In the last decade, there have been an increasing convergence of interest and methods between theoretical physics and fields as diverse as probability, machine learning, optimization and compressed sensing. In particular, many theoretical and applied works in statistical physics and computer science have relied on the use of message passing algorithms and their connection to statistical physics of spin glasses. The aim of this book, especially adapted to PhD students, post-docs, and young researchers, is to present the background necessary for entering this fast developing field.

About sixty years ago, the anomalous magnetic response of certain magnetic alloys drew the attention of theoretical physicists. It soon became clear that understanding these systems, now called spin glasses, would give rise to a new branch of statistical physics. As physical materials, spin glasses were found to be as useless as they were exotic. They have nevertheless been recognized as paradigmatic examples of complex systems with applications to problems as diverse as neural networks, amorphous solids, biological molecules, social and economic interactions, information theory and constraint satisfaction problems.This book presents an encyclopaedic overview of the broad range of these applications. More than 30 contributions are compiled, written by many of the leading researchers who have contributed to these developments over the last few decades. Some timely and cutting-edge applications are also discussed. This collection serves well as an introduction and summary of disordered and glassy systems for advanced undergraduates, graduate students and practitioners interested in the topic.

The book teaches a student to model a scientific problem and write a computer program in C language to solve that problem. To do that, the book first introduces the student to the basics of C language, dealing with all syntactical aspects, but without the pedantic content of a typical programming language manual. Then the book describes and discusses many algorithms commonly used in scientific applications (e.g. searching, graphs, statistics, equation solving, Monte Carlo methods etc.).This important book fills a gap in current available bibliography. There are many manuals for programming in C, but they never explain programming technicalities to solve a given problem. This book illustrates many relevant algorithms and shows how to translate them in a working computer program.