The quadratic assignment problem (QAP) was introduced in 1957 by Koopmans and Beckmann to model a plant location problem. Since then the QAP has been object of numerous investigations by mathematicians, computers scientists, ope- tions researchers and practitioners. Nowadays the QAP is widely considered as a classical combinatorial optimization problem which is (still) attractive from many points of view. In our opinion there are at last three main reasons which make the QAP a popular problem in combinatorial optimization. First, the number of re- life problems which are mathematically modeled by QAPs has been continuously increasing and the variety of the fields they belong to is astonishing. To recall just a restricted number among the applications of the QAP let us mention placement problems, scheduling, manufacturing, VLSI design, statistical data analysis, and parallel and distributed computing. Secondly, a number of other well known c- binatorial optimization problems can be formulated as QAPs. Typical examples are the traveling salesman problem and a large number of optimization problems in graphs such as the maximum clique problem, the graph partitioning problem and the minimum feedback arc set problem. Finally, from a computational point of view the QAP is a very difficult problem. The QAP is not only NP-hard and - hard to approximate, but it is also practically intractable: it is generally considered as impossible to solve (to optimality) QAP instances of size larger than 20 within reasonable time limits.

Software Process Modeling brings together experts to discuss relevant results in software process modeling, and expresses their personal view of this field. This book focuses on new aspects of software process modeling. Specifically, it deals with socio-technological aspects, process modeling for new development types (open source software, dependability applications, etc.) and organization change management.

The computer audience is placing growing demands on the software industry today. Consumers are looking for more complex products that are, at the same time, easier to use. Software developer organizations are expected to produce higher quality products and deliver them to the public faster. In so doing, however, globally distributed development teams have to cope with understaffing and changing technologies. The challenges for the software industry are apparently mounting.

Over the years, a variety of software process models have been designed to structure, describe and prescribe the software systems construction process. Most recently, software process modeling is increasingly dealing with new challenges raised by the tests that the software industry has to stand.

Software Process Modeling is designed for a professional audience of researchers and practitioners in industry. The book is also suitable for graduate-level students in computer science.

Mathematical programming has know a spectacular diversification in the last few decades. This process has happened both at the level of mathematical research and at the level of the applications generated by the solution methods that were created. To write a monograph dedicated to a certain domain of mathematical programming is, under such circumstances, especially difficult. In the present monograph we opt for the domain of fractional programming. Interest of this subject was generated by the fact that various optimization problems from engineering and economics consider the minimization of a ratio between physical and/or economical functions, for example cost/time, cost/volume, cost/profit, or other quantities that measure the efficiency of a system. For example, the productivity of industrial systems, defined as the ratio between the realized services in a system within a given period of time and the utilized resources, is used as one of the best indicators of the quality of their operation. Such problems, where the objective function appears as a ratio of functions, constitute fractional programming problem. Due to its importance in modeling various decision processes in management science, operational research, and economics, and also due to its frequent appearance in other problems that are not necessarily economical, such as information theory, numerical analysis, stochastic programming, decomposition algorithms for large linear systems, etc., the fractional programming method has received particular attention in the last three decade

Oxford Coding and Robotics Novice Level 2, in partnership with Resolute Education, comprises a Workbook and Teacher's Guide, for use together with the Novice Bot Kit. The Level 2 Workbook introduces learners to the parts of a robot, and provides opportunities to practise coding skills with LEDs, LED arrays, push buttons as well as movements. They also learn the importance of time and space in coding.

Features

• Fun, interesting, practical activities encourage learner-centred learning and teaching.
• Cut-outs and stickers enhance hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as well as understanding, creativity and reasoning skills.
• Full-colour illustrations and high-quality photos teach the key knowledge, skills and values, and develop visual literacy.
• A glossary with pictures of selected terms enhances the development of key Coding and Robotics vocabulary.
• The accompanying kit provides key components that learners need for practical coding activities, while the Resolute online platform contains supplementary materials, interactive exercises and multimedia resources that complement key lessons.

