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Tag « prefix codes »

The prefix notion in Kolmogorov complexity and computational models

Kolmogorov complexity theory gives a definition of randomness for words on a finite alphabet. The notions involved led to the description of a subclass of computable machines: the prefix computable machines, whose domain is a prefix code (no word in the domain is prefix of another one).

Beyond the matter of defining randomness for infinite words, this subclass has remarkable properties regarding computability theory. Three different definitions are given and compared. The case of comma free codes is also examined, but it doesn't yield anymore an additively optimal machine.
The notion of prefix also interacts with the computational models. An examination of machines with no blank characters or of finite models with an infinite calculus space (such as the Turing machine, which uses an infinite tape) reveals a strong influence of the prefix notion on computational processes.

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Introduction to the theory of algorithmic information

We explain the basics of the theory of the Kolmogorov complexity, also known as algorithmic information theory, and underline the main differences between the Kolmogorov complexity and Kolmogorov prefix complexity. Then, we introduce the definition of randomness for either finite or infinite words according to Per Martin-Löf and show that it is equivalent to the notion of uncompressibility defined via Kolmogorov complexity.

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