"Meta-Programming and Model-Driven Meta-Program Development: Principles, Processes and Techniques" presents an overall analysis of meta-programming, focusing on insights of meta-programming techniques, heterogeneous meta-program development processes in the context of model-driven, feature-based and transformative approaches.

The fundamental concepts of meta-programming are still not thoroughly understood, in this well organized book divided into three parts the authors help to address this. Chapters include: Taxonomy of fundamental concepts of meta-programming; Concept of structural heterogeneous meta-programming based on the original meta-language; Model-driven concept and feature-based modeling to the development process of meta-programs; Equivalent meta-program transformations and metrics to evaluate complexity of feature-based models and meta-programs; Variety of academic research case studies within different application domains to experimentally verify the soundness of the investigated approaches.

Both authors are professors at Kaunas University of Technology with 15 years research and teaching experience in the field. "Meta-Programming and Model-Driven Meta-Program Development: Principles, Processes and Techniques" is aimed at post-graduates in computer science and software engineering and researchers and program system developers wishing to extend their knowledge in this rapidly evolving sector of science and technology.

Genetic Algorithms: Principles and Perspectives: A Guide to GA Theory is a survey of some important theoretical contributions, many of which have been proposed and developed in the Foundations of Genetic Algorithms series of workshops. However, this theoretical work is still rather fragmented, and the authors believe that it is the right time to provide the field with a systematic presentation of the current state of theory in the form of a set of theoretical perspectives. The authors do this in the interest of providing students and researchers with a balanced foundational survey of some recent research on GAs. The scope of the book includes chapter-length discussions of Basic Principles, Schema Theory, "No Free Lunch," GAs and Markov Processes, Dynamical Systems Model, Statistical Mechanics Approximations, Predicting GA Performance, Landscapes and Test Problems.

Computer graphics, computer-aided design, and computer-aided manufacturing are tools that have become indispensable to a wide array of activities in contemporary society. Euclidean processing provides the basis for these computer-aided design systems although it contains elements that inevitably lead to an inaccurate, non-robust, and complex system. The primary cause of the deficiencies of Euclidean processing is the division operation, which becomes necessary if an n-space problem is to be processed in n-space. The difficulties that accompany the division operation may be avoided if processing is conducted entirely in (n+1)-space. The paradigm attained through the logical extension of this approach, totally four-dimensional processing, is the subject of this book. This book offers a new system of geometric processing techniques that attain accurate, robust, and compact computations, and allow the construction of a systematically structured CAD system.

"Pro PHP XML and Web Services" is the authoritative guide to using the XML features of PHP 5 and PHP 6. No other book covers XML and Web Services in PHP as deeply as this title. The first four chapters introduce the core concepts of XML required for proficiency, and will bring you up to speed on the terminology and key concepts you need to proceed with the rest of the book. Next, the book explores utilizing XML and Web Services with PHP5. Topics include DOM, SimpleXML, SAX, xmlReader, XSLT, RDF, RSS, WDDX, XML-RPC, REST, SOAP, and UDDI.

Author Robert Richards, a major contributor to the PHP XML codebase, is a leading expert in the PHP community. In this book, Richards covers all topics in depth, blending theory with practical examples. You'll find case studies for the most popular web services like Amazon, Google, eBay, and Yahoo. The book also covers XML capabilities, demonstrated through informative examples, in the PEAR libraries.

The problem of robotic and virtual interaction with physical objects has been the subject of research for many years in both the robotic manipulation and haptics communities. Both communities have focused much attention on human touch-based perception and manipulation, modelling contact between real or virtual hands and objects, or mechanism design. However, as a whole, these problems have not yet been addressed from a unified perspective. This edited book is the outcome of a well-attended workshop which brought together leading scholars from various branches of the robotics, virtual-reality, and human studies communities during the 2004 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. It covers some of the most challenging problems on the forefront of today 's research on physical interaction with real and virtual objects, with special emphasis on modelling contacts between objects, grasp planning algorithms, haptic perception, and advanced design of hands, devices and interfaces.

