bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
HELLO CENTRAL
Authors: Brunner Hans , Fogel Steve , Cuthbertson Robert , Sparks Randall
Published: January 2007

"U S WEST HELP" is a function provided by U S WEST Operator Services to facilitate contact between callers seeking information and the most appropriate point of response within U S WEST's 14-state region. The primary challenge in designing a user interface for these employees is to bridge the gap between the general public's conception of U S WEST's products, services, and pertinent functions and the way in which this information is structured and stored in one or more relational databases.
IDENTIFYING HIGH-LEVEL UNIX TASKS
Authors: Branaghan Russell J. , McDonald James E. , Schvaneveldt Roger W.
Published: January 2007

Task analysis (TA) in systems design has a number of goals, including identifying information needed by the user, knowledge and skills that the user needs, and potential errors that the user might make. However, a necessary precursor to TA is to determine what the important tasks are in the first place. This research is aimed at developing a methodology for identifying tasks in command-based human-computer systems. The following paragraphs delineate the motivation for the approach, as well as the general procedures in this methodology.
INSIGHT FROM SITUATED ACTION ANALYSIS
Authors: Salasoo Aita , Rosenstein Mark , Collier George H.
Published: January 2007

We have been studying the worklives of engineers concerned with the outside plant part of the telecommunications network, the part between customer locations and the closest exchange. Outside plant engineers, we suggest, engage in work activities, which are characterized by their
situatedness
. This makes observation of factors leading to action more accessible. Our analysis, based both on user views expressed in a survey and on a series of field observations, has helped to identify critical aspects of the engineer's task that can be supported by future computer-based support tools. We believe this approach may yield similar benefits in other domains.
A COLLABORATIVE NEGOTIATION TOOL
Authors: Adelson Beth
Published: January 2007

The system, implemented in Malone, Lei, et al's Object Lens (88; 89), is designed to support the negotiation that is part of any collaborative endeavor. Although it will not be discussed here (see Adelson, in The Social Creation of Knowledge. Ed: E. Barrett; MIT Press), the system is intended to be used with a collaborative authoring system which accommodates needs for
privacy
and supports project planning/scheduling. By accommodating users' needs for negotiation and privacy the two systems together offer the kind of psychological support that bolsters successful collaboration.
STORYBOARD-BASED PROGRAMMING TOOLS
Authors: Fineblum Michelle , Lieberman Henry
Published: January 2007

Despite the progress in graphical capabilities of hardware and software systems to date, programmers do their jobs with little to no graphic support. This absence of graphic support is particularly costly in the process of debugging. The process of debugging is arduous and expensive, and text-based tools are limited in that they can only provide a one-dimensional view of program execution. The crucial factor in the debugging process is the programmer's ability to visualize how the events in the program unfold over time.
Publication notes
Authors: Schiettecatte
Published: January 2007

This book comes as a reminder that HCI does not only occur when users interact with a word-processor to produce a document, or use a spreadsheet to produce a financial model, but also when they control and manage complex dynamic systems (complex dynamic systems in this case include such things as chemical plants or nuclear power stations). This book consists of a collection of papers (each paper making up a chapter, there are 12 chapters in the book) brought together to illustrate the problems involved in designing computer interfaces to manage complex dynamic systems. An interesting thing to point out about these papers is that all but one of them were written by Europeans. The book in itself is a very good example of international collaboration, with authors from two different continents and eight different countries. This book also gives us a look into the kind of research that is going on in Europe in terms of Human-Computer Interaction and complex dynamic systems.
International perspectives: some thoughts on differences between North American and European HCI
Authors: Karat John
Published: January 2007

With this issue we begin a column entitled "International Perspectives" in which Clare-Marie Karat and I, acting as International Editors for the
SIGCHI Bulletin
, will attempt to provide a range of views of HCI research and practice from around the world. We will be assisted in this by regional editors, and hope to provide a forum for human-computer professionals outside of the United States to voice their views about the field (or for those inside the US to talk about international issues). Clare-Marie and I do not intend to write this column as authorities on "international issues", but rather will encourage submissions on general themes. I invite others with views on international issues which impact (or should impact) HCI research and practice to send contributions to one of the International editors.
The first Moscow international workshop on human-computer interaction
Authors: Cypher Allen , Grudin Jonathan , Maclean Allan , Naimark Michael , Okada Ken-Ichi , Patel Mukesh , Press Larry , Price Blaine , Tarantola Carlo , Welles Marilyn
Published: January 2007

