rather unintuitive ''black-box'' characteristic. In this paper, we illuminate and elaborate on this notion with six algorithmic illustrations, and describe our experience with novice difficulties with respect to this notion.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	Institute of Mathematics and Informatics
dc.relation	http://www.mii.lt/informatics_in_education/pdf/INFE157.pdf
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1648-5831
dc.source	Informatics in Education, Vol 8, Iss 2, Pp 217-226 (2009)
dc.subject	Algorithmic problem solving
dc.subject	Non-determinism
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Information technology
dc.subject	T58.5-58.64
dc.subject	Industrial engineering. Management engineering
dc.subject	T55.4-60.8
dc.subject	Technology (General)
dc.subject	T1-995
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	DOAJ:Computer Science
dc.subject	DOAJ:Technology and Engineering
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Information technology
dc.subject	T58.5-58.64
dc.subject	Industrial engineering. Management engineering
dc.subject	T55.4-60.8
dc.subject	Technology (General)
dc.subject	T1-995
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	DOAJ:Computer Science
dc.subject	DOAJ:Technology and Engineering
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Information technology
dc.subject	T58.5-58.64
dc.subject	Industrial engineering. Management engineering
dc.subject	T55.4-60.8
dc.subject	Technology (General)
dc.subject	T1-995
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Information technology
dc.subject	T58.5-58.64
dc.subject	Industrial engineering. Management engineering
dc.subject	T55.4-60.8
dc.subject	Technology (General)
dc.subject	T1-995
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Information technology
dc.subject	T58.5-58.64
dc.subject	Industrial engineering. Management engineering
dc.subject	T55.4-60.8
dc.subject	Technology (General)
dc.subject	T1-995
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.title	The Overlooked Don't-Care Notion in Algorithmic Problem Solving
dc.type	article