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The multiset (a set with multiplicities associated with its elements, in the form
of natural numbers) is a notion which has appeared again and again in many
areas of mathematics and computer science, sometimes called a bag (some historical
information appears in the enclosed paper by A. Syropoulos). As a data
structure, this notion stands “in-between” strings/lists, where a linear ordering
of symbols/items is present, and sets, where no ordering and no multiplicity is
considered;in a multiset, only the multiplicity of elements matters, not their
ordering. Actually, in between lists and multisets we also have pomsets, partially
ordered multisets.
The multiset, as a set with multiplicities associated with its elements in the form of natural numbers, is a notation which has appeared again and again in various areas of mathematics and computer science. As a data structure, multisets stand in-between strings/lists, where a linear ordering of symbols/items is present, and sets, where no ordering and no multiplicity is considered. This book presents a selection of thoroughly reviewed revised full papers contributed to a workshop on multisets held in Curtea de Arges, Romania in August 2000 together with especially commissioned papers. All in all, the book assesses the state of the art of the notion of multisets, the mathematical background, and the computer science and molecular computing relevance. |
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