Since the late 1990s, Internet marketing has taken off as a dynamic marketing channel because of its accuracy and ease of tracking. The Internet has come a long way in a short time: As it grew, finding the sites you were looking for with a directory became impossible. Search engines appeared as the way forward, offering a way to have...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the definite goal of understanding intelligence and building intelligent systems. However, the methods and formalisms used on the way to this goal are not firmly set, which has resulted in AI consisting of a multitude of subdisciplines today. The difficulty in an introductory AI course lies in conveying...

We started work on this handbook three years ago and, while bringing it to fruition has involved a great deal of work, we have enjoyed the process. We are grateful to our colleagues who have contributed chapters to the volume. Its quality is due to their labor and commitment. We appreciate the considerable time and effort that they...

The setting and attainment of goals is a fundamental aspect of human decision making, which is manifest in the modern discipline of operational research by the technique of goal programming. Influences from the fields of mathematical programming and multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) can be found in goal programming, and it is...

Color is one of the most fascinating areas to study. Color forms an integral part of nature, and we humans are exposed to it every day. We all have an intuitive understanding of what color is, but by studying the underlying physics, chemistry, optics, and human visual perception, the true beauty and complexity of color can be...

Computer forensics has become an essential tool in the identification of misuse and abuse of systems. Whilst widely utilised within law enforcement, the rate of adoption by organisations has been somewhat slower, with many organisations focusing upon the traditional security countermeasures to prevent an attack from occurring in the first...

Since the early 1990s, genetic programming (GP)-a discipline whose goal is to enable the automatic generation of computer programs-has emerged as one of the most promising paradigms for fast, productive software development. GP combines biological metaphors gleaned from Darwin's theory of evolution with computer-science approaches drawn...

Digital forensics deals with the acquisition, preservation, examination, analysis and presentation of electronic evidence. Networked computing, wireless communications and portable electronic devices have expanded the role of digital forensics beyond traditional computer crime investigations. Practically every type of crime now involves some...

Performance-aware Component-based Software-Development A characteristic of an engineering discipline is the ability to predict the impact of design decisions. For example, in civil engineering accurate predictions of the impact of adding an additional ?oor on a construction’s statics are available. Having a similar ability in software...

Computer graphics is more than an isolated discipline at an intersection of computer science, mathematics, and engineering. It is the very visible leading edge of a revolution in how we use computers and automation to enhance our lives. It has changed forever the worlds of engineering and science, medicine, and the media, too. The wonderful...

On November 4, 2009, Alberto and I had dinner with many other Analysis Services experts from all around the world, including many people from the Microsoft development team. We were in Seattle for the PASS Summit 2009, a conference for SQL Server professionals, and because Redmond, Washington is very near to Seattle, events like this often...