Mathematical Programming has been of significant interest and relevance in engineering, an area that is very rich in challenging optimization problems. In particular, many design and operational problems give rise to nonlinear and mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problems whose modeling and solu tion is often nontrivial. Furthermore, with the increased computational power and development of advanced analysis (e. g. , process simulators, finite element packages) and modeling systems (e. g. , GAMS, AMPL, SPEEDUP, ASCEND, gPROMS), the size and complexity of engineering optimization models is rapidly increasing. While the application of efficient local solvers (nonlinear program ming algorithms) has become widespread, a major limitation is that there is often no guarantee that the solutions that are generated correspond to global optima. In some cases finding a local solution might be adequate, but in others it might mean incurring a significant cost penalty, or even worse, getting an incorrect solution to a physical problem. Thus, the need for finding global optima in engineering is a very real one. It is the purpose of this monograph to present recent developments of tech niques and applications of deterministic approaches to global optimization in engineering. The present monograph is heavily represented by chemical engi neers; and to a large extent this is no accident. The reason is that mathematical programming is an active and vibrant area of research in chemical engineering. This trend has existed for about 15 years.

Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments researches both how game sound affects a player psychologically, emotionally, and physiologically, and how this relationship itself impacts the design of computer game sound and the development of technology. This compilation also applies beyond the realm of video games to other types of immersive sound, such as soundscape design, gambling machines, emotive and fantastical sound to name a few. The application for this research is wide-ranging, interdisciplinary, and of primary importance for academics and practitioners searching for the right sounds.

This book introduces the parallel and distributed approach to logic programming, examining existing models of distributed logic programming, and proposing an alternative framework for distributed logic programming using extended Petri nets. The hardwired realization of the Petri net based framework is presented in detail, and principles of mapping of a logic program on to the proposed framework are outlined. Finally, the book explores the scope of Petri net models in designing next-generation deductive database machines.

Linear Programming provides an in-depth look at simplex based as well as the more recent interior point techniques for solving linear programming problems. Starting with a review of the mathematical underpinnings of these approaches, the text provides details of the primal and dual simplex methods with the primal-dual, composite, and steepest edge simplex algorithms. This then is followed by a discussion of interior point techniques, including projective and affine potential reduction, primal and dual affine scaling, and path following algorithms. Also covered is the theory and solution of the linear complementarity problem using both the complementary pivot algorithm and interior point routines. A feature of the book is its early and extensive development and use of duality theory. Audience: The book is written for students in the areas of mathematics, economics, engineering and management science, and professionals who need a sound foundation in the important and dynamic discipline of linear programming.

2. The Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 3. Convergence Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . 60 4. Complexity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 A Simple Proof for a Result of Ollerenshaw on Steiner Trees . . . . . . . . . . 68 Xiufeng Du, Ding-Zhu Du, Biao Gao, and Lixue Qii 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 2. In the Euclidean Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 3. In the Rectilinear Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 4. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . -. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Optimization Algorithms for the Satisfiability (SAT) Problem . . . . . . . . . 72 Jun Gu 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 2. A Classification of SAT Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:3 3. Preliminaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV 4. Complete Algorithms and Incomplete Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 5. Optimization: An Iterative Refinement Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 6. Local Search Algorithms for SAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 7. Global Optimization Algorithms for SAT Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 8. Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 9. Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 10. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Ergodic Convergence in Proximal Point Algorithms with Bregman Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Osman Guier 1. Introduction . . .: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 2. Convergence for Function Minimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 3. Convergence for Arbitrary Maximal Monotone Operators . . . . . . . . . . . .

The book presents in a mathematical clear way the fundamentals of algorithmic information theory and a few selected applications. This 2nd edition presents new and important results obtained in recent years: the characterization of computable enumerable random reals, the construction of an Omega Number for which ZFC cannot determine any digits, and the first successful attempt to compute the exact values of 64 bits of a specific Omega Number. Finally, the book contains a discussion of some interesting philosophical questions related to randomness and mathematical knowledge. "Professor Calude has produced a first-rate exposition of up-to-date work in information and randomness." D.S. Bridges, Canterbury University, co-author, with Errett Bishop, of Constructive Analysis "The second edition of this classic work is highly recommended to anyone interested in algorithmic information and randomness." G.J. Chaitin, IBM Research Division, New York, author of Conversations with a Mathematician "This book is a must for a comprehensive introduction to algorithmic information theory and for anyone interested in its applications in the natural sciences." K. Svozil, Technical University of Vienna, author of Randomness & Undecidability in Physics

