A Set of Examples of Global and Discrete Optimization

This text shows how to improve well-known heuristics by randomizing and optimizing their parameters. The ten in-depth examples are designed to teach operations research and the theory of games and markets using the Internet. Each example is a simple representation of some important family of real-life problems. Remote Internet users can run the accompanying software. The supporting web sites include software for Java, C++, and other languages. Researchers and specialists in operations research, systems engineering and optimization methods, as well as Internet applications experts in the fields of economics, industrial and applied mathematics, computer science, engineering, and environmental sciences should find this work useful.