It is safe to say that no one knew what to expect when approximately 15 non-Soviet and 75 Soviet computer professionals gathered for a week-long workshop at the International Center for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) in Moscow. As it unfolded, the 50 paper presentations and 25 product and prototype demos were overshadowed for many of us by the numerous opportunities for individual and group contact. In the end, all of those polled for this report (including about two-thirds of the non-Soviets) strongly favored planning another workshop and hoped to attend.
Adapting synchronization counters to the requirements of inheritance
Authors: Neusius Christian
Published: January 2007

Many synchronization mechanisms have been designed specifically for Concurrent Object-Oriented Programming as e.g. in Guide [Dec89], ACT++ [Kaf89], DCST [Nak89], and Rosette [Tom89]). In this paper we will give an adaption of "synchronization counters" to the requirements of Object-Oriented Programming. Synchronization counters were introduced independently by Gerber [Ger77] and Robert, Verjus [Rob77]. They are used in the synchronization concept of
activation conditions
of the COOPL Guide [Dec89]. Although they have some nice properties as e.g. a highly expressive power, they at least do not meet the requirement of an OOPL that classes should be redefinable and extendable with a minimal amount of code. We present the concept of activation conditions in section 2 and discuss the strengths and shortcomings of synchronization counters. We will then refine the concept of synchronization counters to the concept "behavior counters". Here the strong relation of a synchronization counter to its method is replaced by a flexible relation of a behavior counter to a (redefinable) set of methods. It adopts the principle of
behavior abstractions
presented by Kafura and Lee in the Concurrent OOPL ACT++ [Kaf89].
Operations on sets in an OODB
Authors: Andersen Jorn , Reenskaug Trygve
Published: January 2007

In this article we express some ideas on how to select an arbitrary set of objects, or to combine objects and information in the objects, in an arbitrary way. In the following will an object-oriented database be thought of as a collection of sets. The sets are collections of objects which all share a common message protocol. Operations originating from relational algebra are defined on these sets. To make the retrieval of objects efficient, a storage strategy for objects is developed. Combination of objects and changes in the objects' message protocol as a result of a retrieval request, are solved by a filtering mechanism.
1990 Workshop on Logic Level Modeling for ASICs final report
Authors: Glasser Mark , Mathews Rob , Acken John M.
Published: January 2007

The goal for the Logic Level Modeling for ASICs Workshop was to provide an interchange of ideas between people working on ASIC logic level models. Logic Level Models use discrete values at discrete time steps. A simulation or analysis model performs an evaluation based upon values present at ports and upon internal state. Therefore, the workshop discussions centered upon topics related to simulation and analysis based upon discrete logic values and discrete time steps. The workshop goal was achieved by including people from ASIC foundries, CAE companies, and System designers (i.e. ASIC users.)
Rapid prototyping of ASICs with OASIS
Authors: Brglez Franc
Published: January 2007

OASIS is a cell-based design system with four major components: the compiler and logic synthesizer, the simulator and verifier, the automatic test pattern generator, and the automatic layout generator. The design flow is top-down as illustrated in the chart below. Currently, the design is captured in LOGIC-III, a PASCAL-like programming language that combines both the functional and structural descriptions. The functional description specifies finite state machines and decoding logic that can be readily synthesized into circuit structures by way of logic synthesis. A scan-path can be inserted automatically in every synthesized component. Data-path circuits are synthesized hierarchically from parameterized structural/functional descriptions of subcomponents. Tools for redundancy identification can be used to detect and to remove any untestable logic.
POOL: design and experience
Authors: America Pierre
Published: January 2007

The first language of the POOL family (Parallel Object-Oriented Language) was designed in 1984. Since then, a considerable amount of research on this subject has been performed. The aim of these activities was to develop a programming language that effectively supports the construction of large, complex applications that could be run on a multiprocessor without shared memory. At this moment, it can be said that a significant progress has been made in solving this formidable problem.
A solution to the explicit/implicit control dilemma
Authors: Caromel Denis
Published: January 2007

Concurrent object-oriented programming faces a dilemma: should a language provide an
explicit
or an
implicit
concurrency control? Both styles of programming present advantages and limitations.This article discusses this issue and proposes a solution: the programming of user-defined abstractions.We advocate that no framework of concurrency control is universal, but that many present interesting properties. The solution resides in the building of reusable libraries of concurrent abstractions.
Representing concurrent communication systems
Authors: Hogg John , Iversen Rodney
Published: January 2007

Telephone systems are a demanding application area due to several characteristics: they are very large, distributed, highly concurrent, real-time, dynamic, and have high reliability requirements. Existing methods of creating and enhancing system software are steadily becoming less satisfactory, and new models and techniques are needed. Objects are a natural way to represent communicating entities. This position paper describes a model for object concurrency that is well-suited to this target environment.
Recent progress in combining actor-based concurrency with object-oriented programming
Authors: Kafura Dennis , Lavender Greg
Published: January 2007

