The annual colloquium on information retrieval research provides an opportunity for both new and established researchers to present papers describing work in progress or ?nal results. This colloquium was established by the BCS IRSG(B- tish Computer Society Information Retrieval Specialist Group), and named the Annual Colloquium on Information Retrieval Research. Recently, the location of the colloquium has alternated between the United Kingdom and continental Europe. To re?ect the growing European orientation of the event, the colloquium was renamed European Annual Colloquium on Information...

Computational learning theory is one of the first attempts to construct a mathematical theory of a cognitive process. It has been a field of much interest and rapid growth in recent years. This text provides a framework for studying a variety of algorithmic processes, such as those currently in use for training artificial neural networks. The authors concentrate on an approximate model for learning and gradually develop the ideas of efficiency considerations. Finally, they consider applications of the theory to artificial neural networks. An abundance of exercises and an extensive list of...

The automatic verification of large parts of mathematics has been an aim of many mathematicians from Leibniz to Hilbert. While Godel's first incompleteness theorem showed that no computer program could automatically prove certain true theorems in mathematics, the advent of electronic computers and sophisticated software means in practice there are many quite effective systems for automated reasoning that can be used for checking mathematical proofs. This book describes the use of a computer program to check the proofs of several celebrated theorems in metamathematics including those of Godel...

This advanced textbook on topology has three unusual features. First, the introduction is from the locale viewpoint, motivated by the logic of finite observations: this provides a more direct approach than the traditional one based on abstracting properties of open sets in the real line. Second, the author freely exploits the methods of locale theory. Third, there is substantial discussion of some computer science applications. As computer scientists become more aware of the mathematical foundations of their discipline, it is appropriate that such topics are presented in a form of direct...

Petri nets are a popular and powerful formal model for the analysis and modelling of concurrent systems, and a rich theory has developed around them. Petri nets are taught to undergraduates, and also used by industrial practitioners. This book focuses on a particular class of petri nets, free choice petri nets, which play a central role in the theory. The text is very clearly organised, with every notion carefully explained and every result proved. Clear exposition is given for place invariants, siphons, traps and many other important analysis techniques. The material is organised along the...

This book covers the background of classical logic, including the major meta-theorems, and the state of the art in theorem proving.

Logic and Computation is concerned with techniques for formal theorem-proving, with particular reference to Cambridge LCF (Logic for Computable Functions). Cambridge LCF is a computer program for reasoning about computation. It combines methods of mathematical logic with domain theory, the basis of the denotational approach to specifying the meaning of statements in a programming language. This book consists of two parts. Part I outlines the mathematical preliminaries: elementary logic and domain theory. They are explained at an intuitive level, giving references to more advanced reading....

Predicate transformation semantics is the best specification method for the development of correct and well-structured computer programs. This book is a complete account of the predicate transformation calculus semantics of sequential programs, including repetitions, recursive procedures, computational induction, and unbounded nondeterminacy. The author develops their theory to a greater depth than has been achieved before, and describes it in a way that makes it readily compatible with programming methodology. He gives proofs of the programming rules for partial and total correctness of...

The author presents a theory whereby nets, terms and formulas represent concurrent process at three levels of abstractions: Petri nets are used to describe all details of the operational machine behavior of processes. Algebraic process terms such as Calculus of Communicating Systems (CCS) or Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) two of the main models for parallel programming, are used to describe the architecture of processes, i.e. how they can be composed from subprocesses. Logical formulas of a first-order trace logic are used to describe the safety and liveness aspects of the...

This book develops the theory of typed feature structures, a data structure that generalizes both first-order terms and feature structures of unification-based grammars to include inheritance, typing, inequality, cycles, and intensionality.