This volume may be obtained from the AMS or through bookstores in your area. You may also visit the AMS Bookstore and order directly from there. In recent years there has been growing interest in the application of computational and statistical tools to problems in the analysis of algorithms. In many algorithmic domains worst-case bounds are too pessimistic and tractable probabilistic models too unrealistic to provide meaningful predictions of practical algorithmic performance.
Experimental approaches can provide useful knowledge where purely analytical methods fail.
Moreover, experiments can provide new insights into algorithmic mechanisms and therefore motivate and guide deeper analytical results. Despite the potential value of the experimental approach, however, there has not been a strong experimental tradition in the field of algorithm analysis. Participants at sites in the United States, Europe, and Japan undertook projects during November 1990-August 1991 to test and evaluate algorithms for these problems. This Proceedings contains revised and refereed versions of 22 of the papers presented at the Workshop, along with supplemental material about the Challenge and the Workshop. One goal of the Challenge was to promote the active interchange of information and sharing of test data among participants.