The integration of logic and probability combines the capability of the first to represent complex relations among entities with the capability of the latter to model uncertainty over attributes and relations. Logic programming provides a Turing complete language based on logic and thus represent an excellent candidate for the integration. Since its birth, the field of Probabilistic Logic Programming has seen a steady increase of activity, with many proposals for languages and algorithms for inference and learning. One of most successful approaches to Probabilistic Logic Programming is the Distribution Semantics, where a probabilistic logic program defines a probability distribution over normal logic programs and the probability of a ground query is then obtained from the joint distribution of the query and the programs. Foundations of Probabilistic Logic Programming aims at providing an overview of the field of Probabilistic Logic Programming, with a special emphasis on languages under the Distribution Semantics. The book presents the main ideas for semantics, inference and learning and highlights connections between the methods. Many examples of the book include a link to a page of the web application http://cplint.eu where the code can be run online.

The portable Raspberry Pi computing platform with the power of Linux yields an exciting exploratory tool for beginning scientific computing. Science and Computing with Raspberry Pi takes the reader through explorations in a variety of computing exercises with the physical sciences. The book guides the user through: configuring your Raspberry Pi and Linux operating system; understanding the software requirements while using the Pi for scientific computing; computing exercises in physics, astronomy, chaos theory, and machine learning.

As advances in technology continue to generate the collective knowledge of an organization and its operations, strategic models for information systems are developed in order to arrange business processes and business data. Frameworks for Developing Efficient Information Systems: Models, Theory, and Practice presents research and practices on the advancements in systems analysis and design. These theoretical frameworks and practical solutions are useful for researchers, practitioners, and academicians as this book aims to bridge the communication gap between business managers and system designers.

Whether searching, shopping, or socializing, Web users leave behind a great deal of data revealing their information needs, mindset, and approaches used, creating vast opportunities for Web service providers as well as a host of security and privacy concerns for consumers. The Handbook of Research on Web Log Analysis reflects on the multifaceted themes of Web use and presents various approaches to log analysis. This expansive collection reviews the history of Web log analysis and examines new trends including the issues of privacy, social interaction and community building. Over XX research contributions from XX international experts comprehensively cover the latest user-behavior analytic and log analysis methodologies, and consider new research directions and novel applications. An essential holding for library reference collections, this Handbook of Research will benefit academics, researchers, and students in a variety of fields, as well as technology professionals interested in the opportunities and challenges presented by the massive collection of Web usage data.

A unique guide to the design and implementation of simulation software

This book offers a concise introduction to the art of building simulation software, collecting the most important concepts and algorithms in one place. Written for both individuals new to the field of modeling and simulation as well as experienced practitioners, this guide explains the design and implementation of simulation software used in the engineering of large systems while presenting the relevant mathematical elements, concept discussions, and code development.

The book approaches the topic from the perspective of Zeigler's theory of modeling and simulation, introducing the theory's fundamental concepts and showing how to apply them to engineering problems. Readers will learn five necessary skills for building simulations of complicated systems: Working with fundamental abstractions for simulating dynamic systemsDeveloping basic simulation algorithms for continuous and discrete event modelsCombining continuous and discrete event simulations into a coherent wholeApplying strategies for testing a simulationUnderstanding the theoretical foundations of the modeling constructs and simulation algorithms

The central chapters of the book introduce, explain, and demonstrate the elements of the theory that are most important for building simulation tools. They are bracketed by applications to robotics, control and communications, and electric power systems; these comprehensive examples clearly illustrate how the concepts and algorithms are put to use. Readers will explore the design of object-oriented simulation programs, simulation using multi-core processors, and the integration of simulators into larger software systems.

The focus on software makes this book particularly useful for computer science and computer engineering courses in simulation that focus on building simulators. It is indispensable reading for undergraduate and graduate students studying modeling and simulation, as well as for practicing scientists and engineers involved in the development of simulation tools.

Human-computer interaction studies the users and their interaction with an interactive software system (ISS). However, these studies are designed for people without any type of disability, causing there to be few existing techniques or tools that focus on the characteristics of a specific user, thus causing accessibility and utility issues for neglected segments of the population. This reference source intends to remedy this lack of research by supporting an ISS focused on people with visual impairment. User-Centered Software Development for the Blind and Visually Impaired: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a collection of innovative research on techniques, applications, and methods for carrying out software projects in which the main users are people with visual impairments. While highlighting topics including mobile technology, assistive technologies, and human-computer interaction, this book is ideally designed for software developers, computer engineers, designers, academics, researchers, professionals, and educators interested in current research on usable and accessible technologies.

