This volume is a sequel to the books Fractals: Theory and Applications in Engineering (Springer-Verlag, 1999) and Fractals in Engineering. From Theory to Industrial Applications (Springer-Verlag, 1997), presenting some of the most recent advances in the ?eld. It is a fascinating exercise to follow the progress of knowledge in this interdisciplinary area, as witnessed by these three volumes. First,con?rmingprevioustrendsobservedin1997and1999,appliedma- ematical research on fractals has now reached a mature level, where beautiful theories are developed in direct contact with engineering concerns. The four papers in the Mathematical Aspects section constitute valuable additions to the set of tools needed by the engineer: Synthetic pictures modelling and rendering in computer graphics (Theory and Applications of Fractal Tops, by Michael Barnsley), curve approximation and "fractal B-splines" (Splines, Fractal Functions, and Besov and Triebel-Lizorkin Spaces, by Peter Mas- pust), deep understanding of the Hol .. derian properties of certain stochastic processes useful in a large number of applications (H.. olderian random fu- tions, by Antoine Ayache et al. ), and study of the invariant measure of a coupled discrete dynamical system (Fractal Stationary Density in Coupled Maps,byJu..rgen Jost et al. ). The second section of the book describes novel physical applications as well as recent progress on more classical ones. The paper A Network of Fr- tal Force Chains and Their E?ect in Granular Materials under Compression by Luis E. Vallejo et al.

Contemporary cartography faces a threefold, simultaneous set of pressures. First, it is clear that a restricted circle of specialists no longer holds a monopoly over cartographic production and that there is no longer any implicit agreement about maps. Secondly, scientific and technological innovations are rapidly modifying the boundaries between what a map is and is not, increasing the importance of the individual user or map maker. Finally there is a great need for cartographic instruments to empower the citizen-cartographers, tools to help them make sense of the maps that they are making. What is needed is an innovative framework able to help us to think about cartography not only in terms of knowledge, but also in terms of ethics. Ethics is approached here as a fundamental component of an overall emerging self-reflexive attitude: what actually are the social values and responsible attitudes that are at stake in cartographic practices? If we are able to understand how the relationship between a society and its maps tends to design new configurations, we can enhance scientific and technological innovation. We can also contribute to a more general public debate on spatial visualization, which would imply the breaking up of the impermeable borders that persist between academic disciplines.

The spread of urbanization has transformed the concept of the city, but the way urban planners, urban scientists and, above all, urban dwellers address it has also changed, probably even more so. The city is thus a new topic for geography, a discipline that has experienced an ambiguous relationship to cities in the past. What kind of geography is required in order to bring fresh insight to this renewed field? Drawing together a wide range of texts from philosophers, sociologists and economist as well as geographers and urban planners, this volume provides a theoretical framework within which this question can begin to be explored.

In recent years, IT application scenarios have evolved in very innovative ways. Highly distributed networks have now become a common platform for large-scale distributed programming, high bandwidth communications are inexpensive and widespread, and most of our work tools are equipped with processors enabling us to perform a multitude of tasks. In addition, mobile computing (referring specifically to wireless devices and, more broadly, to dynamically configured systems) has made it possible to exploit interaction in novel ways. To harness the flexibility and power of these rapidly evolving, interactive systems, there is need of radically new foundational ideas and principles; there is need to develop the theoretical foundations required to design these systems and to cope with the many complex issues involved in their construction; and there is need to develop effective principles for building and analyzing such systems.

Reflecting the diverse and wide spectrum of topics and interests within the theoretical computer science community, Exploring New Frontiers of Theoretical Informatics, is presented in two distinct but interrelated tracks:

-Algorithms, Complexity and Models of Computation,
-Logic, Semantics, Specification and Verification.

Exploring New Frontiers of Theoretical Informatics contains 46 original and significant contributions addressing these foundational questions, as well as 4 papers by outstanding invited speakers. These papers were presented at the 3rd IFIP International Conference on Theoretical Computer Science (TCS 2004), which was held in conjunction with the 18th World Computer Congress in Toulouse, France in August 2004 and sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP).

