Abstract. A unified and powerful approach is presented for devising polynomial approximation schemes for many strongly NP-complete problems. Such schemes consist of families of approximation algorithms for each desired performance bound on the relative error c> 0, with running time

to Christofides) achieves a 3/2-approximation in polynomial time. We also give similar approximation schemes for some other NP-hard Euclidean problems: Minimum Steiner Tree, k-TSP, and k-MST. (The running times of the algorithm for k-TSP and k-MST involve an additional multiplicative factor k.) The previous best

We survey the current techniques to cope with the problem of string matching allowing errors. This is becoming a more and more relevant issue for many fast growing areas such as information retrieval and computational biology. We focus on online searching and mostly on edit distance, explaining

This paper presents fast algorithms that find approximate solutions for a general class of problems, which we call fractional packing and covering problems. The only previously known algorithms for solving these problems are based on general linear programming techniques. The techniques

fields, including bioinformatics, communication theory, statistical physics, combinatorial optimization, signal and image processing, information retrieval and statistical machine learning. Many problems that arise in specific instances — including the key problems of computing marginals and modes

This book presents a unified treatment of many different kinds of planning algorithms. The subject lies at the crossroads between robotics, control theory, artificial intelligence, algorithms, and computer graphics. The particular subjects covered include motion planning, discrete planning

long time, ‘variational ’ problems have been identified mostly with the ‘calculus of variations’. In that venerable subject, built around the minimization of integral functionals, constraints were relatively simple and much of the focus was on infinite-dimensional function spaces. A major theme

We present a unifying framework for studying the solution of multiclass categorization problems by reducing them to multiple binary problems that are then solved using a margin-based binary learning algorithm. The proposed framework unifies some of the most popular approaches in which each class

SIS is an interactive tool for synthesis and optimization of sequential circuits. Given a state transition table, a signal transition graph, or a logic-level description of a sequential circuit, it produces an optimized net-list in the target technology while preserving the sequential input

allows any number of heterogeneous clients to acquire bulk data with optimal efficiency at times of their choosing. Moreover, no feedback channels are needed to ensure reliable delivery, even in the face of high loss rates. We develop a protocol that closely approximates a digital fountain using a new