Volker Weispfenning – författare

The origins of the mathematics in this book date back more than two thou­ sand years, as can be seen from the fact that one of the most important algorithms presented here bears the name of the Greek mathematician Eu­ clid. The word "algorithm" as well as the key word "algebra" in the title of this book come from the name and the work of the ninth-century scientist Mohammed ibn Musa al-Khowarizmi, who was born in what is now Uzbek­ istan and worked in Baghdad at the court of Harun al-Rashid's son. The word "algorithm" is actually a westernization of al-Khowarizmi's name, while "algebra" derives from "al-jabr," a term that appears in the title of his book Kitab al-jabr wa'l muqabala, where he discusses symbolic methods for the solution of equations. This close connection between algebra and al­ gorithms lasted roughly up to the beginning of this century; until then, the primary goal of algebra was the design of constructive methods for solving equations by means of symbolic transformations. During the second half of the nineteenth century, a new line of thought began to enter algebra from the realm of geometry, where it had been successful since Euclid's time, namely, the axiomatic method.

The origins of the mathematics in this book date back more than two thou­ sand years, as can be seen from the fact that one of the most important algorithms presented here bears the name of the Greek mathematician Eu­ clid. The word "algorithm" as well as the key word "algebra" in the title of this book come from the name and the work of the ninth-century scientist Mohammed ibn Musa al-Khowarizmi, who was born in what is now Uzbek­ istan and worked in Baghdad at the court of Harun al-Rashid''s son. The word "algorithm" is actually a westernization of al-Khowarizmi''s name, while "algebra" derives from "al-jabr," a term that appears in the title of his book Kitab al-jabr wa''l muqabala, where he discusses symbolic methods for the solution of equations. This close connection between algebra and al­ gorithms lasted roughly up to the beginning of this century; until then, the primary goal of algebra was the design of constructive methods for solving equations by means of symbolic transformations. During the second half of the nineteenth century, a new line of thought began to enter algebra from the realm of geometry, where it had been successful since Euclid''s time, namely, the axiomatic method.

The origins of the mathematics in this book date back more than two thou­ sand years, as can be seen from the fact that one of the most important algorithms presented here bears the name of the Greek mathematician Eu­ clid. The word "algorithm" as well as the key word "algebra" in the title of this book come from the name and the work of the ninth-century scientist Mohammed ibn Musa al-Khowarizmi, who was born in what is now Uzbek­ istan and worked in Baghdad at the court of Harun al-Rashid's son. The word "algorithm" is actually a westernization of al-Khowarizmi's name, while "algebra" derives from "al-jabr," a term that appears in the title of his book Kitab al-jabr wa'l muqabala, where he discusses symbolic methods for the solution of equations. This close connection between algebra and al­ gorithms lasted roughly up to the beginning of this century; until then, the primary goal of algebra was the design of constructive methods for solving equations by means of symbolic transformations. During the second half of the nineteenth century, a new line of thought began to enter algebra from the realm of geometry, where it had been successful since Euclid's time, namely, the axiomatic method.

Symbolic rewriting techniques are methods for deriving consequences from systems of equations, and are of great use when investigating the structure of the solutions. Such techniques appear in many important areas of research within computer algebra: • the Knuth-Bendix completion for groups, monoids and general term-rewriting systems, • the Buchberger algorithm for Gröbner bases, • the Ritt-Wu characteristic set method for ordinary differential equations, and • the Riquier-Janet method for partial differential equations. This volume contains invited and contributed papers to the Symbolic Rewriting Techniques workshop, which was held at the Centro Stefano Franscini in Ascona, Switzerland, from April 30 to May 4, 1995. That workshop brought together 40 researchers from various areas of rewriting techniques, the main goal being the investigation of common threads and methods. Following the workshops, each contribution was formally refereed and 14 papers were selected for publication.

Symbolic rewriting techniques are methods for deriving consequences from systems of equations, and are of great use when investigating the structure of the solutions. Such techniques appear in many important areas of research within computer algebra: • the Knuth-Bendix completion for groups, monoids and general term-rewriting systems, • the Buchberger algorithm for Gröbner bases, • the Ritt-Wu characteristic set method for ordinary differential equations, and • the Riquier-Janet method for partial differential equations. This volume contains invited and contributed papers to the Symbolic Rewriting Techniques workshop, which was held at the Centro Stefano Franscini in Ascona, Switzerland, from April 30 to May 4, 1995. That workshop brought together 40 researchers from various areas of rewriting techniques, the main goal being the investigation of common threads and methods. Following the workshops, each contribution was formally refereed and 14 papers were selected for publication.

Two ideas lie gleaming on the jeweler's velvet. The first is the calculus, the sec­ ond, the algorithm. The calculus and the rich body of mathematical analysis to which it gave rise made modern science possible; but it has been the algorithm that has made possible the modern world. -David Berlinski, The Advent of the Algorithm First there was the concept of integers, then there were symbols for integers: I, II, III, 1111, fttt (what might be called a sticks and stones representation); I, II, III, IV, V (Roman numerals); 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Arabic numerals), etc. Then there were other concepts with symbols for them and algorithms (sometimes) for ma­ nipulating the new symbols. Then came collections of mathematical knowledge (tables of mathematical computations, theorems of general results). Soon after algorithms came devices that provided assistancefor carryingout computations. Then mathematical knowledge was organized and structured into several related concepts (and symbols): logic, algebra, analysis, topology, algebraic geometry, number theory, combinatorics, etc. This organization and abstraction lead to new algorithms and new fields like universal algebra. But always our symbol systems reflected and influenced our thinking, our concepts, and our algorithms.

Two ideas lie gleaming on the jeweler''s velvet. The first is the calculus, the sec­ ond, the algorithm. The calculus and the rich body of mathematical analysis to which it gave rise made modern science possible; but it has been the algorithm that has made possible the modern world. -David Berlinski, The Advent of the Algorithm First there was the concept of integers, then there were symbols for integers: I, II, III, 1111, fttt (what might be called a sticks and stones representation); I, II, III, IV, V (Roman numerals); 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Arabic numerals), etc. Then there were other concepts with symbols for them and algorithms (sometimes) for ma­ nipulating the new symbols. Then came collections of mathematical knowledge (tables of mathematical computations, theorems of general results). Soon after algorithms came devices that provided assistancefor carryingout computations. Then mathematical knowledge was organized and structured into several related concepts (and symbols): logic, algebra, analysis, topology, algebraic geometry, number theory, combinatorics, etc. This organization and abstraction lead to new algorithms and new fields like universal algebra. But always our symbol systems reflected and influenced our thinking, our concepts, and our algorithms.