The problems surrounding the subject of distributed databases in real-time control were addressed at the workshop. The difficulties included finding new, high-level conceptual models as conventional solutions are rendered useless in distributed databases. The other problems covered include the difficulties faced due to huge transaction fluxes and time constraints. The papers cover these theoretical issues plus an applications section which provides case studies of efficient applied systems which will be important for the development of this essential field.

Despite the growing interest in Real-Time Database Systems, there is no single book that acts as a reference to academics, professionals, and practitioners who wish to understand the issues involved in the design and development of RTDBS. Real-Time Database Systems: Issues and Applications fulfills this need. This book presents the spectrum of issues that may arise in various real-time database applications, the available solutions and technologies that may be used to address these issues, and the open problems that need to be tackled in the future. With rapid advances in this area, several concepts have been proposed without a widely accepted consensus on their definitions and implications. To address this need, the first chapter is an introduction to the key RTDBS concepts and definitions, which is followed by a survey of the state of the art in RTDBS research and practice. The remainder of the book consists of four sections: models and paradigms, applications and benchmarks, scheduling and concurrency control, and experimental systems. The chapters in each section are contributed by experts in the respective areas. Real-Time Database Systems: Issues and Applications is primarily intended for practicing engineers and researchers working in the growing area of real-time database systems. For practitioners, the book will provide a much needed bridge for technology transfer and continued education. For researchers, this book will provide a comprehensive reference for well-established results. This book can also be used in a senior or graduate level course on real-time systems, real-time database systems, and database systems or closely related courses.

This book addresses issues related to managing data across a distributed database system. It is unique because it covers traditional database theory and current research, explaining the difficulties in providing a unified user interface and global data dictionary. The book gives implementers guidance on hiding discrepancies across systems and creating the illusion of a single repository for users. It also includes three sample frameworks—implemented using J2SE with JMS, J2EE, and Microsoft .Net—that readers can use to learn how to implement a distributed database management system. IT and development groups and computer sciences/software engineering graduates will find this guide invaluable.

In recent years, tremendous research has been devoted to the design of database systems for real-time applications, called real-time database systems (RTDBS), where transactions are associated with deadlines on their completion times, and some of the data objects in the database are associated with temporal constraints on their validity. Examples of important applications of RTDBS include stock trading systems, navigation systems and computer integrated manufacturing. Different transaction scheduling algorithms and concurrency control protocols have been proposed to satisfy transaction timing data temporal constraints. Other design issues important to the performance of a RTDBS are buffer management, index accesses and I/O scheduling. Real-Time Database Systems: Architecture and Techniques summarizes important research results in this area, and serves as an excellent reference for practitioners, researchers and educators of real-time systems and database systems.

In addition to the three main themes: chemical reactors, distillation columns, and batch processes this volume also addresses some of the new trends in dynamics and control methodology such as model based predictive control, new methods for identification of dynamic models, nonlinear control theory and the application of neural networks to identification and control. Provides a useful reference source of the major advances in the field.

Developments in network and switching technologies have made telecommu- cations systems and services far more data intensive. This can be observed in many telecommunications areas, such as network management, service mana- ment, and service provisioning. For example, in the area of network management the complexity of modern networks leads to large amounts of data on network topology, con?guration, equipment settings, etc. In addition, switches generate large amounts of data on network tra?c, faults, etc. In the area of service ma- gement it is the registration of customers, customer contacts, service usage (e.g. call detail records (CDRs)) that leads to large databases. For mobile services there is the additional tracking and tracing of mobile equipment. In the area of service provisioning there are the enhanced services like for example UMTS, the next generation of mobile networks, but also the deployment of data intensive services on broadband networks such as video-on-demand, high quality video conferencing, and e-commerce infrastructures. This results in very large databases growing at high rates especially in new service areas. The integration of network control, network management, and network administration also leads to a situation where database technology gets into the core of the network (e.g. in architectures like TMN, IN, and TINA).

Adaptive Systems remain a very interesting field of theoretical research, extended by methodological studies and an increasing number of applications. The plenary papers, invited sessions and contributed sessions focused on many aspects of adaptive systems, such as systems identification and modelling, adaptive control of nonlinear systems and theoretical issues in adaptive control. Also covered were methodological aspects and applications of adaptive control, intelligent tuning and adaptive signal processing.

This volume is the published proceedings of selected papers from the IFAC Symposium, Boston, Massachusetts, 24-25 June 1991, where a forum was provided for the discussion of the latest advances and techniques in the education of control and systems engineers. Emerging technologies in this field, neural networks, fuzzy logic and symbolic computation are incorporated in the papers. Containing 35 papers, these proceedings provide a valuable reference source for anyone lecturing in this area, with many practical applications included.

This volume provides a general overview on the state-of-the-art and future developments in automation and control. The application of systems and control in all areas is covered, from the social and cultural effects of control, to control in mineral and metal processing. This volume will be an invaluable source of information to all those interested in the areas of automation and control.

This volume investigates developments and future trends in transportation research and what effects they will have on society. The coverage is broad; including road (urban and motorway), rail and air-traffic control. The sections deal with safety aspects, modelling and simulation, the use of sensors and image processing. The final section covers the development and implementation of new route guidance systems. This up-to-date information will be of use to transport engineers, urban planners, operations research and systems scientists.