Computer Sciences Commons^™

Survey Of Routing Algorithms For Computer Networks, Lu Yu

Masters Theses

"This thesis gives a general discussion of routing for computer networks, followed by an overview of a number of typical routing algorithms used or reported in the past few years. Attention is mainly focused on distributed adaptive routing algorithms for packet switching (or message switching) networks. Algorithms for major commercial networks (or network architectures) are reviewed as well, for the convenience of comparison"--Abstract, page ii.

Program Modeling And Control Synthesis For Robotic Manipulators, Ramiz Najib Ballou

Masters Theses

"The control and programming methodology of industrial robots is becoming increasingly important. The speed and accuracy of data generation, and the performance of the robot are considered the most important factors in robotics control.

This paper presents and discusses algorithms that solve for the inverse solution for a given point in space at a very high speed based on the top down abstract method. The algorithms are independent of any specific type of manipulator configuration or programming language. The algorithms were implemented or the IBM-PC using the FORTRAN language to control the Armdroid robot. The program generates 500 sets of …

Ciegen: A System For Testing Knowledge Base Compilation Heuristics On A Microcomputer, Jayne D. Ward

Masters Theses

"The expert system has proven itself to be a valuable aid in diagnosing and treating problems in domains requiring expertise. The commercial world has been alerted to this fact and the thrust is to make the expert system portable and available on small computers.

The goal of this research has been to lay the groundwork for a domain independent expert system builder on a microcomputer. The result of this effort was CIEGEN, a system consisting of a rule compiler, inference engine, and rule generator developed on the IBM PC. It is domain independent, responsible for transforming a knowledge base of …

A Focus Of Attention Algorithm For Expert Systems, Kevin W. Whiting

Masters Theses

"This research is primarily concerned with increasing the performance of expert systems. A refined focus of attention strategy and its affect on performance are discussed. Early expert systems used a brute force approach to process the knowledge base. Each production rule in the knowledge base was evaluated each cycle. More recently, processing efficiency has been increased by focusing the attention of the inference engine on a subset of the rules by "filtering" for further testing, only rules that could possibly fire given the current content of the context base. Focus of attention as developed in this research increases performance over …

Proportional Advancement From Regional Programming Contests, John R. Metzner

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Reduced Set Of Phages For Typing Salmonellae, Melvin Gershman, George Markowsky

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

A set composed of 27 phages is described for differentiating Salmonella spp. representative of groups A, B, C₁, C₂, D₁, D₂, E₁, E₂, E₃, E₄, G₁, K, and N. All of the 1,245 cultures used in this effort were typable and were differentiated on the basis of the 420 phage patterns observed. All results were reproducible. Characteristic phage patterns were produced by a variety of Salmonella serovars isolated from campus incidents and a number of hospital, family, restaurant, and processing plant outbreaks …

The Subjective Nature Of Programming Complexity, Daniel G. Mcnicholl, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

One of the more difficult problems confronting software engineers today is the construction of accurate predictive models of the software development process, [21,[8] and [93. It has long been recognized that one of the most essential elements of any successful model of this process is a quantification of the complexity of software systems. During the past several years a great deal of work has been performed by researchers such as Halstead [3], McCab [5], and others in an attempt to develop metrics which adequately capture the complexity of software systems. Yet one very important aspect of software development complexity seems …

A Theory Of Small Program Complexity, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Small programs are those which are written and understood by one. person. Large software systems usually consist of many small programs. The complexity of a small program is a prediction of how difficult it would be for someone to understand the program. This complexity depends of three factors: (1) the size and interelationships of the program itself; (2) the size and interelationships of the internal model of the program's purpose held by the person trying to understand the program; and (3) the complexity of the mapping between the model and the program. A theory of small program complexity based on …

Stochastic Modeling Of Individual Resource Consumption During The Programming Phase Of Software Development, Daniel G. Mcnicholl, Kenneth Magel

Computer Science Technical Reports

In the past several years there has been a considerable amount of research effort devoted to developing models of individual resource consumption during the software development process. Since many conditions affect individual resource consumption during the software development process, including several which are difficult if not impossible to quantify, it is our contention that a stochastic model is more appropriate than a deterministic model.

