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In-Class Notes to Accompany Applied Combinatorics

Handout 6.5 Algorithms for Interval Orders

Peer instruction question 1.
This algorithm has benefits and drawbacks:
Benefit
Uses the smallest number of endpoints possible (because \(|\mc{D}| = |\mc{U}|\)).
Drawback
Creates lots of trivial intervals of the form \([3,3]\text{.}\)

Activity 6.5.1.

(a)

Use the algorithm to determine if the posets on your handout are interval orders (and find an interval representation if they are).

(b)

Suppose you learn that the down sets and up sets are totally ordered by inclusion and that there are \(d\) down sets (and thus \(d\) up sets). If the poset has a point that is incomparable to every other point, what interval would the algorithm assign?

Greedy or First Fit Algorithms.

  • The simplest algorithms for many problems are β€œgreedy” in the sense that they look at in some predetermined order and assign them to something by trying to use as few as possible at the moment.
  • There’s usually an order for which a greedy algorithm gives an optimal result, but finding that order is often hard.
  • First Fit can often succeed if there’s a β€œnatural” order to use.
Peer instruction question 2
Peer instruction question 3.

Example 6.21.

Let’s use First Fit (optimally) to find a chain partition of this interval order and the width of the interval order.
An interval order
Β 

Activity 6.5.2.

Use First Fit to find the width of the interval orders whose interval representations are on your handout. Also find a partition into as few chains as possible.