Exam-style question
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Explain the difference between a computable problem and a non-computable problem. State why writing an implementation in a different programming language cannot, by itself, make a non-computable problem computable.
Model answer
What a good answer should say
- A computable problem is one for which an algorithm exists that can solve the problem.
- A non-computable problem is one for which no algorithm can solve it in every case.
- Changing the programming language changes how an algorithm is expressed or implemented, but it does not create an algorithm where none exists.
- Therefore, changing language alone cannot make a non-computable problem computable.
Explanation
Why this works
A strong answer distinguishes the existence of an algorithm from the implementation of that algorithm. Computability is a property of the problem and the possibility of an algorithmic solution, rather than simply a feature of the language selected by the programmer.
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