In a previous paper from our research group we showed a means of concurrency control which was consistent with the requirement of both actor-based concurrency and inheritance. This synchronization method, called behavior abstractions, was expressed in terms of the ACT++ prototype. Limitations on the behavior abstraction concept have been noted and alternatives proposed by others. We present in this paper an extension to the behavior abstraction concept which deals with its observed limitations. This extension is called behavior sets.
Propagators and concurrent constraints
Authors: Laffra Chris , van den Bos Jan
Published: January 2007

A
constraint
is a numeric or geometric relationship between objects. Constraints have a declarative nature and are a natural way for describing relationships between objects. Combining constraint systems and object-oriented programming (OOP) appears hard. All existing systems implicitly compromise the encapsulation principle of OOP. Also, the constraint resolving mechanism is typically centralized, thereby restricting parallel execution of a constraint program. This paper proposes a mechanism that provides for constraints in the concurrent (parallel) object-oriented Procol environment. Constraints are implemented using
propagators.
Propagators are triggered by messages that are sent to objects. Propagator constraints are solved by local propagation of known state, intuitively allowing for parallel execution of a Procol constraint program.
An adaptive load balancing method in the computational field model
Authors: Uehara Minoru , Tokoro Mario
Published: January 2007

Computational Field Model
(CFM) was proposed as a computational model for open ended distributed environments. It encapsulates an open ended distributed environment as a metric space called
computational field
(CF). In this paper, we propose an optimal object allocation algorithm on CFM, which combines both dynamic object grouping and adaptive load balancing. Furthermore, we discuss the cost of this algorithm and its adaptability.
Actor reflection without meta-objects
Authors: Tomoyuki Tanaka
Published: January 2007

We consider how reflection should be introduced into an actor language, where reflection is a mechanism for allowing a program to have access to the data structures of its own processor. Rather than introducing
meta-objects
as in the previous work, we propose to introduce reflection through two kinds of special messages:
reifying
and
reflecting
messages. We show that the full range of reflective programming in an actor language is possible without introducing meta-objects, and argue that our approach provides a more uniform interface for actors than the meta-object approach. All the examples in this paper have been tested on our prototype actor system.
EUROCAL '85 Abstracts
Authors: Abdali S. Kamal
Published: January 2007

Programming environments have dramatically improved since the time that the major symbolic computation systems such as MACSYMA and REDUCE were developed. The new environments allow direct user interaction with the machine via the mouse, menus, and icons, making obsolete the requirement that the user type instructions to an operating system or language processor to effect desired computations.
Adding statements to REDUCE
Authors: van den Heuvel P
Published: January 2007

New REDUCE packages often require additions to the REDUCE syntax. In this note we present a detailed description of REDUCE parsing tools and step-by-step instructions of adding new statements.
Symbolic computation and number of zeros of a real parameter polynomial in the unit disk
Authors: Gleyse B
Published: January 2007

In this paper a method is proposed to determine the precise number of zeros of any real parameter polynomial with polynomial coefficients (two by two primes) in the unit disk. It deals with some questions of stability of biomedical, physical systems with parameters [2], [3], [6], [7].
Some improvements on Utah standard lisp
Authors: Namba K
Published: January 2007

Standard Lisp on IBM 360 & 370 proposed and implemented by A. C. Hearn and J. Fitch et al. of the University of Utah had still several bugs and some execution-time inefficiency. This paper describes these bug-fixings, modifications and additions of comfortable features, and some improvements in the stack operation and compiler-interface which contribute to a speed-up of the factor of about 1.2~1.6. It also urges the necessity of variety of datatypes for a more practical Lisp system, such as vectors, hash tables, bit/byte strings.
Computing dendritic growth
Authors: Hamilton P.
Published: January 2007

We have developed an interactive tool for the construction and simulation of nervecell-models. Based on a semi-CAD platform, the program is able to build single objects in a described way and in a later stage to put them together for observation of their interactions. The user is able to define strings in a graph-grammar fashion, which can be combined with other influencing parameters. This gives the opportunity to build up very natural dendritic trees. Our emphasis is that biological objects are put together as a set of well defined rules, which are overlaid by a distinct statistical variance.
An analysis of Atkinson's algorithm
Authors: Butler Greg
Published: January 2007