System Modeling and Optimization XX deals with new developments in the areas of optimization, optimal control and system modeling. The themes range across various areas of optimization: continuous and discrete, numerical and analytical, finite and infinite dimensional, deterministic and stochastic, static and dynamic, theory and applications, foundations and case studies. Besides some classical topics, modern areas are also presented in the contributions, including robust optimization, filter methods, optimization of power networks, data mining and risk control.
This volume contains invited and selected papers from presentations at the 20th IFIP TC7 Conference on System Modeling and Optimization, which took place at the University of Trier, Germany from July 23 to 27, 2001, and which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP).

'Subdivision' is a way of representing smooth shapes in a computer. A curve or surface (both of which contain an in?nite number of points) is described in terms of two objects. One object is a sequence of vertices, which we visualise as a polygon, for curves, or a network of vertices, which we visualise by drawing the edges or faces of the network, for surfaces. The other object is a set of rules for making denser sequences or networks. When applied repeatedly, the denser and denser sequences are claimed to converge to a limit, which is the curve or surface that we want to represent. This book focusses on curves, because the theory for that is complete enough that a book claiming that our understanding is complete is exactly what is needed to stimulate research proving that claim wrong. Also because there are already a number of good books on subdivision surfaces. The way in which the limit curve relates to the polygon, and a lot of interesting properties of the limit curve, depend on the set of rules, and this book is about how one can deduce those properties from the set of rules, and how one can then use that understanding to construct rules which give the properties that one wants.

Estimation of Distribution Algorithms: A New Tool for Evolutionary Computation is devoted to a new paradigm for evolutionary computation, named estimation of distribution algorithms (EDAs). This new class of algorithms generalizes genetic algorithms by replacing the crossover and mutation operators with learning and sampling from the probability distribution of the best individuals of the population at each iteration of the algorithm. Working in such a way, the relationships between the variables involved in the problem domain are explicitly and effectively captured and exploited. This text constitutes the first compilation and review of the techniques and applications of this new tool for performing evolutionary computation. Estimation of Distribution Algorithms: A New Tool for Evolutionary Computation is clearly divided into three parts. Part I is dedicated to the foundations of EDAs. In this part, after introducing some probabilistic graphical models - Bayesian and Gaussian networks - a review of existing EDA approaches is presented, as well as some new methods based on more flexible probabilistic graphical models. A mathematical modeling of discrete EDAs is also presented. Part II covers several applications of EDAs in some classical optimization problems: the travelling salesman problem, the job scheduling problem, and the knapsack problem. EDAs are also applied to the optimization of some well-known combinatorial and continuous functions. Part III presents the application of EDAs to solve some problems that arise in the machine learning field: feature subset selection, feature weighting in K-NN classifiers, rule induction, partial abductive inference in Bayesian networks, partitional clustering, and the search for optimal weights in artificial neural networks. Estimation of Distribution Algorithms: A New Tool for Evolutionary Computation is a useful and interesting tool for researchers working in the field of evolutionary computation and for engineers who face real-world optimization problems. This book may also be used by graduate students and researchers in computer science. ... I urge those who are interested in EDAs to study this well-crafted book today.' David E. Goldberg, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.

Semantic Web Services for Web Databases introduces an end-to-end framework for querying Web databases using novel Web service querying techniques. This includes a detailed framework for the query infrastructure for Web databases and services. Case studies are covered in the last section of this book. Semantic Web Services For Web Databases is designed for practitioners and researchers focused on service-oriented computing and Web databases.

Much of the world's advanced data processing applications are now dependant on eXtensible Markup Language (XML), from publishing to medical information storage. Therefore, XML has become a de facto standard for data exchange and representation on the World Wide Web and in daily life. Applications and Structures in XML Processing: Label Streams, Semantics Utilization and Data Query Technologies reflects the significant research results and latest findings of scholars' worldwide, working to explore and expand the role of XML. This collection represents an understanding of XML processing technologies in connection with both advanced applications and the latest XML processing technologies that is of primary importance. It provides the opportunity to understand topics in detail and discover XML research at a comprehensive level.

