ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
Improving the performance of SML garbage collection using application-specific virtual memory management
Authors: Eric Cooper, Scott Nettles, Indira Subramanian
Venue: Proceedings of the 1992 ACM conference on LISP and functional programming (1992)

We improved the performance of garbage collection in the standard ML of New Jersey system by using the virtual memory facilities provided by the Mach kernel. We took advantage of Mach's support for large sparse address spaces and user-defined paging servers. We decreased the elapsed time for realistic application by as much as a factor of 4.
The use of prosody in syntactic disambiguation
Authors: Patti Price, Mari Ostendorf, Stefanie Shattuck-Hufnagel, Cynthia Fong
Venue: Proceedings of the workshop on Speech and Natural Language (1991)

Prosodic structure and syntactic structure are not identical; neither are they unrelated. Knowing when and how the two eorrespoud could yield better quality speech synthesis, could aid in the disambiguation of competing syntactic hypotheses in speech understanding, and could lead to a more comprehensive view of human speech processing. In a set of experiments involving 35 pairs of phonetically similar sentences representing seven types of structural contrasts, the perceptual evidence shows that some, but not all, of the pairs can be disambiguated on the basis of prosodie differences. The phonological evidence relates the disambiguation primarily to boundary phenomena, although prominences sometimes play a role. Finally, phonetic analyses describing the attributes of these phonological markers indicate the importance of both absolute and relative measures.
Analysis of Detection Probability and Some Applications
Authors: R. David, K. Wagner
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Computers (1990)

Test-pattern generation for high fault coverage is an expensive and time-consuming process. As an alternative circuits can be tested by applying random or pseudorandom patterns. To analyze random testing without fault simulation, the number of vectors that detect a fault in each fault class must be enumerated. A fault-detection function whose number of minterms is identical to the fault detectability is constructed. Extensions are made to the Cutting algorithm to evaluate the signal probability of the detection or its bounding functions. The signal probability can then be converted easily into an exact detectability or narrow detectability range associated with each fault.
How to learn an unknown environment (extended abstract)
Authors: Xiaotie Deng, Tiko Kameda, Christos Papadimitriou
Venue: Proceedings of the 32nd annual symposium on Foundations of computer science (1991)

The authors consider the problem faced by a newborn that must explore and learn an unknown room with obstacles in it. They seek algorithms that achieve a bounded ratio of the worst-case distance traversed in order to see all visible points of the environment (thus creating a map), divided by the optimum distance needed to verify the map. The situation is complicated by the fact that the latter offline problem (optimally verifying a map) is NP-hard and thus must be solved approximately. Although the authors show that there is no such competitive algorithm for general obstacle courses, they give a competitive algorithm for the case of a polygonal room with a bounded number of obstacles in it.
Functional dependencies in Horn clause queries
Authors: Alberto O. Mendelzon, Peter T. Wood
Venue: ACM Transactions on Database Systems (TODS) (1991)

When a database query is expressed as a set of Horn clauses whose execution is by top-down resolution of goals, there is a need to improve the backtracking behavior of the interpreter. Rather than putting on the programmer the onus of using extra-logical operators such as cut to improve performance, we show that some uses of the cut can be automated by inferring them from functional dependencies. This requires some knowledge of which variables are guaranteed to be bound at query execution time; we give a method for deriving such information using data flow analysis.
New algorithm for overlapping cell treatment in hierarchical CAD data/electron beam exposure data conversion
Authors: Tsuneo Okubo, Takashi Watanabe, Kou Wada
Venue: Proceedings of the 27th ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference (1991)

In CAD data / electron beam exposure data conversion, a new algorithm to treat overlapping cells hierarchically is proposed. Geometric transformations, such as resizing, for overlapping cells are performed without referring to the other cells by introducing a data marking structure. The conversion time of a 16M DRAM and a 70Kgates LSI circuits becomes as short as 23 and 62 CPU minutes, respectively, using a 12 MIPS computer.
The abstraction-link-view paradigm: using constraints to connect user interfaces to applications
Authors: Ralph D. Hill
Venue: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems (1992)

The goal of the RENDEZVOUS project is to build interactive systems that are used by multiple users from multiple workstations, simultaneously. This goal caused us to choose an architecture that requires a clean run-time separation of user interfaces from applications. Such a separation has long been state goal of UIMS researchers, but it is difficult to achieve. A key technical reason for the difficulty is that modern direct manipulation interfaces require extensive communication between the user interface and the application to provide semantic feedback. We discuss several communications mechanisms that have been used in the past, and present our approach &mdash; the Abstraction-Link-View paradigm. Links are objects whose sole responsibility is to facilitate communication between the abstraction objects (application) and the view objects (user interfaces). The Abstraction-Link-View paradigm relies on concurrency and a fast but powerful constraint system.
Robust Contour Decomposition Using a Constant Curvature Criterion
Authors: Daniel M. Wuescher, Kim L. Boyer
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (1991)