An algorithm for computing a minimal invariant partition of a permutation group due to Atkinson is analysed. The analysis shows the algorithm is
O
(
n
2
), where
n
is the degree of the group. The leading coefficient is 3/2. Some suggested speed-ups are also analysed. The speed-ups imply that the cost of testing primitivity is
O
(
n
3
), with a leading coefficent of 19/16.Careful use of linked lists to represent subsets of the partition leads to an
O
(
nlogn
) algorithm for computing a minimal invariant partition, and an
O
(
n
2
logn
) algorithm for testing primitivity. For both algorithms, the leading coefficient is 1.The use of trees to represent subsets, and the technique of path compression, lead to an
O
(
nG
(
n
)|S|) algorithm, where
S
is the set of generators for the group, and
G
(n) is a very slow growing function related to Ackermann's function, for computing the minimal invariant partition. The leading coefficient is such that, for degrees less than 1,000,000, the linked list version gives a smaller bound.
Spreadsheet computations in computer algebra
Authors: Abdali S. Kamal , Cherry Guy W. , Soiffer Neil
Published: January 2007

In this paper, we analyze the concept of spreadsheet computing in computer algebra. Numerical spreadsheet programs have a unique, intuitively clear semantics. But when the variables used in a spreadsheet program are allowed to assume symbolic expressions as values, the meaning of spreadsheet computations is not defined that simply. We consider several alternative models for what spreadsheet computations could mean in the symbolic context. We describe the implementation of spreadsheet features, based on one of these models, in the visual computer algebra environment MathScribe.
Object-Oriented Formal Methods
Authors: Hogg John
Published: January 2007

At the ECOOP '91 Workshop on Object-Oriented Formal Methods, the beautiful penthouse view of the Old Town of Geneva attracted little notice from the 28 participants. Their research interests covered a wide spectrum, but during the day attention focussed on several topics in particular. The following three papers were written as a followup to the workshop.
Exception handling in object-oriented systems
Authors: Dony Christophe , Purchase Jan , Winder Russel
Published: January 2007

The 1970s saw the development of exception handling systems dedicated to procedural programming (Goodenough, 1975; Ichbiah, 1979; Liskov & Snyder, 1979; Mitchell, Maybury & Sweet, 1979). Such tools and the associated mechanisms were designed to enhance software reliability, reusability, readability and debugging. The 1980s saw the emergence of object-oriented technology which brought to programmers a new way of thinking about and designing their programs, as well as some new tools to make the programs more modular and reusable.
Three discussions on object-oriented typing
Authors: Palsberg Jens , Schwartzbach Michael I.
Published: January 2007

This paper summarizes three discussions conducted at the ECOOP'91 W5 Workshop on "Types, Inheritance, and Assignments" Tuesday July 16, 1991 in Geneva, Switzerland, organized by the authors.
Book Review: Fortran 90 Referenz-Handbuch, by W. Gehrke
Authors: Luttermann
Published: January 2007

This is a comprehensive exposition of the entire language Fortran 90 (and not only of those parts which are beyond Fortran 77). The book is written in German. It is up-to-date as it is based on version S8.112 and the additional change documents which led to version S8.118.
Nonexistence of degree bounds of various bases for ideals of polynomials over the integers
Authors: Li Wei
Published: January 2007

It has been proved in [
L
] that there is no universal degree bound of Gröbner bases when the coefficient ring is
Z
, where Gröbner bases are defined as in [
T
]. In this paper we prove that the same result is true for each of the following constructive bases: (1) Gröbner bases in the sense of [
Bu
]; (2) Gröbner bases in the sense of [
KK
]; (3) detaching bases in the sense of [
A
]; (4) Szekeres basis in the sense of [
S
]. We also discuss several open problems about degree bounds, which are motivated by our examples as well as by results from commutative algebra.
East meets West, North, and South
Authors: Billingsley Pat
Published: January 2007

The paragraphs below summarize the recent activities of various national and international committees involved in UI standards development, as of mid-May 1992. Most of the information was gathered at ISO and ANSI standards meetings held in Monterey just prior to CHI'92. Additional updates were provided by Ken Holdaway of IBM and Beth Marshburn of AT&T Bell Labs. As always, I encourage anyone with information about other relevant standards activities to contact me directly so I can include that material in a future column.
Conference report: empirical studies of programmers
Authors: Freeman Jared T.
Published: January 2007

The fourth annual workshop of Empirical Studies of Programmers was a forum for psychological studies of computer assisted instruction, documentation and programming formats, and cooperative work. Experiments concerning fundamental psychological mechanisms were also presented. In this review of the event, panel discussions and papers are summarized.
TOOLI
Authors: Meyerpeter Brian , Diab Razan
Published: January 2007

Object-oriented database management systems address complexity and conceptual modeling but lack standards, availability, and reliability. Object-oriented programming interfaces to object-oriented databases address application extendibility and flexibility but also lack standards. Relational database systems are available and robust, but their programming interfaces, although standardized, do not offer the benefits that object-oriented systems provide. This paper presents the requirements and design of the Table Objected-Oriented Language Interface (TOOLI), a database independent, SQL based, object-oriented application programming interface to relational database management systems. We give examples of inheritance structures used by TOOLI that represent different queries.
Book Reviews: Computer and Communication Systems Performance Modelling by Peter J.B. King (Prentice Hall 1990)
Authors: Pooley Rob
Published: January 2007

