This volume contains papers selected from the contributions to the 4th International Workshop on Graph Grammars and Their Application to Computer Science. It is intended to provide a rich source of information on the stateof the art and newest trends to researchers active in the area and for scientists who would like to know more about graph grammars. The topics of the papers range from foundations through algorithmic and implemental aspects to various issues that arise in application areas like concurrent computing, functional and logic programming, software engineering, computer graphics, artificial intelligence and biology. The contributing authors are F.-J. Brandenburg, H. Bunke, T.C. Chen, M. Chytil, B. Courcelle, J. Engelfriet, H. G|ttler, A. Habel, D. Janssens, C. Lautemann, B. Mayoh, U. Montanari, M. Nagl, F. Parisi-Presicci, A. Paz, P. Prusinkiewics, M.R. Sleep, A. Rosenfeld, J. Winkowski and others.

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 computation paradigm where computation includes specification, programming, and implementation. Over the last three decades, graph grammars have developed at a steady pace into a theoretically attractive and important-for-applications research field. Volume 3 of the 'indispensable Handbook of' Graph Grammars and Computing by Graph Transformations presents the research on concurrency, parallelism, and distribution -- important paradigms of modern science. The topics considered include semantics for concurrent systems, modeling of concurrency, mobile and coordinated systems, algebraic specifications, Petri nets, visual design of distributed systems, and distributed algorithms. The contributions have been written in a tutorial/survey style by the top experts.

The generic term "graph-grammars" refers to a variety of methods for specifying (possibly infinite) sets of graphs or sets of maps. The area of graph-grammars originated in the late 60s motivated by considerations concerning pattern recognition - since then the list of areas which have interacted with the development of graph-grammars has grown quite impressively. It includes pattern recognition, software specification and development, VLSI layout schemes, data bases, lambda-calculus, analysis of concurrent systems, massively parallel computer architectures, incremental compilers, computer animation, complexity theory, developmental biology, music composition, representation of physical solids, and many others. This volume is based on the contributions presented at the third international workshop on graph-grammars and their applications, held in Warrenton, Virginia, USA in December 1986. Aiming at the best possible representation of the field not all of the papers presented at the meeting appear in this volume and some of the papers from this volume were not presented at the workshop. The volume consists of two parts: Part I presents tutorial introductions to a number of basic graph and map rewriting mechanisms. Part II contains technical contributions. This collection of papers provides the reader with an up-to-date overview of current trends in graph-grammars.

This book describes the functional properties and the structural organization of the members of the thrombospondin gene family. These proteins comprise a family of extracellular calcium binding proteins that modulate cellular adhesion, migration and proliferation. Thrombospondin-1 has been shown to function during angiogenesis, wound healing and tumor cell metastasis.