The problem of decomposing an extended boundary or contour into simple primitives is addressed with particular emphasis on Laplacian-of-Gaussian zero-crossing contours. A technique is introduced for partitioning such contours into constant curvature segments. A nonlinear 'blip' filter matched to the impairment signature of the curvature computation process, an overlapped voting scheme, and a sequential contiguous segment extraction mechanism are used. This technique is insensitive to reasonable changes in algorithm parameters and robust to noise and minor viewpoint-induced distortions in the contour shape, such as those encountered between stereo image pairs. The results vary smoothly with the data, and local perturbations induce only local changes in the result. Robustness and insensitivity are experimentally verified.
Users' errors and error handling: its relationships with task structure and social support
Authors: Michael Frese, Felix C. Brodbeck, Dieter Zapf, Jochen Prümper
Venue: ACM SIGCHI Bulletin (1991)

Errors are usually studied in the laboratory. This is useful, but larger impact factors like organizational variables cannot be observed there. In our study, we observed computer users in their ordinary work situation in the office. Organizations have an impact on particular work settings by determining the concrete task structure and the social climate. Traditionally, the two most important task structure variables have been job complexity and job discretion. Job complexity of a particular work task influences which errors appear and how they are dealt with. A high level of job discretion implies that the workers can decide many issues at work, e.g. the timing, sequencing and the content of plans and goals at work (Frese, 1987).
Learning to Predict Non-Deterministically Generated Strings
Authors: Moshe Koppel
Venue: Machine Learning (1991)

In this article we present an algorithm that learns to predict non-deterministically generated strings. The problem of learning to predict non-deterministically generated strings was raised by Dietterich and Michalski (1986). While their objective was to give heuristic techniques that could be used to rapidly and effectively learn to predict a somewhat limited class of strings, our objective is to give an algorithm which, though impractical, is capable of learning to predict a very general class. Our algorithm is meant to provide a general framework within which heuristic techniques can be effectively employed.
Global routing considerations in a cell synthesis system
Authors: Dwight Hill, Don Shugard
Venue: Proceedings of the 27th ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference (1991)

Cell synthesis is the process of turning a netlist into an efficient layout without being restricted to a library of predesigned cells or a fixed floorplan. Normally, this job is broken into at least three parts: placement, routing, and detailed cell generation. Each of these tasks are often divided further into a global and a detailed phase. This paper presents cell synthesis system called Sea Of Devices (SOD), with emphasis on its routing phase. In particular, SOD uses a new model for the global routing problem. This model is based on traditional Steiner trees, but includes detailed geometric information specific to the cell synthesis problem. The system models diffusion strips, congestion and existing feedthru's as a cost function associated with regions on the routing plane. A sequence of algorithms based on spanning trees, Steiner trees, maze routing and channel routing techniques is used to find solutions that make use of this detailed knowledge. The presentation includes some discussion of the algorithms that tie the routing phases together and illustrates the underlying support structures, which are needed for efficient access. Examples from the Physical Design Workshop 89 [PDW89] are included.
Simple Statistical Gradient-Following Algorithms for Connectionist Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Ronald J. Williams
Venue: Machine Learning (1992)

This article presents a general class of associative reinforcement learning algorithms for connectionist networks containing stochastic units. These algorithms, called REINFORCE algorithms, are shown to make weight adjustments in a direction that lies along the gradient of expected reinforcement in both immediate-reinforcement tasks and certain limited forms of delayed-reinforcement tasks, and they do this without explicitly computing gradient estimates or even storing information from which such estimates could be computed. Specific examples of such algorithms are presented, some of which bear a close relationship to certain existing algorithms while others are novel but potentially interesting in their own right. Also given are results that show how such algorithms can be naturally integrated with backpropagation. We close with a brief discussion of a number of additional issues surrounding the use of such algorithms, including what is known about their limiting behaviors as well as further considerations that might be used to help develop similar but potentially more powerful reinforcement learning algorithms.
Efficient simulation of finite automata by neural nets
Authors: Noga Alon, A. K. Dewdney, Teunis J. Ott
Venue: Journal of the ACM (JACM) (1991)

Let K(m) denote the smallest number with the property that every m-state finite automaton can be built as a neural net using K(m) or fewer neurons. A counting argument shows that K(m) is at least &OHgr;((m log m)1/3), and a construction shows that K(m) is at most O(m3/4). The counting argument and the construction allow neural nets with arbitrarily complex local structure and thus may require neurons that themselves amount to complicated networks. Mild, and in practical situations almost necessary, constraints on the local structure of the network give, again by a counting argument and a construction, lower and upper bounds for K(m) that are both linear in m.
A linear time algorithm for triconnectivity augmentation (extended abstract)
Authors: Tsan-sheng Hsu, Vijaya Ramachandran
Venue: Proceedings of the 32nd annual symposium on Foundations of computer science (1991)