In order to test our hypothesis we conducted an experiment based upon several student programming assignments. Data from this experiment is used to demonstrate that the two parameter Log-Normal distribution is appropriate for describing the probabilistic …

An Approximation Theory For Conjugate Surfaces And Solutions Of Elliptic Multiple Integral Problems: Application To Numerical Solutions Of Generalized Laplace's Equation, John Gregory, Ralph W. Wilkerson

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

An Approximation Theory is Given for a Class of Elliptic Quadratic Forms Which Include the Study of Conjugate Surfaces for Elliptic Multiple Integral Problems. These Ideas Follow from the Quadratic Form Theory of Hestenes, Applied to Multiple Integral Problems by Dennemeyer, and Extended with Applications for Approximation Problems by Gregory. the Application of This Theory to a Variety of Approximation Problem Areas in This Setting is Given. These Include Conjugate Surfaces and Conjugate Solutions in the Calculus of Variations, Oscillation Problems for Elliptic Partial Differential Equations, Eigenvalue Problems for Compact Operators, Numerical Approximation Problems, And, Finally, the Intersection of These …

A Hybrid Metric To Measure Software Complexity, Warren Harrison, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Technical Reports

Software complexity is an important facet of the software development process, especially in regard to maintenance. A number of complexity metrics have been developed to measure the complexity contributed by: program size, flow of control, data structures, or a combination of two or more of these. Several representative measures from each of these groups are described.

A new hybrid complexity metric, the Extended Scope Metric, is presented and compared with other popular complexity metrics. While the new metric appears to be an improvement over existing metrics due to its enhanced context sensitivity and comprehensiveness, conclusive results cannot be determined until …

A Topological Analysis Of The Complexity Of Computer Programs With Less Than Three Binary Branches, Warren Harrison, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Recommendations For Master's Level Programs In Computer Science: A Report Of The Acm Curriculum Committee On Computer Science, Kenneth I. Magel, Richard H. Austing, Alfs Berztiss, Gerald L. Engel, John Wesley Hamblen, A. A.J. Hoffmann, Robert Mathis

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The ACM Committee on Curriculum in Computer Science has spent two years investigating master's degree programs in Computer Science. This report contains the conclusions of that effort. Recommendations are made concerning the form, entrance requirements, possible courses, staffing levels, intent, library resources, and computing resources required for an academic, professional, or specialized master's degree. These recommendations specify minimum requirements which should be met by any master's programs. The Committee believes that the details of a particular master's program should be determined and continually updated by the faculty involved. A single or a small number of model programs are not as …

Regular Expressions In A Program Complexity Metric, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A Complexity Measure Based On Nesting Level, Warren A. Harrison, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A Suggested Course In Introductory Computer Programming, Warren A. Harrison, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Introductory programming courses have long been a popular topic of discussion. Often it is either the only computer course a student takes, or it is the foundation upon which all further training in computer science is built. The usual goal of such a course is to introduce the student to the use of a computer to solve simple problems in his or her particular discipline. Generally, the method of presenting the material may be separated into two distinct schools of thought, which we have termed the "Black Box School of Thought" and the "White Box School of Thought". In this …

The Double Eigenvalue Problem; Including Numerical Solutions, John Gregory, Ralph W. Wilkerson

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A Graded Bibliography On Macro Systems And Extensible Languages, John R. Metzner

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A Mechanism For Specifying Parallel Procedures, James Oliver Smith Jr.

Masters Theses

"This thesis presents a mechanism that will provide a semantic and syntactic environment for expressing parallel procedures. This mechanism will be referred to as the Parallel Machine. The parallelism of the Parallel Machine is accomplished through an arbitrary number of specialized computing elements that each implement a single command called a Simultaneous Command. Each Simultaneous Command is capable of determining the occasions for its action by observing conditions within the Parallel Machine. There is no restriction on the number of Simultaneous Commands that can be defined or be simultaneously active. Within a parallel procedure expressed as a set of Simultaneous …

Reliability Growth Apportionment, James K. Byers

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method is presented for apportioning reliability growth to the subsystems that make up a system in order to achieve the required reliability at least cost. Reliability growth apportionment is handled as an s-expected cost minimization problem subject to the constraint of meeting a system reliability requirement. The problem is formulated in terms of Duane's reliability growth model and is solved using geometric programming. The method can be useful in the early stages of system design to determine subsystem reliability growth that will allow a system reliability requirement to be met, and in the latter stages of system design when …

Computer Manpower In The United States - Supply And Demand, John Wesley Hamblen

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

At a time when new departments of computer science, data processing, information science, information systems, etc. are being created and existing departments are trying to grow and compete with more established disciplines for scarce resources, it seems imperative that we attempt to keep abreast of the needs of industry and government for the graduates of these programs. This need must be monitored and matched against the production of graduates at all appropriate levels. The author has assembled extensive data on the latter over the past eight years while at the Southern Regional Education Board in Atlanta, GA (USA) during the …

