55,722 research outputs found
Randomization can be as helpful as a glimpse of the future in online computation
We provide simple but surprisingly useful direct product theorems for proving
lower bounds on online algorithms with a limited amount of advice about the
future. As a consequence, we are able to translate decades of research on
randomized online algorithms to the advice complexity model. Doing so improves
significantly on the previous best advice complexity lower bounds for many
online problems, or provides the first known lower bounds. For example, if
is the number of requests, we show that:
(1) A paging algorithm needs bits of advice to achieve a
competitive ratio better than , where is the cache
size. Previously, it was only known that bits of advice were
necessary to achieve a constant competitive ratio smaller than .
(2) Every -competitive vertex coloring algorithm must
use bits of advice. Previously, it was only known that
bits of advice were necessary to be optimal.
For certain online problems, including the MTS, -server, paging, list
update, and dynamic binary search tree problem, our results imply that
randomization and sublinear advice are equally powerful (if the underlying
metric space or node set is finite). This means that several long-standing open
questions regarding randomized online algorithms can be equivalently stated as
questions regarding online algorithms with sublinear advice. For example, we
show that there exists a deterministic -competitive -server
algorithm with advice complexity if and only if there exists a
randomized -competitive -server algorithm without advice.
Technically, our main direct product theorem is obtained by extending an
information theoretical lower bound technique due to Emek, Fraigniaud, Korman,
and Ros\'en [ICALP'09]
Online Bin Packing with Advice
We consider the online bin packing problem under the advice complexity model
where the 'online constraint' is relaxed and an algorithm receives partial
information about the future requests. We provide tight upper and lower bounds
for the amount of advice an algorithm needs to achieve an optimal packing. We
also introduce an algorithm that, when provided with log n + o(log n) bits of
advice, achieves a competitive ratio of 3/2 for the general problem. This
algorithm is simple and is expected to find real-world applications. We
introduce another algorithm that receives 2n + o(n) bits of advice and achieves
a competitive ratio of 4/3 + {\epsilon}. Finally, we provide a lower bound
argument that implies that advice of linear size is required for an algorithm
to achieve a competitive ratio better than 9/8.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figure (2 subfigures
On the Power of Advice and Randomization for Online Bipartite Matching
While randomized online algorithms have access to a sequence of uniform
random bits, deterministic online algorithms with advice have access to a
sequence of advice bits, i.e., bits that are set by an all powerful oracle
prior to the processing of the request sequence. Advice bits are at least as
helpful as random bits, but how helpful are they? In this work, we investigate
the power of advice bits and random bits for online maximum bipartite matching
(MBM).
The well-known Karp-Vazirani-Vazirani algorithm is an optimal randomized
-competitive algorithm for \textsc{MBM} that requires access
to uniform random bits. We show that
advice bits are necessary and
sufficient in order to obtain a
-competitive deterministic advice algorithm. Furthermore, for a
large natural class of deterministic advice algorithms, we prove that
advice bits are required in order to improve on the
-competitiveness of the best deterministic online algorithm, while
it is known that bits are sufficient.
Last, we give a randomized online algorithm that uses random bits, for
integers , and a competitive ratio that approaches
very quickly as is increasing. For example if , then the difference
between and the achieved competitive ratio is less than
On the List Update Problem with Advice
We study the online list update problem under the advice model of
computation. Under this model, an online algorithm receives partial information
about the unknown parts of the input in the form of some bits of advice
generated by a benevolent offline oracle. We show that advice of linear size is
required and sufficient for a deterministic algorithm to achieve an optimal
solution or even a competitive ratio better than . On the other hand, we
show that surprisingly two bits of advice are sufficient to break the lower
bound of on the competitive ratio of deterministic online algorithms and
achieve a deterministic algorithm with a competitive ratio of . In this
upper-bound argument, the bits of advice determine the algorithm with smaller
cost among three classical online algorithms, TIMESTAMP and two members of the
MTF2 family of algorithms. We also show that MTF2 algorithms are
-competitive
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