With "Beginning C: From Novice to Professional, Fourth Edition," you'll come to understand the fundamentals of the C language and learn how to program. All you need is this book and any one of the widely available free or commercial C or C++ compilers, and you'll soon be writing real C programs. You'll learn C from the first principles, using step-by-step working examples that you'll create and execute yourself.

This book will increase your programming expertise by guiding you through the development of fully working C applications that use what you've learned in a practical context. You'll also be able to strike out on your own by trying the exercises included at the end of each chapter. Pick up a copy of this book by renowned author, Ivor Horton, because: It is the only beginning-level book to cover the latest ANSI standard in C Is approachable and aimed squarely at people new to C Emphasizes writing code after the first chapter Includes substantial examples relevant to intermediate users

There has been much recent progress in global optimization algo rithms for nonconvex continuous and discrete problems from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. Convex analysis plays a fun damental role in the analysis and development of global optimization algorithms. This is due essentially to the fact that virtually all noncon vex optimization problems can be described using differences of convex functions and differences of convex sets. A conference on Convex Analysis and Global Optimization was held during June 5 -9, 2000 at Pythagorion, Samos, Greece. The conference was honoring the memory of C. Caratheodory (1873-1950) and was en dorsed by the Mathematical Programming Society (MPS) and by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Activity Group in Optimization. The conference was sponsored by the European Union (through the EPEAEK program), the Department of Mathematics of the Aegean University and the Center for Applied Optimization of the University of Florida, by the General Secretariat of Research and Tech nology of Greece, by the Ministry of Education of Greece, and several local Greek government agencies and companies. This volume contains a selective collection of refereed papers based on invited and contribut ing talks presented at this conference. The two themes of convexity and global optimization pervade this book. The conference provided a forum for researchers working on different aspects of convexity and global opti mization to present their recent discoveries, and to interact with people working on complementary aspects of mathematical programming."

Users increasingly demand more from their software than ever before more features, fewer errors, faster runtimes. To deliver the best quality products possible, software engineers are constantly in the process of employing novel tools in developing the latest software applications. Progressions and Innovations in Model-Driven Software Engineering investigates the most recent and relevant research on model-driven engineering. Within its pages, researchers and professionals in the field of software development, as well as academics and students of computer science, will find an up-to-date discussion of scientific literature on the topic, identifying opportunities and advantages, and complexities and challenges, inherent in the future of software engineering.

The Certified Function Point Specialist Examination Guide provides a complete and authoritative review of the rules and guidelines prescribed in the release of version 4.3 of the Function Point Counting Practices Manual (CPM). Providing a fundamental understanding of the IFPUG Functional Size Measurement method, this is the ideal study guide for the CFPS examination. The text:

• Includes time-tested tips on how to best prepare for the exam
• Provides a series of questions and answers at the end of each chapter with specific references to the latest version of the CPM
• Contains two CFPS practice exams to measure understanding and identify areas where more study is needed

Active members of the Counting Practices Committee and a past president of the IFPUG supply time-tested insight on how to use the CPM manual effectively and efficiently during the exam. The two sample exams and detailed examples throughout the text help to ensure readers develop the comprehension required to attain certification the first time around. Following certification, this book is a valuable reference for applying the IFPUG method for sizing proficient software design, development, and deployment.

Praise for the book:

While there are a number of solid books on counting function points, this new book fills a gap in the function point literature by providing useful information on the specifics of becoming a certified function point counter. The authors are all qualified for the work at hand, and indeed have contributed to the function point counting methodology.
Capers Jones, President, Capers Jones & Associates LLC

