During the last few years, we have seen quite spectacular progress in the area of approximation algorithms: for several fundamental optimization problems we now actually know matching upper and lower bounds for their approximability. This textbook-like tutorial is a coherent and essentially self-contained presentation of the enormous recent progress facilitated by the interplay between the theory of probabilistically checkable proofs and aproximation algorithms. The basic concepts, methods, and results are presented in a unified way to provide a smooth introduction for newcomers. These lectures are particularly useful for advanced courses or reading groups on the topic.

During the last few years, we have seen quite spectacular progress in the area of approximation algorithms: for several fundamental optimization problems we now actually know matching upper and lower bounds for their approximability. This textbook-like tutorial is a coherent and essentially self-contained presentation of the enormous recent progress facilitated by the interplay between the theory of probabilistically checkable proofs and aproximation algorithms. The basic concepts, methods, and results are presented in a unified way to provide a smooth introduction for newcomers. These lectures are particularly useful for advanced courses or reading groups on the topic.

Delineating the tremendous growth in this area, the Handbook of Approximation Algorithms and Metaheuristics covers fundamental, theoretical topics as well as advanced, practical applications. It is the first book to comprehensively study both approximation algorithms and metaheuristics. Starting with basic approaches, the handbook presents the methodologies to design and analyze efficient approximation algorithms for a large class of problems, and to establish inapproximability results for another class of problems. It also discusses local search, neural networks, and metaheuristics, as well as multiobjective problems, sensitivity analysis, and stability. After laying this foundation, the book applies the methodologies to classical problems in combinatorial optimization, computational geometry, and graph problems. In addition, it explores large-scale and emerging applications in networks, bioinformatics, VLSI, game theory, and data analysis. Undoubtedly sparking further developments in the field, this handbook provides the essential techniques to apply approximation algorithms and metaheuristics to a wide range of problems in computer science, operations research, computer engineering, and economics. Armed with this information, researchers can design and analyze efficient algorithms to generate near-optimal solutions for a wide range of computational intractable problems.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 21st Annual Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science, STACS 2004, held in Montpellier, France, in March 2004. The 54 revised full papers presented together with two invited contributions were carefully reviewed and selected from more than 200 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on structural complexity, graph algorithms, quantum computing, satisfiability - constraint satisfaction problems, scheduling, algorithms, networks, automata theory and words, path algorithms, cryptography, logic and formal languages, game theory and complexity, and algorithmic information.

The papers in this volume were presented at the Fourth Italian Conference on Algorithms and Complexity (CIAC 2000). The conference took place on March 1-3, 2000, in Rome (Italy), at the conference center of the University of Rome \La Sapienza". This conference was born in 1990 as a national meeting to be held every three years for Italian researchers in algorithms, data structures, complexity, and parallel and distributed computing. Due to a signi cant participation of foreign reaserchers, starting from the second conference, CIAC evolved into an international conference. In response to the call for papers for CIAC 2000, there were 41 subm- sions, from which the program committee selected 21 papers for presentation at the conference. Each paper was evaluated by at least three program committee members. In addition to the selected papers, the organizing committee invited Giorgio Ausiello, Narsingh Deo, Walter Ruzzo, and Shmuel Zaks to give plenary lectures at the conference. We wish to express our appreciation to all the authors of the submitted papers, to the program committee members and the referees, to the organizing committee, and to the plenary lecturers who accepted our invitation.

Excellent authors, such as Lovasz, one of the five best combinatorialists in the world; Thematic linking that makes it a coherent collection; Will appeal to a variety of communities, such as mathematics, computer science and operations research

An impressive collection of original research papers in discrete and computational geometry, contributed by many leading researchers in these fields, as a tribute to Jacob E. Goodman and Richard Pollack, two of the ‘founding fathers’ of the area, on the occasion of their 2/3 x 100 birthdays. The topics covered by the 41 papers provide professionals and graduate students with a comprehensive presentation of the state of the art in most aspects of discrete and computational geometry, including geometric algorithms, study of arrangements, geometric graph theory, quantitative and algorithmic real algebraic geometry, with important connections to algebraic geometry, convexity, polyhedral combinatorics, the theory of packing, covering, and tiling. The book serves as an invaluable source of reference in this discipline.

Reflects recent developments in its emphasis on randomized and approximation algorithms and communication models All topics are considered from an algorithmic point of view stressing the implications for algorithm design

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 17th Annual Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science, STACS 2000, held in Lille, France in February 2000. The 51 revised full papers presented together with the three invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 146 submissions on the basis of some 700 reviewers' reports. The papers address fundamental issues from all current areas of theoretical computer science including algorithms, data structures, automata, formal languages, complexity, verification, logic, cryptography, graph theory, optimization, etc.

This year the SOFSEM conference is coming back to Milovy in Moravia to th be held for the 26 time. Although born as a local Czechoslovak event 25 years ago SOFSEM did not miss the opportunity oe red in 1989 by the newly found freedom in our part of Europe and has evolved into a full-?edged international conference. For all the changes, however, it has kept its generalist and mul- disciplinarycharacter.Thetracksofinvitedtalks,rangingfromTrendsinTheory to Software and Information Engineering, attest to this. Apart from the topics mentioned above, SOFSEM’99 oer s invited talks exploring core technologies, talks tracing the path from data to knowledge, and those describing a wide variety of applications. TherichcollectionofinvitedtalkspresentsonetraditionalfacetofSOFSEM: that of a winter school, in which IT researchers and professionals get an opp- tunity to see more of the large pasture of today’s computing than just their favourite grazing corner. To facilitate this purpose the prominent researchers delivering invited talks usually start with a broad overview of the state of the art in a wider area and then gradually focus on their particular subject.