This book offers a simple and short introduction to the theory of queueing models of computer and communication systems. It consists of 14 chapters. After the first, which gives the motivation and a feeling for the subject (among other things, by an informal proof and some simple illustrations of Little's theorem), there are two preparatory chapters on probability theory and stochastic processes.
Modeling distributed file systems
Authors: Hac Anna
Published: January 2007

This paper describes different methods and techniques used to model, analyze, evaluate and implement distributed file systems. Distributed file systems are characterized by the distributed system hardware and software architecture, in which they are implemented as well as by the file systems' functions. In addition, distributed file system performance depends on the load executed in the system. Modeling and analysis of distributed file systems requires new methods to approximate complexity of the system and to provide a useful solution. The complexity of the distributed file system is reflected in the possible placement of the files, file replication, and migration of files and processes. The synchronization mechanisms are needed to control file access. File sharing involves load sharing in distributed environment.
National Science Foundation News
Authors: Rosenberg Laurence C.
Published: January 2007

The Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate is encouraging increased participation of researchers in international collaborations. The IRIS Division is currently involved in three activities to promote international collaboration.
Book review: Probabilistic Similarity Networks By David E. Heckerman (The MIT Press, 1991)
Authors: Roehrig Stephen E.
Published: January 2007

This is a book about
normative
expert systems, that is, systems which treat uncertainty using the normative framework of probability theory. The gauntlet of probabilistic reasoning in expert systems was thrown down by the developers of MYCIN when they originated certainty factors. It has been picked up by quite a few, and serious battles have been joined. Now one of the owners of the glove has admitted a success by a probabilist.
Book review: Designing Autonomous Agents Theory and Practice from Biology to Engineering and Back Edited by Pattie Maes (MIT Press, 1991)
Authors: Lewis Lundy M.
Published: January 2007

Over two decades ago, Herbert Simon argued that a physical symbol system (PSS) has the necessary and sufficient means for general intelligent action [12, 13]. A PSS consists of (i) a set of symbolic expressions from old ones and (ii) operational definitions of expressions such that some expressions cause a system to affect external objects and other expressions cause a system to carry out internal processes. The PSS hypothesis holds that both human and computer systems are PSSs and, therefore, that computer science is an empirical inquiry into the nature of intelligence. As evidence, Simon offered that computer systems already exhibits some degree of intelligence. Today, computer systems that can play a good game of chess and perform tasks in well-structured, predictable environments are relatively mature. Importantly thought, the PSS hypothesis implies that a computer system could exhibit intelligent behavior comparable to that of humans in the everyday world. If a computer system could be designed to execute a real world task such as Go to the Market, we would have made a long stride towards explaining intelligence of the sort that we see in humans. The PSS hypothesis has provided a license and a framework for pursuing research in this direction.
Book review: KAM: A System for Intelligently Guided Numerical by Computer By Kenneth Man-Kam Yip (MIT Press, 1991)
Authors: Sacks Elisha
Published: January 2007

Dynamics studies time varying systems, such as the climate, population growth, planetary motion, and chemical reactions. Dynamicists formulate mathematical models of the systems, analyze the models, and predict the behavior of the systems. They seek simple models whose predictions agree with many observations. Once they develop an accurate model of a system, they can augment experimentation and observation with mathematical analysis and computer simulation, thus predicting (and perhaps controlling) its behavior more quickly and more easily. For example, fluid flow models reduce the need for wind tunnel tests of new aircraft, saving the designers time and money. An accurate model of the climate could predict the effects of alternate industrial policies on global warming without the cost, risk, and lead time of experimentation.
Varying length strings in Fortran
Authors: Schonfelder J. L.
Published: January 2007

This International Standard has been prepared by ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG5, the technical working group for the Fortran language. This International Standard is a collateral standard to ISO/IEC 1539:1991, which defines the latest revision of the Fortran language, known informally as Fortran 90.
Technical aspects of the AT&T Teaching Theater at the University of Maryland at College Park
Authors: Gilbert Walter
Published: January 2007

This paper describes the technological aspects of the AT&T Teaching Theater at the University of Maryland at College Park. These can be separated into four categories: computers, networks, audio/video, and control. All electronic equipment in the Teaching Theater is interconnected: the computers form a local-area-network which is also attached to the Campus network; the computer monitors, keyboards, and mice are interconnected via a signal-switching system; all A/V devices are connected to a video signal switcher which is connected to the computers and to the Campus video cable system; and the control system permits convenient operation of the computers, A/V, and room lighting.
Operations on sets in an OODB
Authors: Andersen Jorn , Reenskaug Trygve
Published: January 2007