This book highlights practical solutions for flight safety improvement techniques, which are currently the focus of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It has become clear that, in order to rapidly and significantly improve flight safety, the integrated use of new aeronautical technologies is called for. Considering the size of the aviation fleet, its constant growth and the long service lives of aircraft, new technologies should be adapted both to cutting-edge air navigation systems and to those that have been used for over a decade. Concretely, the book discusses methodological approaches to the construction of ground and on-board avionics that make it possible to achieve improved flight safety using innovative new methods. The proposed approaches are illustrated with real-world examples of e.g. satellite-based navigation systems and enhanced ground proximity warning systems. The book is written for professionals involved in the development of avionics systems, as well as students, researchers and experts in the field of radiolocation, radio navigation and air traffic control, the book will support the development and modeling of radio technical complexes, as well as the analysis of complex radio technical systems.

A Deep Dive into NoSQL Databases: The Use Cases and Applications, Volume 109, the latest release in the Advances in Computers series first published in 1960, presents detailed coverage of innovations in computer hardware, software, theory, design and applications. In addition, it provides contributors with a medium in which they can explore their subjects in greater depth and breadth. This update includes sections on NoSQL and NewSQL databases for big data analytics and distributed computing, NewSQL databases and scalable in-memory analytics, NoSQL web crawler application, NoSQL Security, a Comparative Study of different In-Memory (No/New)SQL Databases, NoSQL Hands On-4 NoSQLs, the Hadoop Ecosystem, and more.

The junction of software development and engineering combined with the study of intelligence has created a bustling intersection of theory, design, engineering, and conceptual thought. Software and Intelligent Sciences: New Transdisciplinary Findings sits at a crossroads and informs advanced researchers, students, and practitioners on the developments in computer science, theoretical software engineering, cognitive science, cognitive informatics, and intelligence science. The crystallization of accumulated knowledge by the fertilization of these areas, have led to the emergence of a transdisciplinary field known as software and intelligence sciences, to which this book is an important contribution and a resource for both fields alike.

With complex systems and complex requirements being a challenge that designers must face to reach quality results, multi-formalism modeling offers tools and methods that allow modelers to exploit the benefits of different techniques in a general framework intended to address these challenges. Theory and Application of Multi-Formalism Modeling boldly explores the importance of this topic by gathering experiences, theories, applications, and solutions from diverse perspectives of those involved with multi-formalism modeling. Professionals, researchers, academics, and students in this field will be able to critically evaluate the latest developments and future directions of multi-formalism research.

Mapping and localization are two essential tasks in autonomous mobile robotics. Due to the unavoidable noise that sensors present, mapping algorithms usually rely on loop closure detection techniques, which entail the correct identification of previously seen places to reduce the uncertainty of the resulting maps. This book deals with the problem of generating topological maps of the environment using efficient appearance-based loop closure detection techniques. Since the quality of a visual loop closure detection algorithm is related to the image description method and its ability to index previously seen images, several methods for loop closure detection adopting different approaches are developed and assessed. Then, these methods are used in three novel topological mapping algorithms. The results obtained indicate that the solutions proposed attain a better performance than several state-of-the-art approaches. To conclude, given that loop closure detection is also a key component in other research areas, a multi-threaded image mosaicing algorithm is proposed. This approach makes use of one of the loop closure detection techniques previously introduced in order to find overlapping pairs between images and finally obtain seamless mosaics of different environments in a reasonable amount of time.

The AVR RISC Microcontroller Handbook is a comprehensive guide to designing with Atmel's new controller family, which is designed to offer high speed and low power consumption at a lower cost. The main text is divided into three sections: hardware, which covers all internal peripherals; software, which covers programming and the instruction set; and tools, which explains using Atmel's Assembler and Simulator (available on the Web) as well as IAR's C compiler.

Practical guide for advanced hobbyists or design professionals
Development tools and code available on the Web

Microsoft Outlook Programming unleashes the power of Microsoft Outlook, allowing administrators and end users to customize Outlook in the same way that they've used macros and templates to customize other programs like Excel and Word. Experienced developers will find the quick-start information they need to begin integrating Outlook into their applications. Microsoft Exchange administrators will get help automating common tasks such as announcing public folders and importing data to custom forms.
Microsoft Outlook is the most widely used email program, and it offers the most programmability. This book introduces key concepts for programming both Outlook forms for storing and exchanging data and Visual Basic for Applications modules that add new features to Outlook. Central to this new edition, which covers both Outlook 2000 and Outlook 2002, is awareness of tighter security in Outlook. Designed to prevent transmission of computer viruses, the security restrictions can also get in the way of legitimate programs, but this book offers workarounds within the reach of novice programmers. It also covers many of the new features of Outlook 2002, such as the integrated Outlook View Control and searching across multiple folders using SQL syntax and the Search object.
-Building block procedures for the most common Outlook programming tasks
-Jargon-free language and practical examples to make the material more accessible to new Outlook programmers
-Coverage of Outlook Email Security Update
-Coverage of the Office XP Web Services Toolkit

Recent advancements have put Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations at the forefront of technology and learning. A closer look at these topic areas opens the door for development and innovation and the implications that go with it. Discoveries in Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations: New Interdisciplinary Applications explores and promotes a deep conceptual and empirical understanding of the roles of electronic games and computer-mediated simulations across multiple disciplines. This book helps build a significant bridge between research and practice on electronic gaming and simulations, supporting the work of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Drawing on history allows this publication to help move this field forward.

