I recently attended a rather theoretical computer-science conference, and sat, as is my habit, in the front row. The speaker was trying to convey the fine details of a rather intricate mathematical construction. I was hopelessly lost.
September 2011 - Vol. 54 No. 9
Features
Opinion Letters to the editor
Solved, For All Practical Purposes
Moshe Y. Vardi's Editor's Letter "Solving the Unsolvable" (July 2011) raised an important point — that we should reconsider the meaning of unsolvability. Even though a problem may be theoretically unsolvable, we should, perhaps, still try to solve it.
To ensure the timely publication of articles, Communications created the Virtual Extension to bring readers high-quality articles in an online-only format. The following articles are now available in their entirety to ACM members via the Digital Library.
Jeannette M. Wing @ PCAST; Barbara Liskov Keynote
Jeannette M. Wing discusses her PCAST presentation about the importance of computer science and its impact. Valerie Barr shares highlights from Barbara Liskov's keynote at Grace Hopper.
A Breakthrough in Algorithm Design
Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have devised an algorithm that might be able to solve a certain class of linear systems much more quickly than today's fastest solvers.
The market model pioneered by Apple and others is transforming the software world — and has profound implications for software companies and their customers.
Developing an IT ecosystem for health could improve — and transform — the practice of medicine.
Opinion Law and technology
Assessing the threat the anticircumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act pose for fair use.
Opinion Historical reflections
In Praise of ‘Wilkes, Wheeler, and Gill’
Sixty years ago, Maurice Wilkes, David Wheeler, and Stanley Gill produced the first textbook on programming: The Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Digital Computer. It was a publication that spearheaded the software revolution.
Opinion Emerging markets
Corporate Social Responsibility and Global IT Outsourcing
How to improve IT outsourcing relationships while doing good for society.
Opinion The profession of IT
Masterful time management means not just tracking of messages in your personal environment, but managing your coordination network with others.
Opinion Viewpoint
Realizing the Value of Social Media Requires Innovative Computing Research
How social media are expanding traditional research and development topics for computer and information scientists.
The Most Expensive One-Byte Mistake
Did Ken, Dennis, and Brian choose wrong with NUL-terminated text strings?
ACM CTO Roundtable on Mobile Devices in the Enterprise
Finding solutions as growth and fragmentation complicate mobile device support.
Research and Advances Contributed articles
Protecting Users of the Cyber Commons
Establish a global cyber "neighborhood watch" enabling users to take defensive action to protect their operations.
Research and Advances Contributed articles
Realizing the Future of Wireless Data Communications
Technologies are available to unlock radio spectrum as consumers need it.
Research and Advances Contributed articles
Satisfiability Modulo Theories: Introduction and Applications
Checking the satisfiability of logical formulas, SMT solvers scale orders of magnitude beyond custom ad hoc solvers.
Research and Advances Review articles
Quantitative Analysis of Real-Time Systems Using Priced Timed Automata
Timed automata and their extensions allow for analysis of a wide range of performance and optimization problems.
Research and Advances Research highlights
Technical Perspective: Making Browser Extensions Secure
Vulnerabilities in browsers and their extensions have become the primary venue through which cyber criminals compromise the security of Web users and, ultimately, earn money.
Research and Advances Research highlights
Vetting Browser Extensions For Security Vulnerabilities with VEX
The browser has become the de facto platform for everyday computation and a popular target for attackers of computer systems. Among the many potential attacks that target browsers, vulnerabilities in browser extensions have received relatively little attention.
Research and Advances Research highlights
Technical Perspective: Abstracting Abstract Machines
Semanticss-based program analysis requires one to (1) start from a "friendly" semantics; (2) design a "congenial" lattice of runtime properties; (3) associate a "relevant" set of equations to a program; and (4) solve these equations efficiently.
Research and Advances Research highlights
Abstracting Abstract Machines: A Systematic Approach to Higher-Order Program Analysis
Predictive models are fundamental to engineering reliable software systems. However, designing conservative, computable approximations for the behavior of programs remains a difficult and error-prone process for modern high-level programming languages.
Opinion Last byte
Puzzled: Solutions and Sources
Last month we posted a trio of brainteasers, including one as yet unsolved, concerning divisibility of numbers. Here, we offer solutions to two of them and a remark about the third. How did you do?
Opinion Last byte
Eric Brewer talks about infrastructure, connectivity, and computing for developing nations.
Research and Advances Contributed articles: Virtual extension
Crossing to the Dark Side: Examining Creators, Outcomes, and Inhibitors of Technostress
Exploring the factors that may lead to the inability of professionals to adapt or cope with emerging IS in a healthy manner.
Research and Advances Contributed articles: Virtual extension
Calculating and Improving ROI in Software and System Programs
The investment value of innovation follows from a technology's uncertain net present value and derived ROI calculations.