This edited book is dedicated to Professor N. U. Ahmed, a leading scholar and a renowned researcher in optimal control and optimization on the occasion of his retirement from the Department of Electrical Engineering at University of Ottawa in 1999. The contributions of this volume are in the areas of optimal control, non linear optimization and optimization applications. They are mainly the im proved and expanded versions of the papers selected from those presented in two special sessions of two international conferences. The first special session is Optimization Methods, which was organized by K. L. Teo and X. Q. Yang for the International Conference on Optimization and Variational Inequality, the City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1998. The other one is Optimal Control, which was organized byK. Teo and L. Caccetta for the Dynamic Control Congress, Ottawa, 1999. This volume is divided into three parts: Optimal Control; Optimization Methods; and Applications. The Optimal Control part is concerned with com putational methods, modeling and nonlinear systems. Three computational methods for solving optimal control problems are presented: (i) a regularization method for computing ill-conditioned optimal control problems, (ii) penalty function methods that appropriately handle final state equality constraints, and (iii) a multilevel optimization approach for the numerical solution of opti mal control problems. In the fourth paper, the worst-case optimal regulation involving linear time varying systems is formulated as a minimax optimal con trol problem."

At present, there is a general consensus on the nature of learning programming, but there are different opinions on what forms an effective environment for it. It is generally recognized that the development of a mental model is a formidable task for the student and that learning programming is a complex activity that depends heavily on metacognitive skills. This book, based on a NATO workshop, presents both pure cognitive models and experimental learning environments, and discusses what characteristics can make a learning model effective, especially in relation to the learning environment (natural or computerized). The papers cover cognitive models related to different aspects of programming, classes of learners, and types of environment, and are organized in three groups: theoretical and empirical studies on understanding programming, environments for learning programming, and learning programming in school environments. Comprehension, design, construction, testing, debugging, and verification are recognized as interdependent skills, which require complicated analysis and may develop independently, and indifferent orders, in novices. This book shows that there is unlikely to be asingle path from novice to expert and that the structure of the final product (the program) may not constrain the process by which it comes into being as much as some would advocate.

Rules represent a simplified means of programming, congruent with our understanding of human brain constructs. With the advent of business rules management systems, it has been possible to introduce rule-based programming to nonprogrammers, allowing them to map expert intent into code in applications such as fraud detection, financial transactions, healthcare, retail, and marketing. However, a remaining concern is the quality, safety, and reliability of the resulting programs. This book is on business rules programs, that is, rule programs as handled in business rules management systems. Its conceptual contribution is to present the foundation for treating business rules as a topic of scientific investigation in semantics and program verification, while its technical contribution is to present an approach to the formal verification of business rules programs. The author proposes a method for proving correctness properties for a business rules program in a compositional way, meaning that the proof of a correctness property for a program is built up from correctness properties for the individual rules-thus bridging a gap between the intuitive understanding of rules and the formal semantics of rule programs. With this approach the author enables rule authors and tool developers to understand, express formally, and prove properties of the execution behavior of business rules programs. This work will be of interest to practitioners and researchers in the areas of program verification, enterprise computing, database management, and artificial intelligence.

Embedded computing systems play an important and complex role in the functionality of electronic devices. With our daily routines becoming more reliant on electronics for personal and professional use, the understanding of these computing systems is crucial. Embedded Computing Systems: Applications, Optimization, and Advanced Design brings together theoretical and technical concepts of intelligent embedded control systems and their use in hardware and software architectures. By highlighting formal modeling, execution models, and optimal implementations, this reference source is essential for experts, researchers, and technical supporters in the industry and academia.

This volume contains several surveys focused on the ideas of approximate solutions, well-posedness and stability of problems in scalar and vector optimization, game theory and calculus of variations. These concepts are of particular interest in many fields of mathematics. The idea of stability goes back at least to J. Hadamard who introduced it in the setting of differential equations; the concept of well-posedness for minimum problems is more recent (the mid-sixties) and originates with A.N. Tykhonov. It turns out that there are connections between the two properties in the sense that a well-posed problem which, at least in principle, is "easy to solve," has a solution set that does not vary too much under perturbation of the data of the problem, i.e. it is "stable." These themes have been studied in depth for minimum problems and now we have a general picture of the related phenomena in this case. But, of course, the same concepts can be studied in other more complicated situations as, e.g. vector optimization, game theory and variational inequalities. Let us mention that in several of these new areas there is not even a unique idea of what should be called approximate solution, and the latter is at the basis of the definition of well posed problem."

