Settling Multiple Debts Efficiently: An Invitation to Computing Science
Volume 3, Issue 1 (2004), pp. 105–126
Pub. online: 15 April 2004
Type: Article
Published
15 April 2004
15 April 2004
Abstract
I present and solve several problems related to the settling of multiple debts. The solutions are documented in much detail, with (bright) high-school students in mind. One of the variants has a simple solution, though it is not so easy to code concisely. Another variant is an elegant NP-hard problem.
The problem leads into important areas of mathematics and computing science, making it suitable as an invitation to these subjects.