Algorithms and Experiments (ALEX98)
Building bridges between theory and applications
Trento, Italy, February 9 - 11, 1998

• What to measure -- (Also known as runningtime vs operation counts) what is the best way to maximize both universality and precision in the measurements of algorithm performance.
• Nature vs nurture : How much does the machine environement (platform, operating system, compiler) contribute to performance, compared to t he ``algorithmic, portable'' part?
• Would it be possible to build a more realistic model of computation , that could be used for both theoretical analysis and experimental work? Something like MIX, but updated to deal with things like memory hierarchies. Possibilities are Knuth's ``mems,'' or recent work analyzing cacheing behavior of some data structures.
• When is an experimental paper publishable? How much scope should it have, and how much reliability? Can we build a list of guidelines for reviewers of papers, or are standards well understood by now?
• What do statisticians know that we should learn? What questions do we have about analyzing data?
• Other topics are welcome: send them to the workshop email! alex98@rtm.science.unitn.it