In this article, we express some ideas on how to select an arbitrary set of objects, or to combine objects and information in the objects, in an arbitrary way. In the following will an object-oriented database be thought of as a collection of sets. The sets are collections of objects which all share a common message protocol. Operations originating from relational algebra are defined on these sets. To make the retrieval of objects efficient, a storage strategy for objects is developed. Combination of objects and changes in the objects' message protocol as a result of retrieval request, are solved by a filtering mechanism.
Extending CLOS towards logic programming
Authors: Loia Vincenzo , Quaggetto Michel
Published: January 2007

Prolog, because of its weakness in describing structured objects, has always benefited from a mixing with an OO paradigm maybe more than other languages. Logic programming seems to be complementary with OO programming. This paper presents a proposal of an extension of CLOS towards logic programming. We show how it has been possible to introduce in CLOS a set of new mechanisms which allow the execution of Prolog programs. The paper outlines how the CLOS approach resulted in a very useful and powerful framework to increase flexibility, expressivity and elegance in Prolog design.
Book review: Connectionist Symbol Processing edited by Geoffrey Hinton (MIT/Elsevier Press) and High-Level Connectionist Model edited by John A. Barnden and Jordan B. Pollack (Advances in Connectionist and Neural Computation Theory Volume 1 John A. Barnden, series editor Ablex Publishing Corporation)
Authors: Redish A. David
Published: January 2007

Some people see the AI community as split into two camps, the
connectionist
camp, which advocates massively parallel
neural networks,
and the
symbolic
camp, which insists that intelligence requires symbols. Both of these books accept this split and try to bridge it. Ever since Minsky and Papert's book,
Perceptrons
[6] which showed that single layer linear threshold units could not calculate parity, those in the connectionist camp have bristled at the success, albeit limited, of the symbolic camp.
A simulation study of the performance of the extra-stage cube and the augmented-shuffle exchange networks under faults
Authors: Abonamah Abdullah A. , Sibai Fadi N.
Published: January 2007

In this paper, we conducted a simulation study to compare the performance of the Extra-Stage Cube (ESC) and the Augmented-Shuffle Exchange (ASE) networks in the presence of multiple link failures. The main objective of this study is gain an insight as to which of these two networks can better support graceful degradation under varying network loads and link failure rates. To achieve this task, three performance metrics are introduced, these are
throughput, Message-Delivery ratio
, and
Average Delay Per Message
and three simulation experiments using the simulation package COMNET II.5 are designed.The simulation results indicate that with respect to the three performance metrics, the ESC network outperforms the ASE for network size
N
≥32 and link
MTTF
=0.75 hours. However, when the link
MTTF
=0.12 hours, the ASE network outperforms the ESC network for
N
<64. In both cases, the ESC network outperforms the ASE network when
N
=64. This result appears to be directly related to the link complexities of the two networks. For large networks, the link complexity of the ASE is much larger than that of the ESC network and accounts for its poorer performance when
N
<32.
Queuing delays for uniform and nonuniform traffic patterns in a MIN
Authors: Sivaram Rajagopalan
Published: January 2007

In this paper we show that queuing delays or waiting times for messages impose a significant degradation in the performance of a buffered packet switching Multistage Interconnection Network subjected to
heavy uniform
traffic, and
nonuniform
traffic patterns. Hotspots and Nonuniform Traffic Spots were introduced to cause nonuniform traffic. The "average standard deviation queue time" is found to be a good measure of network congestion at each stage of a MIN, in a message passing environment. We also show that "tree saturation" effect is present even for MINs with infinite buffer queues.
Simulation based performance study of a dynamic routing algorithm
Authors: Kumar Anup , Singh Savita
Published: January 2007

This paper discusses a new distributed, dynamic routing approach for communication networks. At each node, the best available route to the destination is selected and the message is forwarded to the next node on that route. The best route is evaluated at the new node again. The choice of the best mute is based on a parameter K, defined in the paper. This parameter is calculated for every path based on the characteristics of the path, such as - the number of hops, the speeds of the links, the load on the links, reliability of links etc. The method guarantees that as long as the network is connected the message will be delivered to the destination using the best available path. This approach does not have the counting to infinity problem and is loop-free. A comparative study of this scheme with some of the existing schemes is also included to demonstrate its generality and effectiveness.
Book review: Queuing Networks- Exact Computational Algorithms: A Unified Theory Based on Decomposition and Aggregation by Adrian E. Conway and Nicolas D. Georganas (MIT Press 1989)
Authors: Taylor Stephen
Published: January 2007

