Scheduling Computer and Manufacturing Processes

This book provides a theoretical and application oriented analysis of deterministic scheduling problems arising in computer and manufacturing environments. In such systems processors (machines) and possibly other resources are to be allocated among tasks in such a way that certain scheduling objectives are met. Various scheduling problems are discussed where different problem parameters such as task processing times, urgency weights, arrival times, deadlines, precedence constraints, and processor speed factors are involved. Numerous examples, figures, tables, and real-world applications help to understand the topic and its practical validity. For the convenience of less advanced readers basic concepts from combinatorial optimization and related areas (e.g. computational complexity analysis) are also included.