The problem of finding the smallest set of edges whose addition triconnects an undirected graph is considered. This is a fundamental graph-theoretic problem that has applications in designing reliable networks and fault-tolerant computing. A linear time sequential algorithm is given for the problem. This is a substantial improvement over the best previous algorithm for this problem, which runs in O(n(n+m)/sup 2/) time on a graph with n vertices and m edges.
An Executable Language for Modeling Simple Behavior
Authors: Stanley Lee, Suzanne Sluizer
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (1991)

SXL, a modeling language that describes system behavior rather that software structure, is discussed. Using a conventional state-transition framework, model behavior is determined by rules that define pre- and postconditions for each transition. Behavior is also specified by constraints (logical invariants) that are automatically enforced during the execution of the model. Rules and constraints are expressed solely in terms of entity-relationship structure and declarative logic; the language lacks machine-oriented data or control structures, and has no facilities for specifying or implementing software. Application of SXL is demonstrated by its translation of a simple behavioral description (a scenario from an actual requirements document) into an executable model. Comparisons are made to software- and specification-oriented methods to illustrate the tradeoffs resulting from SXL's restriction to simple behavioral modeling. A brief account is given of one software development group's experience with SXL.
A Statistical-Heuristic Feature Selection Criterion for Decision Tree Induction
Authors: Xiao Jia Zhou, Tharam S. Dillion
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (1991)

The authors present a statistical-heuristic feature selection criterion for constructing multibranching decision trees in noisy real-world domains. Real world problems often have multivalued features. To these problems, multibranching decision trees provide a more efficient and more comprehensible solution that binary decision trees. The authors propose a statistical-heuristic criterion, the symmetrical tau and then discuss its consistency with a Bayesian classifier and its built-in statistical test. The combination of a measure of proportional-reduction-in-error and cost-of-complexity heuristic enables the symmetrical tau to be a powerful criterion with many merits, including robustness to noise, fairness to multivalued features, and ability to handle a Boolean combination of logical features, and middle-cut preference. The tau criterion also provides a natural basis for prepruning and dynamic error estimation. Illustrative examples are also presented.
Scheduling parallelizable tasks: putting it all on the shelf
Authors: John Turek, Joel L. Wolf, Krishna R. Pattipati, Philip S. Yu
Venue: ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review (1992)

In this paper we formulate the following natural multiprocessor scheduling problem: Consider a parallel system with P processors. Suppose that there are Ntasks to be scheduled on this system, and that the execution time of each task j &egr; {1,&hellip;,N} is a nonincreasing function tj(&bgr;j) of the number of processors &&bgr;j &egr; {1,&hellip;,P} allotted to it. The goal is to find, for each task j, an allotment of processors &bgr;j, and, overall, a schedule assigning the tasks to the processors which minimizes the makespan, or latest task completion time. The so-called shelf strategy is commonly used for orthogonal rectangle packing, a related and classic optimization problem. The prime difference between the orthogonal rectangle problem and our own is that in our case the rectangles are, in some sense, malleable: The height of each rectangle is a nonincreasing function of its width. In this paper, we solve our multiprocessor scheduling problem exactly in the context of a shelf-based paradigm. The algorithm we give uses techniques from resource allocation theory and employs a variety of other combinatorial optimization techniques.
Parallel processing of near fine grain tasks using static scheduling OSCAR (optimally scheduled advanced multiprocessor)
Authors: Hironori Kasahara, Hiroki Honda, Seinosuke Narita
Venue: Proceedings of the 1990 ACM/IEEE conference on Supercomputing (1990)

This paper proposes a compilation scheme for parallel processing of near fine grain tasks, each of which consists of several instructions or a statement, on a multiprocessor system called OSCAR (Optimally Scheduled Advanced Multiprocessor). The scheme allows us to minimize synchronization and data transfer overheads and to optimally use registers of each processor by using a static scheduling algorithm considering data transfer. This scheme can effectively be combined with macro-dataflow computation and the loop concurrentization. A compiler using the proposed scheme has been implemented on OSCAR, which has been designed to take full advantage of the static scheduling. In this paper, performance evaluation of the scheme on OSCAR is also described.
Algorithms for Scheduling Imprecise Computations
Authors: Jane W. S. Liu, Kwei-Jay Lin, Wei-Kuan Shih, Albert Chuang-shi Yu, Jen-Yao Chung, Wei Zhao
Venue: Computer (1991)