Queuing Network models are an approach to modeling real-world problems based on the abstractions of servers, queues, and routing between them. Product-form queuing networks have a particularly simple formula describing the state distribution, and have accrued a literature describing them.
A cache multitasking model
Authors: Kobayashi Makoto
Published: January 2007

A hierarchical program behavior model in a multitasking environment was proposed and applied to a cache multitasking model for performance evaluation. The hierarchical program behavior model consists of the task switching model, execution interval model, and the line (block) reference behavior model for each individual task. An execution interval is a continuous execution of a task between task switches. As a task executes in an execution interval, it brings its lines into a cache according to the line reference behavior model. The Stack Growth Function (SGF) model was used for this purpose. The state of a cache is defined by the numbers of lines of the individual tasks. The state of a cache at task switches then constitutes an imbedded Markov chain. Although a set of simultaneous linear equations in steady state cannot exactly be solved practically because of its excessively large state space, it can be solved very efficiently by a Monte-Carlo simulation. The model was validated against the miss rate measured by a hardware monitor in a controlled environment on a mainframe running IBM MVS operating system.
System and real performance evaluation of computer
Authors: Porotskiy S. M. , Fateev A. E.
Published: January 2007

The purpose of this paper is to review some methods for efficiency evaluation of universal computer systems. This paper is continued of [1] and concerns the measurements and analytical modeling for performance evaluation on system and real levels.
Multivariate quotient by power-series division
Authors: Kolář M. , Sasaki T.
Published: January 2007

Let
A, B
, and
Q
be multivariate polynomials satisfying
A
=
QB.
Given
A
and
B
, we can calculate
Q
by recursive multivariate power-series division. In this division some higher degree terms of
A
and
B
are not needed at all. A simple and useful degree bound for the significant terms of
A
and
B
is derived here.
SAMPLE
Authors: Gleibman Andrew H.
Published: January 2007

In this paper, a new simple AI language is described, which ties up Logic Programming and Algebraic Programming concepts, and, to our mind, may take the same place in the AI languages family as Basic language --- in the conventional programming languages family.The main (and slightly unusual for programming languages) feature of this language is the most possible similarity of the constructions for writing algorithms to the data being processed. This feature provides a new programming technology: the user composes a program from data examples (building up some structure on them) rather than writing constructions on a programming language with non-trivial a priori syntax and semantics.This programming technology makes it possible to develop sophisticated expert systems by problem analysts rather than professional programmers. Many of Sample programs turn out to be the shortest possible representations of the corresponding algorithms. This feature seems to be a characteristic feature of the language.The paper contains program examples, discussion on the applicability and implementation, and description of some experiments with current implementation of the Sample language interpreter.
Instructional data requirements from administrative systems
Authors: Biddle John C.
Published: January 2007

Administrative computing has certainly come a long way from its meager beginning in the financial records area in most institutions to the present where every administrative area has at least one system running, usually on the institution's mainframe, with immediate access to the records in the database. In most institutions, these systems are required for the administrative personnel to complete their required assignments.
A simple stochastic model for computer terminal availability
Authors: Stevens Scott P. , Brookshire Robert G.
Published: January 2007

Queueing models have been widely applied in the analysis of computer performance, as well as in the study of systems in which service is rendered to human customers by multiple servers. Rarely, however, have queueing theory techniques been applied to the problem of providing computing services to the human beings who require them.We develop a simple queueing model for the availability of computer terminals in an academic computing laboratory, then compare the statistics predicted by the model to those actually observed in several laboratories. Among the statistics considered is the likelihood that a new arrival to the laboratory finds no free terminals, a quantity which is comparable to standard performance measures for communications equipment. The model also generates measures of resource availability which may be analyzed dynamically. Examples of the use of this model are provided.
A comparison of four pseudo random number generators implemented in Ada
Authors: Graham William N.
Published: January 2007

Four random number generators implemented in Ada are compared in terms of their equidistribution, independence, speed and period. Each generator is described and it's code presented. The tests used to evaluate the generators were simple ones. First, a stream of random numbers generated were checked for equidistribution by means of a chi-square test. Next, the numbers were checked for independence by means of a serial test. The code was then timed for a certain number of iterations. Finally, the reported periods of the generators are compared.
Design and simulation of electronic meeting systems in a DEVS-Scheme environment
Authors: Ramesh V. , Hays Chris
Published: January 2007

In recent years there has been increased interest in the area of electronic support for group work. Several systems have emerged from research in this area and are commonly called as Group Decision Support Systems, Computer Supported Collaborative Work Systems, Electronic Meeting Systems (EMS), etc. [Huber, 1984, Kraemer and King, 1988, Dennis et. al, 1988]. The University of Arizona's
Groupsystems
software is one such system [Dennis et. al., 1988]. Fig. 1 shows the conceptual representation of a meeting room running the software.
Simulation of real-time embedded systems
Authors: Leshem Gabi
Published: January 2007

