The scope of the volume includes all algorithmic and computational aspects of research on combinatorial designs. Algorithmic aspects include generation, isomorphism and analysis techniques - both heuristic methods used in practice, and the computational complexity of these operations. The scope within design theory includes all aspects of block designs, Latin squares and their variants, pairwise balanced designs and projective planes and related geometries.

Analytic combinatorics aims to enable precise quantitative predictions of the properties of large combinatorial structures. The theory has emerged over recent decades as essential both for the analysis of algorithms and for the study of scientific models in many disciplines, including probability theory, statistical physics, computational biology, and information theory. With a careful combination of symbolic enumeration methods and complex analysis, drawing heavily on generating functions, results of sweeping generality emerge that can be applied in particular to fundamental structures such as permutations, sequences, strings, walks, paths, trees, graphs and maps. This account is the definitive treatment of the topic. The authors give full coverage of the underlying mathematics and a thorough treatment of both classical and modern applications of the theory. The text is complemented with exercises, examples, appendices and notes to aid understanding. The book can be used for an advanced undergraduate or a graduate course, or for self-study.

This book stresses the connection between, and the applications of, design theory to graphs and codes. Beginning with a brief introduction to design theory and the necessary background, the book also provides relevant topics for discussion from the theory of graphs and codes.

Continuing in the bestselling, informative tradition of the first edition, the Handbook of Combinatorial Designs, Second Edition remains the only resource to contain all of the most important results and tables in the field of combinatorial design. This handbook covers the constructions, properties, and applications of designs as well as existence results. Over 30% longer than the first edition, the book builds upon the groundwork of its predecessor while retaining the original contributors' expertise. The first part contains a brief introduction and history of the subject. The following parts focus on four main classes of combinatorial designs: balanced incomplete block designs, orthogonal arrays and Latin squares, pairwise balanced designs, and Hadamard and orthogonal designs. Closely connected to the preceding sections, the next part surveys 65 additional classes of designs, such as balanced ternary, factorial, graphical, Howell, quasi-symmetric, and spherical. The final part presents mathematical and computational background related to design theory. New to the Second Edition An introductory part that provides a general overview and a historical perspective of the area New chapters on the history of design theory, various codes, bent functions, and numerous types of designs Fully updated tables, including BIBDs, MOLS, PBDs, and Hadamard matrices Nearly 2,200 references in a single bibliographic section Meeting the need for up-to-date and accessible tabular and reference information, this handbook provides the tools to understand combinatorial design theory and applications that span the entire discipline. The author maintains a website with more information.

This well-written textbook on combinatorial optimization puts special emphasis on theoretical results and algorithms with provably good performance, in contrast to heuristics. The book contains complete (but concise) proofs, as well as many deep results, some of which have not appeared in any previous books.

The last decade has brought explosive growth in the technology for manufac turing integrated circuits. Integrated circuits with several hundred thousand transistors are now commonplace. This manufacturing capability, combined with the economic benefits of large electronic systems, is forcing a revolution in the design of these systems and providing a challenge to those people in terested in integrated system design. Modern circuits are too complex for an individual to comprehend completely. Managing tremendous complexity and automating the design process have become crucial issues. Two groups are interested in dealing with complexity and in developing algorithms to automate the design process. One group is composed of practi tioners in computer-aided design (CAD) who develop computer programs to aid the circuit-design process. The second group is made up of computer scientists and mathemati'::~l\ns who are interested in the design and analysis of efficient combinatorial aJ::,orithms. These two groups have developed separate bodies of literature and, until recently, have had relatively little interaction. An obstacle to bringing these two groups together is the lack of books that discuss issues of importance to both groups in the same context. There are many instances when a familiarity with the literature of the other group would be beneficial. Some practitioners could use known theoretical results to improve their "cut and try" heuristics. In other cases, theoreticians have published impractical or highly abstracted toy formulations, thinking that the latter are important for circuit layout.

The fruit of a conference that gathered seven very active researchers in the field, Combinatorial Design and their Applications presents a wide but representative range of topics on the non-geometrical aspects of design theory. By concentrating on a few important areas, the authors succeed in providing greater detail in these areas in a more complete and accessible form. Through their contributions to this collection, they help fill a gap in the available combinatorics literature. The papers included in this volume cover recent developments in areas of current interest, such as difference sets, cryptography, and optimal linear codes. Researchers in combinatorics and other areas of pure mathematics, along with researchers in statistics and computer design will find in-depth, up-to-date discussions of design theory and the application of the theory to statistical design, codes, and cryptography.

Includes proof of van der Waerden's 1926 conjecture on permanents, Wilson's theorem on asymptotic existence, and other developments in combinatorics since 1967. Also covers coding theory and its important connection with designs, problems of enumeration, and partition. Presents fundamentals in addition to latest advances, with illustrative problems at the end of each chapter. Enlarged appendixes include a longer list of block designs.

This textbook thoroughly outlines combinatorial algorithms for generation, enumeration, and search. Topics include backtracking and heuristic search methods applied to various combinatorial structures, such as: Combinations Permutations Graphs Designs Many classical areas are covered as well as new research topics not included in most existing texts, such as: Group algorithms Graph isomorphism Hill-climbing Heuristic search algorithms This work serves as an exceptional textbook for a modern course in combinatorial algorithms, providing a unified and focused collection of recent topics of interest in the area. The authors, synthesizing material that can only be found scattered through many different sources, introduce the most important combinatorial algorithmic techniques - thus creating an accessible, comprehensive text that students of mathematics, electrical engineering, and computer science can understand without needing a prior course on combinatorics.

Created to teach students many of the most important techniques used for constructing combinatorial designs, this is an ideal textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in combinatorial design theory. The text features clear explanations of basic designs, such as Steiner and Kirkman triple systems, mutual orthogonal Latin squares, finite projective and affine planes, and Steiner quadruple systems. In these settings, the student will master various construction techniques, both classic and modern, and will be well-prepared to construct a vast array of combinatorial designs. Design theory offers a progressive approach to the subject, with carefully ordered results. It begins with simple constructions that gradually increase in complexity. Each design has a construction that contains new ideas or that reinforces and builds upon similar ideas previously introduced. A new text/reference covering all apsects of modern combinatorial design theory. Graduates and professionals in computer science, applied mathematics, combinatorics, and applied statistics will find the book an essential resource.