ROZENBERG G - Böcker

The book is a very up-to-date collection of articles in theoretical computer science, written by leading authorities in the field. The topics range from algorithms and complexity to algebraic specifications, and from formal languages and language-theoretic modeling to computational geometry. The material is based on columns and articles that have appeared in the EATCS Bulletin during the past two to three years. Although very recent research is discussed, the largely informal style of writing makes the book accessible to readers with little or no previous knowledge of the topics.

Graph grammars originated in the late 60s, motivated by considerations about pattern recognition and compiler construction. Since then the list of areas which have interacted with the development of graph grammars has grown quite impressively. Besides the aforementioned areas it includes software specification and development, VLSI layout schemes, database design, modeling of concurrent systems, massively parallel computer architectures, logic programming, computer animation, developmental biology, music composition, visual languages, and many others.The area of graph grammars and graph transformations generalizes formal language theory based on strings and the theory of term rewriting based on trees. As a matter of fact within the area of graph grammars, graph transformation is considered a fundamental programming paradigm where computation includes specification, programming, and implementation.Over the last 25-odd years graph grammars have developed at a steady pace into a theoretically attractive and well-motivated research field. In particular, they are now based on very solid foundations, which are presented in this volume. Volume 1 of the indispensable Handbook of Graph Grammars and Computing by Graph Transformations includes a state-of-the-art presentation of the foundations of all the basic approaches to rule-based graph specification and transformation: algebraic approach, logic approach, node-based rewriting, (hyper)edge-based rewriting, programmed graph rewriting, and 2-structures. The book has been written in a tutorial/survey style to enhance its usefulness.

The theory of formal languages is one of the oldest branches of theoretical computer science. Its original aim (in the fifties and sixties) was to clarify the laws and algorithms that underlie the definition and compilation of programming languages. Since then, formal language theory has changed very much. Today it includes mathematical topics like combinatorics of words, word equations, and coding theory, but it also covers connections to linguistics (for example, the study of contextual grammars), new computational paradigms (like DNA computing), and a wide range of applications, among them hypertext processing, database theory, and formal program verification. Many of these themes of modern formal language theory are represented in this volume.