Fractal analysis research is expanding into a variety of engineering domains. The strong potential of this work is now beginning to be seen in important applications in real industrial situations. Recent research progress has already led to new developments in domains such as signal processing and chemical engineering, and the major advances in fractal theory that underlie such developments are detailed here. New domains of applications are also presented, among them environmental science and rough surface analysis. Sections include multifractal analysis, iterated function systems, random processes, network traffic analysis, fractals and waves, image compression, and applications in physics. Fractals in Engineering emphasizes the connection between fractal analysis research and applications to industry. It is an important volume that illustrates the scientific and industrial value of this exciting field.

This volume is a sequel to the books Fractals: Theory and Applications in Engineering (Springer-Verlag, 1999) and Fractals in Engineering. From Theory to Industrial Applications (Springer-Verlag, 1997), presenting some of the most recent advances in the ?eld. It is a fascinating exercise to follow the progress of knowledge in this interdisciplinary area, as witnessed by these three volumes. First, con?rmingprevioustrendsobservedin1997and1999, appliedma- ematical research on fractals has now reached a mature level, where beautiful theories are developed in direct contact with engineering concerns. The four papers in the Mathematical Aspects section constitute valuable additions to the set of tools needed by the engineer: Synthetic pictures modelling and rendering in computer graphics (Theory and Applications of Fractal Tops, by Michael Barnsley), curve approximation and "fractal B-splines" (Splines, Fractal Functions, and Besov and Triebel-Lizorkin Spaces, by Peter Mas- pust), deep understanding of the Hol ] derian properties of certain stochastic processes useful in a large number of applications (H] olderian random fu- tions, by Antoine Ayache et al. ), and study of the invariant measure of a coupled discrete dynamical system (Fractal Stationary Density in Coupled Maps, byJu]rgen Jost et al. ). The second section of the book describes novel physical applications as well as recent progress on more classical ones. The paper A Network of Fr- tal Force Chains and Their E?ect in Granular Materials under Compression by Luis E. Vallejo et al."

Owing to the rapid emergence and growth of techniques in the engineering application of fractals, it has become necessary to gather the most recent advances on a regular basis. This book is a continuation of the first volume - published in 1997 - but contains interesting developments. A major point is that mathematics has become more and more involved in the definition and use of fractal models. It seems that the time of the qualitative observation of fractal phenomena has gone. Now the main models are strongly based upon theoretical arguments. Fractals: Theory and Applications in Engineering is a multidisciplinary book which should interest every scientist working in areas connected to fractals.

This volume constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 1995 Asian Computing Science Conference, ACSC 95, held in Pathumthani, Thailand in December 1995.
The 29 fully revised papers presented were selected from a total of 102 submissions; clearly the majority of the participating researchers come from South-East Asian countries, but there is also a strong international component. The volume reflects research activities, particularly by Asian computer science researchers, in different areas. Special attention is paid to algorithms, knowledge representation, programming and specification languages, verification, concurrency, networking and distributed systems, and databases.

The design and implementation of programming languages, from Fortran and Cobol to Caml and Java, has been one of the key developments in the management of ever more complex computerized systems. Introduction to the Theory of Programming Languages gives the reader the means to discover the tools to think, design, and implement these languages. It proposes a unified vision of the different formalisms that permit definition of a programming language: small steps operational semantics, big steps operational semantics, and denotational semantics, emphasising that all seek to define a relation between three objects: a program, an input value, and an output value. These formalisms are illustrated by presenting the semantics of some typical features of programming languages: functions, recursivity, assignments, records, objects, ... showing that the study of programming languages does not consist of studying languages one after another, but is organized around the features that are present in these various languages. The study of these features leads to the development of evaluators, interpreters and compilers, and also type inference algorithms, for small languages.

Gilles Kahn was one of the most influential figures in the development of computer science and information technology, not only in Europe but throughout the world. This volume of articles by several leading computer scientists serves as a fitting memorial to Kahn s achievements and reflects the broad range of subjects to which he contributed through his scientific research and his work at INRIA, the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control. The editors also reflect upon the future of computing: how it will develop as a subject in itself and how it will affect other disciplines, from biology and medical informatics, to web and networks in general. Its breadth of coverage, topicality, originality and depth of contribution, make this book a stimulating read for all those interested in the future development of information technology.