The general markup language XML has played an outstanding role in the mul- ple ways of processing electronic documents, XML being used either in the design of interface structures or as a formal framework for the representation of structure or content-related properties of documents. This book in its 13 chapters discusses aspects of XML-based linguistic information modeling combining: methodological issues, especially with respect to text-related information modeling, applicati- oriented research and issues of formal foundations. The contributions in this book are based on current research in Text Technology, Computational Linguistics and in the international domain of evolving standards for language resources. Rec- rent themes in this book are markup languages, explored from different points of view, and topics of text-related information modeling. These topics have been core areas of the research Unit "Text-technological Information Modeling" (www. te- technology. de) funded from 2002 to 2009 by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Positions developed in this book could also bene t from the presentations and discussion at the conference "Modelling Linguistic Information Resources" at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (Zentrum fur .. interdisziplinare .. Forschung, ZiF) at Bielefeld, a center for advanced studies known for its international and interdisciplinary meetings and research. The editors would like to thank the DFG and ZiF for their nancial support, the publisher, the series editors, the reviewers and those people that helped to prepare the manuscript, especially Carolin Kram, Nils Diewald, Jens Stegmann and Peter M. Fischer and last but not least, all of the authors.

As countless failures in information technology and Web-based systems are caused by an incorrect understanding of knowledge sharing, an increased awareness of modern, fundamental industry concepts becomes crucial to Web and interface developers. Web Engineering Advancements and Trends: Building New Dimensions of Information Technology examines integrated approaches in new dimensions of social and organizational knowledge sharing with emphasis on intelligent and personalized access. A defining collection of field advancements, this publication provides current research, applications, and techniques in testing and validation of Web systems.

At the dawn of the 21st century and the information age, communication and c- puting power are becoming ever increasingly available, virtually pervading almost every aspect of modern socio-economical interactions. Consequently, the potential for realizing a signi?cantly greater number of technology-mediated activities has emerged. Indeed, many of our modern activity ?elds are heavily dependant upon various underlying systems and software-intensive platforms. Such technologies are commonly used in everyday activities such as commuting, traf?c control and m- agement, mobile computing, navigation, mobile communication. Thus, the correct function of the forenamed computing systems becomes a major concern. This is all the more important since, in spite of the numerous updates, patches and ?rmware revisions being constantly issued, newly discovered logical bugs in a wide range of modern software platforms (e. g. , operating systems) and software-intensive systems (e. g. , embedded systems) are just as frequently being reported. In addition, many of today's products and services are presently being deployed in a highly competitive environment wherein a product or service is succeeding in most of the cases thanks to its quality to price ratio for a given set of features. Accordingly, a number of critical aspects have to be considered, such as the ab- ity to pack as many features as needed in a given product or service while c- currently maintaining high quality, reasonable price, and short time -to- market.

An excerpt from "The Unwanted Gift"

Stuart Hart awoke to find that he was floating alongside the couch. His eyes were wide open. Their view --- the ceiling. The bright bulb caused his pupils to constrict - everything was delicately sharp. He was lying on his back - torso - legs - arms - head - all in one plane, as if someone or something had pulled the couch out from under him, but the couch had not moved. It was still in its place against the wall. Stuart Hart had moved He was suspended in space. During his sleep, the sentinel of consciousness had failed to detect some force that changed him. Something had insinuated itself into his body. The sensation of self or solidity was gone. Did he still exist? Had he died in sleep? Was he now in transition from body to spirit? Deliberately, he moved one hand towards his face, fearfully expecting not to see that hand, nor to feel his face when he touched it. He "was" still there - a body with physical properties.

In a quiet and cozy corner of the cosmos, God prepared a home for his children. On this tiny world, he built a paradise for them in which to be nurtured and raised. With his angel's mentoring and encouragement, his children and all the world would enjoy Heaven on Earth.

But, there was one angel who did not like that plan. The servant was jealous of his master and wished not only to capture his kingdom, but his queen, as well.

Coveting her so and being unable to have her. Thinking of nothing except to possess the throne of her lord and all the privileges of it. Unfilled desire and jealous frustration. These things drove the angel to anger.

And his anger drove him mad.

The fields of similarity and preference are still broadening due to the exploration of new fields of application. This is caused by the strong impact of vagueness, imprecision, uncertainty and dominance on human and agent information, communication, planning, decision, action, and control as well as by the technical progress of the information technology itself. The topics treated in this book are of interest to computer scientists, statisticians, operations researchers, experts in AI, cognitive psychologists and economists.