Computational Models Of Learning., Kenneth Jesse Marse

Masters Theses

"An investigation is made into the use of techniques which would normally be described as learning if encountered in a human being. A literature review of several subject areas including game-playing computer programs, automatic control systems, pattern recognition methods, and biological modeling is performed, with the purpose of extracting and examining those processes which exhibit learning. A general model of the type of learning most widely utilized in these areas is constructed and used to compare and contrast specific models which describe the learning techniques employed. Some specific models which do not exhibit learning as described by the general model …

System Reliability: Exact Bayesian Intervals Compared With Fiducial Intervals, Kathryn P. Berkbigler, James K. Byers

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper compares numerically two different, widely used lower limit estimates for the reliability of a series system: Bayesian limits and fiducial limits. The fiducial limits are obtained by Monte Carlo simulation because of its simplicity and ease of computer programming. Subsystem failures are s-independent and exponentially distributed; life test data are available for estimating the failure rate of each system. Copyright © 1975 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

An Analysis Of A Network Of Finite-Queue, Multiple-Server Facilities., Juanita Kaye Shukers Grau

Masters Theses

"An algorithm for listing all possible steady states and for generating the transition matrix for a series of finite-queue, multiple-server facilities is described. This algorithm is compared to a previously developed one. The new algorithm is better since it works for multiple servers and does not require an extra pseudo-facility. Using the list of states and the matrix generated by the new algorithm, exact steady state probabilities can be calculated. Then the probabilities can be used to obtain system statistics which cannot be calculated otherwise"-- Abstract, p. ii

A Study Of The Effects Of Numerical Error Propagated Through Several Independent Stages: An Electron Optics Simulation., William Donald Webster

Masters Theses

"Presented is a study, combining numerical methods in a series of stages whereby each stage provides input data to its successor. A model problem from electron optics ii is studied in which a potential field is computed, gradient vectors calculated, and trajectory equations solved. Error effects in each stage is assessed for its influence on the final results of the numerical process mimicking the model problem. Error analysis is given in Appendix A. Finally, the superiority of Spline approximations for estimating derivatives is demonstrated"-- Abstract, p. ii

Using Ibm's Information Management System To Implement A Relational Data Base, Melvin Arthur Rushton

Masters Theses

"A relational model of data has been the topic of several papers which deal with the question of the underlying design philosophy of data base systems. E. F. Codd, C. J. Date, and others have discussed the application of relation theory to formatted data, the objectives of such an approach, normalization of relations, and languages for manipulating the model (data sublanguages). Few papers have delt with storage constructs or access techniques for a relational data base. Indeed, it was not necessary that they do so, for the user of such a system is only concerned with the information available in …

Toacs : An Interactive Computer Graphic Display Model Of A Theaterwide On-Line Air Combat Simulation, Herman William Blick

Masters Theses

"On-line interactive graphics is a very effective research tool for examining the concepts, components and design parameters of theater warfare involving multiple aircraft. The aim of the present research is to design an on-line computer system which utilizes interactive graphic displays to develop a dynamic, two-sided mathematical model of theaterwide tactical fighter combat operations. The model, called TOACS, is very useful in simulating and evaluating airborne defense systems and the problems common to this type of simulation — such as the formulation of battle strategy for the commitment and guidance of interceptors against threat aircraft -- as well as those …

Bayesian Confidence Limits For The Reliability Of Mixed Cascade And Parallel Independent Exponential Subsystems, James K. Byers, Ronald W. Skeith, Melvin D. Springer

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper deals with the theoretical problem of deriving Bayesian confidence intervals for the reliability of a system consisting of both cascade and parallel subsystems where each subsystem is independent and has an exponential failure probability density function (pdf). This approach is applicable when test data are available for each individual subsystem and not for the entire system. The Mellin integral transform is used to analyze the system in a step-by-step procedure until the posterior pdf of the system reliability is obtained. The posterior cumulative distribution function is then obtained in the usual manner by integrating the pdf, which serves …

A Numerical Study Of Ordinary Differential Equations With Periodic Coefficients, Richard Bruce Schuessler

Masters Theses

"In this thesis a method for solving ordinary differential equations with periodic coefficients is derived. In addition, by utilization of Floquet theory, a theorem is given by which it is possible to determine the stability of the zero solution. Error bounds are given for the method and for the two dimensional case bounds are given for the error in the eigenvalues. Several numerical examples are given to illustrate the method"--Abstract, page ii.

An Algorithm For Minimizing The Riding Time Of Students On School Buses., Dennis Ray Morgan

Masters Theses

"This thesis presents an algorithm which selects from a given set of stops a subset of stops corresponding to a given bus which minimize the riding time of students in going to and from school. The time required in picking up students at their stops and delivering them to school is analyzed. An example is given which illustrates the formulation of a problem and the results obtained from the solution. Finally, the program which was used in the solution of the problem is given along with its implementation"-- Abstract, p. ii