Re: Halting Problem Final Conclusion

From: Robert Low (mtx014_at_linux.services.coventry.ac.uk)
Date: 09/06/04 

Date: 6 Sep 2004 14:08:50 GMT

G. Frege <no_spam@aol.com> wrote:
>On 6 Sep 2004 13:13:15 GMT, mtx014@linux.services.coventry.ac.uk (Robert
>Low) wrote:
>> There is an easy algorithm that never gives a wrong answer, but also
>> never gives a useful one [...].
>>
>Right.
>
>On the other hand I can present an algorithm which is able to give a
>answer which is slightly more useful.

Your algorithm is a variation on what I was thinking
about and characterizing as 'never useful'. You can
tell just by looking at the code that a program
whose only iterative structures are for
loops with a fixed number of repetitions will halt.
This is completely bleeding obvious.

>> I'd be surprised if he had anything even that good
>> to offer. (Pleasantly surprised, but surprised.)
>See?!

I don't see PO offering anything better than what
somebody with twenty-five minutes exposure to programming
constructs would come up with. In fact, I haven't
seen him yet offer anything that useful. I'm sure
that there *are* things more useful than that
to be found; there are, after all, standard strategies
for showing that while loops terminate (well, when
they do) it I'm sure it's possible to make a useful
algorithm for guessing/finding loop invariants and so
on. But where's the Olcott contribution to this
endeavour? 

-- 
Rob.  http://www.mis.coventry.ac.uk/~mtx014/

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