The imprecise computation technique, which prevents timing faults and achieves graceful degradation by giving the user an approximate result of acceptable quality whenever the system cannot produce the exact result in time, is considered. Different approaches for scheduling imprecise computations in hard real-time environments are discussed. Workload models that quantify the tradeoff between result quality and computation time are reviewed. Scheduling algorithms that exploit this tradeoff are described. These include algorithms for scheduling to minimize total error, scheduling periodic jobs, and scheduling parallelizable tasks. A queuing-theoretical formulation of the imprecise scheduling problem is presented.
The culture of quality and software engineering education
Authors: T. P. Rout
Venue: ACM SIGCSE Bulletin (1992)

It is clear that both internal and external pressures within the software development industry will require a much greater focus on effective quality management. The reasons for the slow acceptance of proven quality techniques are canvassed, and it is suggested that cultural obstacles to their use are developed and reinforced through the educational process. Some principles for overcoming the problem are proposed.
Exact learning of read-twice DNF formulas (extended abstract)
Authors: Howard Aizenstein, Leonard Pitt
Venue: Proceedings of the 32nd annual symposium on Foundations of computer science (1991)

A polynomial-time algorithm is presented for exactly learning the class of read-twice DNF formulas, i.e. Boolean formulas in disjunctive normal form where each variable appears at most twice. The (standard) protocol used allows the learning algorithm to query whether a given assignment of Boolean variables satisfies the DNF formula to be learned (membership queries), as well as to obtain counterexamples to the correctness of its current hypothesis which can be any arbitrary DNF formula (equivalence queries). The formula output by the learning algorithm is logically equivalent to the formula to be learned.
Computer graphics and parallelism, an interdisciplinary fable
Authors: Nan C. Schaller
Venue: ACM SIGCSE Bulletin (1991)

A tale of collaboration on graphics projects between undergraduate students leads to speculation concerning the ingredients for success in such projects. This article attempts to identify those elements of the academic environment that foster open and collaborative learning.
Modelling business rules in an office environment
Authors: P. Loucopoulos, E. Katsouli
Venue: ACM SIGOIS Bulletin (1992)

Current approaches in the field of information systems methodologies deal primarily with the capture and specification of models which are concerned with the target computer-based system but often fail to adequately capture and explicitly specify the (organisational) business concepts, objects, rules, constraints and - generally - the corporate knowledge upon which any development of a new information system or the evolution of an existing one, must be based.This paper advocates an approach which explicitly recognises the role of organisational policy within an information system and visibly maintains this policy throughout the software development process, from requirements specifications through to an executable implementation.This paper introduces the philosophy and architecture of the TEMPORA paradigm and describes the conceptual models which render such an approach a feasible undertaking.
Skip and scan: cleaning up telephone interface
Authors: Paul Resnick, Robert A. Virzi
Venue: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems (1992)

The current generation of telephone interfaces is frustrating to use, in part because callers have to wait through the recitation of long prompts in order to find the options that interest them. In a visual medium, users would shift their gaze in order to skip uninteresting prompts and scan through large pieces of text. We present skip and scan, a new telephone interface style in which callers issue explicit commands to accomplish these same skipping and scanning activities. In a laboratory experiment, subjects made selections using skip and scan menus more quickly than using traditional, numbered menus, and preferred the skip and scan menus in subjective ratings. In a field test of a skip and scan interface, the general public successfully added and retrieved information without using any written instructions.
Requirements for machine learning in expert systems (abstract)
Authors: Christopher J. Gardiner, William W. McMillan
Venue: Proceedings of the 1990 ACM annual conference on Cooperation (1990)

As Dietterich pointed out at the 1989 Machine Learning Workshop, the field needs analyses of the kinds of tasks that require machine learning (ML), and of the suitability of existing ML techniques for solving real problems. An area often mentioned as one that would benefit from ML is that of expert systems. Learning from experience could alleviate the knowledge acquisition &ldquo;bottleneck&rdquo;. Although there have been some impressive successes in learning practical knowledge from examples, existing ML techniques lack the power to learn to conduct different phases of an expert &ldquo;consultation&rdquo;. There are usually many dozens of variables to consider in an expert task, and their relevance changes as the consultation evolves. ML systems such as ID3, AQ11, and neural networks bog down quickly as extraneous variables are introduced. It is not practical to submit all data derived from an example consultation to such programs, expecting them to produce monolithic knowledge structures. Based on our work in developing a diagnostic expert system, we offer suggestions for future work in ML. One is that the system be given knowledge that is easily available from a human expert. The ML program should be given a &ldquo;proto-rule&rdquo; for a specific decision, indicating the most relevant variables to be used by the rule and its &ldquo;roughcut&rdquo; logic. Such knowledge can be gotten from an expert quickly. ML routines can then edit the logic and consider other variables as examples are considered. Search is reduced drastically. Other suggestions include ways to combine ML techniques.