Advanced research on the description of distributed systems and on design calculi for software and hardware is presented in this volume. Distinguished researchers give an overview of the latest state of the art.

This textbook effectively builds a bridge from basic number theory to recent advances in applied number theory. It presents the first unified account of the four major areas of application where number theory plays a fundamental role, namely cryptography, coding theory, quasi-Monte Carlo methods, and pseudorandom number generation, allowing the authors to delineate the manifold links and interrelations between these areas. Number theory, which Carl-Friedrich Gauss famously dubbed the queen of mathematics, has always been considered a very beautiful field of mathematics, producing lovely results and elegant proofs. While only very few real-life applications were known in the past, today number theory can be found in everyday life: in supermarket bar code scanners, in our cars' GPS systems, in online banking, etc. Starting with a brief introductory course on number theory in Chapter 1, which makes the book more accessible for undergraduates, the authors describe the four main application areas in Chapters 2-5 and offer a glimpse of advanced results that are presented without proofs and require more advanced mathematical skills. In the last chapter they review several further applications of number theory, ranging from check-digit systems to quantum computation and the organization of raster-graphics memory. Upper-level undergraduates, graduates and researchers in the field of number theory will find this book to be a valuable resource.

This book shows in detail how to build enterprise-level secure, redundant, and highly scalable services from scratch on top of the open source Linux operating system, suitable for small companies as well as big universities. The core architecture presented is based on Kerberos, LDAP, AFS, and Samba. Coverage shows how to integrate web, message related, data base and other services with this backbone. This architecture provides a Single-Sign-On solution for different client platforms and can also be employed for clustering. Although it is implemented with Debian GNU/Linux, the content can be applied to other UNIX flavors.

For real-time systems, the worst-case execution time (WCET) is the key objective to be considered. Traditionally, code for real-time systems is generated without taking this objective into account and the WCET is computed only after code generation. Worst-Case Execution Time Aware Compilation Techniques for Real-Time Systems presents the first comprehensive approach integrating WCET considerations into the code generation process. Based on the proposed reconciliation between a compiler and a timing analyzer, a wide range of novel optimization techniques is provided. Among others, the techniques cover source code and assembly level optimizations, exploit machine learning techniques and address the design of modern systems that have to meet multiple objectives.

Using these optimizations, the WCET of real-time applications can be reduced by about 30% to 45% on the average. This opens opportunities for decreasing clock speeds, costs and energy consumption of embedded processors. The proposed techniques can be used for all types real-time systems, including automotive and avionics IT systems.

This updated textbook introduces readers to assembly and its evolving role in computer programming and design. The author concentrates the revised edition on protected-mode Pentium programming, MIPS assembly language programming, and use of the NASM and SPIM assemblers for a Linux orientation. The focus is on providing students with a firm grasp of the main features of assembly programming, and how it can be used to improve a computer's performance. All of the main features are covered in depth, and the book is equally viable for DOS or Linux, MIPS (RISC) or CISC (Pentium). The book is based on a successful course given by the author and includes numerous hands-on exercises.

This book represents an attempt to treat three aspects of digital systems, design, prototyping and customization, in an integrated manner using two major technologies: VHSIC Hardware Description Language (VHDL) as a modeling and specification tool, and Field-Programmable Logic Devices (FPLDs) as an implementation technology. They together make a very powerful combination for complex digital systems rapid design and prototyping as the important steps towards manufacturing, or, in the case of feasible quantities, they also provide fast system manufacturing. Combining these two technologies makes possible implementation of very complex digital systems at the desk. VHDL has become a standard tool to capture features of digital systems in a form of behavioral, dataflow or structural models providing a high degree of flexibility. When augmented by a good simulator, VHDL enables extensive verification of features of the system under design, reducing uncertainties at the latter phases of design process. As such, it becomes an unavoidable modeling tool to model digital systems at various levels of abstraction.