The software product line strategy has enabled many organizations to improve productivity, reduce time-to-market, and address both mass- and niche markets. A successful product line organization achieves strategic levels of architectural reuse.

The topics in this book cover research related to the most important practices in a product line organization. The contributions provide experience-based knowledge about the domain and application engineering, the modeling and management of variability, and the design and use of tools to support the management of product line related knowledge. Kakola and Duenas have grouped them into five parts corresponding to the main areas of software product line engineering: product line management, product line requirements engineering, product line architecture, product line testing, and specific product line engineering issues. They ensured maximum coherence and cross-referencing throughout the book, imposing a common terminology and carefully integrating all chapters. The result is a valuable and enduring resource for researchers in both industry and academia who will also find many pointers for future research and implementation strategies. In addition, systems and software professionals, and technology managers aspiring to fully leverage the product line strategy will also benefit from many pertinent development details.

"This volume is a valuable resource for researchers wishing to move the product line strategy forward and for those charged with translating state-of-the-art ideas into state-of-the-practice processes and activities."

From the Foreword by John D. McGregor, Clemson University, USA

The launch of Microsoft s Kinect, the first high-resolution depth-sensing camera for the consumer market, generated considerable excitement not only among computer gamers, but also within the global community of computer vision researchers.

The potential of consumer depth cameras extends well beyond entertainment and gaming, to real-world commercial applications such virtual fitting rooms, training for athletes, and assistance for the elderly. This authoritative text/reference reviews the scope and impact of this rapidly growing field, describing the most promising Kinect-based research activities, discussing significant current challenges, and showcasing exciting applications.

Topics and features: presents contributions from an international selection of preeminent authorities in their fields, from both academic and corporate research; addresses the classic problem of multi-view geometry of how to correlate images from different viewpoints to simultaneously estimate camera poses and world points; examines human pose estimation using video-rate depth images for gaming, motion capture, 3D human body scans, and hand pose recognition for sign language parsing; provides a review of approaches to various recognition problems, including category and instance learning of objects, and human activity recognition; with a Foreword by Dr. Jamie Shotton of Microsoft Research, Cambridge, UK.

This broad-ranging overview is a must-read for researchers and graduate students of computer vision and robotics wishing to learn more about the state of the art of this increasingly hot topic."

As information technologies become increasingly distributed and accessible to larger number of people and as commercial and government organizations are challenged to scale their applications and services to larger market shares, while reducing costs, there is demand for software methodologies and appli- tions to provide the following features: Richer application end-to-end functionality; Reduction of human involvement in the design and deployment of the software; Flexibility of software behaviour; and Reuse and composition of existing software applications and systems in novel or adaptive ways. When designing new distributed software systems, the above broad requi- ments and their translation into implementations are typically addressed by partial complementarities and overlapping technologies and this situation gives rise to significant software engineering challenges. Some of the challenges that may arise are: determining the components that the distributed applications should contain, organizing the application components, and determining the assumptions that one needs to make in order to implement distributed scalable and flexible applications, etc.

This book initiates a new digital multimedia standards series. The purpose of the series is to make information about digital multimedia standards readilyavailable. Both tutorial and advanced topics will be covered in the series, often in one book. Our hope is that users will find the series helpful in deciding what standards to support and use while implementors will d- cover a wealth of technical details that help them implement those standards correctly. In today's global economy standards are increasingly important. Yet until a standard is widely used, most of the benefits of standardization are not realized. We hope that standards committee chairpeople will organize and encourage a book in this series devoted to their new standard. This can be a forum to share and preserve some ofthe "why" and "how" that went into the development of the standard and, in the process, assist in the rapid adoption of the standard. Already in production for this series are books titled Digital Video: - troduction to MPEG-2 and Data Compression in Digital Systems.