This paper proposes an architecture simulator as an important addition to CASE tools, to be used during various design stages of real-time embedded systems. The architecture simulator is intended for simulating the behavior of the system based on partial information available at the beginning of the design process. The simulator in conjunction with a CASE tool can minimize the damage caused by improper design decisions made at the early stages of the design.
TRIP REPORT ON THE THIRD CONFERENCE ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMPUTING, COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION
Authors: Press Larry
Published: January 2007

This note reports on the Third Conference on Organizational Computing, Coordination and Collaboration (OC3), where professors of business and industrial practitioners gathered in a workshop atmosphere to discuss CSCW.
Further uses of “scenario”
Authors: Reisner David
Published: January 2007

Robert Campbell observes a variety of different usages of the term "scenario". He identifies four types of usage and coins terms to disambiguate usage and intent: demonstration examples (description), evaluation tasks (evaluation), user tasks for design (design), and test cases (theory testing).
AN UPDATE ON THE CHI'91 VIDEO PROGRAM
Authors: Alexander James , Goldenson Dennis R.
Published: January 2007

As most
SIGCHI Bulletin
readers know videos are becoming important communications tools augmenting traditional written media. The Formal Video Program at the most recent Human Factors in Computing Systems conference (CHI'91) included seventeen referred technical videos.
INTERACT'90 trip report
Authors: Neal Lisa
Published: January 2007

The INTERACT'90 Conference took place in Cambridge, England from August 27--30, 1990. For the benefit of those who were unable to attend, an overview of the conference follows. This is quite limited in scope since there were generally five parallel sessions at any time, which included verbal paper presentations, visual presentations, panels, demonstrations, and videos. There were two sites, at Robinson and Selwyn Colleges. I mostly went to talks at the Selwyn Site. There was a large tent where visual presentations were given at the Robinson site, and the very high temperatures in the tent kept me from going back after my first visit to it, which undoubtedly meant I missed many interesting presentations.
3D layout manipulation functions with a glance to optimization problems
Authors: Capra Renato
Published: January 2007

APL syntax provides a very simple and expressive way to generate and manipulate simple 3D parametric objects. APL2 nested arrays provide powerful data structures for a compact, readable and executable description of 3D layout scenes.

The paper describes a user-friendly interactive graphic system for 3D layout manipulation. The user can define and modify a layout scene by graphical interaction on a 3D perspective projection. User's commands enable change of parameters, 3D transformations and friendly operations that involve position relationship between objects. Commands are translated into “messages” to graphic objects, and the result of the operations is immediately reflected in a modification of the “scene data structure”.

The system includes the capability to select objects from a catalogue, to build compound objects and to edit sub-objects. The scene data structure is well suited for interface to external graphics rendering programs. Data structure can be extended to include non-geometrical information. Moreover it is possible to apply complex numerical algorithms to geometrical and numerical data.

A heuristic algorithm for Satellite Systems Layout Optimization is presented as an example.
Multiple choice programming
Authors: Lin Edward Y. H.
Published: January 2007

In this paper, we introduce a set of APL code for the optimization in multiple choice programming using the special-ordered-set branch-and-bound procedure incorporating the partitioning strategy of weighted-mean method.
Petri-net evaluation using APL2
Authors: Willhoft Robert G.
Published: January 2007

A Petri net is a graphical and mathematical modeling tool useful in the analysis of concurrent, asynchronous, distributed, parallel, nondeterministic, and/or stochastic systems. In addition, interest in Petri nets is increasing in the software community to model the behavior of parallel computer programs. The introduction of timed Petri nets allows system or program performance to be estimated as well.

This paper begins with a general discussion, including definitions, for both ordinary and timed Petri nets. Several analysis tools are outlined for ordinary and timed Petri nets including analysis of the incidence matrix, coverability tree, firing diagram, and the GRID (Graph of Reachable Instantaneous Descriptions).

This paper then introduces a method for representing Petri nets in APL2 and defines an easy input method. An APL2 implementation of each of the above analysis tools is given. These functions are described in detail as to their operation. Several examples of their use are given including examples of deadlock detection and performance estimation.
EZHONE
Authors: Williams Scott , Smith Howard , Parnaby Ray
Published: January 2007

APL2's name association facility, accessed through the □NA system function, provides a vehicle for executing programs which reside outside the APL2 workspace. These programs may be written in APL2 or other languages. EZHONE is an IBM internal VSAPL application used by marketing and sales representatives. This paper discusses EZHONE, its conversion to APL2, and how execution of applications by the new interpreter depends on the name association facility.