This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the IFIP-TC6 4th International Working Conference on Active Networks, IWAN 2002, held in Zurich, Switzerland, in December 2002. The 20 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 53 submissions. Among the topics addressed are router architectures, reconfigurable systems, NodeOS, service deployment, active network services, active network queries, network management agents, active network performance, mobile communications, programmable networks, network execution environments, active network architecture, group communication, peer-to-peer networks, and interaction detection.

This book provides a collection of fourty articles containing new material on both theoretical aspects of Evolutionary Computing (EC), and demonstrating the usefulness/success of it for various kinds of large-scale real world problems. Around 23 articles deal with various theoretical aspects of EC and 17 articles demonstrate the success of EC methodologies. These articles are written by leading experts of the field from different countries all over the world.

An overview of the rapidly growing field of ant colony optimization that describes theoretical findings, the major algorithms, and current applications. The complex social behaviors of ants have been much studied by science, and computer scientists are now finding that these behavior patterns can provide models for solving difficult combinatorial optimization problems. The attempt to develop algorithms inspired by one aspect of ant behavior, the ability to find what computer scientists would call shortest paths, has become the field of ant colony optimization (ACO), the most successful and widely recognized algorithmic technique based on ant behavior. This book presents an overview of this rapidly growing field, from its theoretical inception to practical applications, including descriptions of many available ACO algorithms and their uses. The book first describes the translation of observed ant behavior into working optimization algorithms. The ant colony metaheuristic is then introduced and viewed in the general context of combinatorial optimization. This is followed by a detailed description and guide to all major ACO algorithms and a report on current theoretical findings. The book surveys ACO applications now in use, including routing, assignment, scheduling, subset, machine learning, and bioinformatics problems. AntNet, an ACO algorithm designed for the network routing problem, is described in detail. The authors conclude by summarizing the progress in the field and outlining future research directions. Each chapter ends with bibliographic material, bullet points setting out important ideas covered in the chapter, and exercises. Ant Colony Optimization will be of interest to academic and industry researchers, graduate students, and practitioners who wish to learn how to implement ACO algorithms.

Edited by professionals with years of experience, this book provides an introduction to the theory of evolutionary algorithms and single- and multi-objective optimization, and then goes on to discuss to explore applications of evolutionary algorithms for many uses with real-world applications. Covering both the theory and applications of evolutionary computation, the book offers exhaustive coverage of several topics on nontraditional evolutionary techniques, details working principles of new and popular evolutionary algorithms, and discusses case studies on both scientific and real-world applications of optimization

Academic scholars, entrenched in the complexities of various domains, face the daunting task of navigating intricate decision-making scenarios. The prevailing need for efficient and effective decision-making tools becomes increasingly apparent as traditional methodologies struggle to keep pace with the demands of modern research and industry. This pivotal issue necessitates a shift, urging scholars to explore unconventional approaches that can transcend disciplinary boundaries and unlock new dimensions of problem-solving. In response to these pressing challenges, Intelligent Decision Making Through Bio-Inspired Optimization emerges as a beacon of ingenuity. This groundbreaking book transcends usual disciplinary boundaries, seamlessly integrating computer science, artificial intelligence, optimization, and decision science. Its multidisciplinary approach addresses the inherent complexities faced by scholars, offering a comprehensive exploration of nature-inspired algorithms such as genetic algorithms, swarm intelligence, and evolutionary strategies. The book's core mission is to empower academic scholars with the tools to overcome contemporary decision-making hurdles, providing a holistic understanding of these bio-inspired approaches and their potential to revolutionize the scholarly landscape.

This book addresses different algorithms and applications based on the theory of multiobjective goal attainment optimization. In detail the authors show as the optimal asset of the energy hubs network which (i) meets the loads, (ii) minimizes the energy costs and (iii) assures a robust and reliable operation of the multicarrier energy network can be formalized by a nonlinear constrained multiobjective optimization problem. Since these design objectives conflict with each other, the solution of such the optimal energy flow problem hasn’t got a unique solution and a suitable trade off between the objectives should be identified. A further contribution of the book consists in presenting real-world applications and results of the proposed methodologies developed by the authors in three research projects recently completed and characterized by actual implementation under an overall budget of about 23 million €.