Although the field of mixed reality has grown significantly over the last decade, there have been few published books about augmented reality, particularly the interface design aspects. ""Emerging Technologies of Augmented Reality: Interfaces and Design"" provides a foundation of the main concepts of augmented reality (AR), with a particular emphasis on user interfaces, design, and practical AR techniques, from tracking algorithms to design principles for AR interfaces. ""Emerging Technologies of Augmented Reality: Interfaces and Design"" contains comprehensive information focusing on the following topics: technologies that support AR, development environments, interface design and evaluation of applications, and case studies of AR applications.

Blockchain is a technology that transcends cryptocurrencies. There are other services in different sectors of the economy that can benefit from the trust and security that blockchains offer. For example, financial institutions are using blockchains for international money transfer, and in logistics, it has been used for supply chain management and tracking of goods. As more global companies and governments are experimenting and deploying blockchain solutions, it is necessary to compile knowledge on the best practices, strategies, and failures in order to create a better awareness of how blockchain could either support or add value to other services. Cross-Industry Use of Blockchain Technology and Opportunities for the Future provides emerging research highlighting the possibilities inherent in blockchain for different sectors of the economy and the added value blockchain can provide for the future of these different sectors. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as data privacy, information sharing, and digital identity, this book is ideally designed for IT specialists, consultants, design engineers, cryptographers, service designers, researchers, academics, government officials, and industry professionals.

The work presented here is generally intended for engineers, educators at all levels, industrialists, managers, researchers and political representatives. Offering a snapshot of various types of research conducted within the field of TRIZ in France, it represents a unique resource. It has been two decades since the TRIZ theory originating in Russia spread across the world. Every continent adopted it in a different manner - sometimes by glorifying its potential and its perspectives (the American way); sometimes by viewing it with mistrust and suspicion (the European way); and sometimes by adopting it as-is, without questioning it further (the Asian way). However, none of these models of adoption truly succeeded. Today, an assessment of TRIZ practices in education, industry and research is necessary. TRIZ has expanded to many different scientific disciplines and has allowed young researchers to reexamine the state of research in their field. To this end, a call was sent out to all known francophone research laboratories producing regular research about TRIZ. Eleven of them agreed to send one or more of their postdoctoral researchers to present their work during a seminar, regardless of the maturity or completeness of their efforts. It was followed by this book project, presenting one chapter for every current thesis in order to reveal the breadth, the richness and the perspectives that research about the TRIZ theory could offer our society. The topics dealt with e.g. the development of new methods inspired by TRIZ, educational practices, and measuring team impact.

This is one of the first books that describe all the steps that are needed in order to analyze, design and implement Monte Carlo applications. It discusses the financial theory as well as the mathematical and numerical background that is needed to write flexible and efficient C++ code using state-of-the art design and system patterns, object-oriented and generic programming models in combination with standard libraries and tools.

Includes a CD containing the source code for all examples. It is strongly advised that you experiment with the code by compiling it and extending it to suit your needs. Support is offered via a user forum on www.datasimfinancial.com where you can post queries and communicate with other purchasers of the book.

This book is for those professionals who design and develop models in computational finance. This book assumes that you have a working knowledge of C ++.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to applying compressive sensing to improve data quality in the context of mobile crowdsensing. It addresses the following main topics: recovering missing data, efficiently collecting data, preserving user privacy, and detecting false data. Mobile crowdsensing, as an emerging sensing paradigm, enables the masses to take part in data collection tasks with the aid of powerful mobile devices. However, mobile crowdsensing platforms have yet to be widely adopted in practice, the major concern being the quality of the data collected. There are numerous causes: some locations may generate redundant data, while others may not be covered at all, since the participants are rarely systematically coordinated; privacy is a concern for some people, who don't wish to share their real-time locations, and therefore some key information may be missing; further, some participants may upload fake data in order to fraudulently gain rewards. To address these problematic aspects, compressive sensing, which works by accurately recovering a sparse signal using very few samples, has proven to offer an effective solution.

M Programming: A Comprehensive Guide is a complete update to ABCs of MUMPS. While ABCs of MUMPS was an introduction for novice and intermediate M programmers, M Programming: A Comprehensive Guide has a new section containing advanced material. This new section addresses features such as transaction processing, networking, structured system variables, and interfaces to other standards. Five new chapters have been added, covering an overview of M for readers familiar with other languages; M and the Windows environment; interaction between M and the underlying system; transaction processing; interfacing M with other standards; and error handling. Sections on interactive programming and futures have been extensively updated. M Programming: A Comprehensive Guide is an invaluable resource for everyone who is learning or using M.

. Includes section on advanced programming
. Completely updated for the 1995 standard