On the uses of attributed variables in parallel and concurrent logic programming systems

Incorporating the possibility of attaching attributes to variables in a logic programming system has been shown to allow the addition of general constraint solving capabilities to it. This approach is very attractive in that by adding a few primitives any logic programming system can be turned into a generic constraint logic programming system in which constraint solving can be user defined, and at source level - an extreme example of the "glass box" approach. In this paper we propose a different and novel use for the concept of attributed variables: developing a generic parallel/concurrent (constraint) logic programming system, using the same "glass box" flavor. We argüe that a system which implements attributed variables and a few additional primitives can be easily customized at source level to implement many of the languages and execution models of parallelism and concurrency currently proposed, in both shared memory and distributed systems. We illustrate this through examples.

O'CIAO an object oriented programming model using CIAO Prolog

There have been several previous proposals for the integration of Object Oriented Programming features into Logic Programming, resulting in much support theory and several language proposals. However, none of these proposals seem to have made it into the mainstream. Perhaps one of the reasons for these is that the resulting languages depart too much from the standard logic programming languages to entice the average Prolog programmer. Another reason may be that most of what can be done with object-oriented programming can already be done in Prolog through the meta- and higher-order programming facilities that the language includes, albeit sometimes in a more cumbersome way. In light of this, in this paper we propose an alternative solution which is driven by two main objectives. The first one is to include only those characteristics of object-oriented programming which are cumbersome to implement in standard Prolog systems. The second one is to do this in such a way that there is minimum impact on the syntax and complexity of the language, i.e., to introduce the minimum number of new constructs, declarations, and concepts to be learned. Finally, we would like the implementation to be as straightforward as possible, ideally based on simple source to source expansions.

An Introductory Course on Constraint Logic Programming

The purpose of this document is to serve as the printed material for the seminar "An Introductory Course on Constraint Logic Programming". The intended audience of this seminar are industrial programmers with a degree in Computer Science but little previous experience with constraint programming. The seminar itself has been field tested, prior to the writing of this document, with a group of the application programmers of Esprit project P23182, "VOCAL", aimed at developing an application in scheduling of field maintenance tasks in the context of an electric utility company. The contents of this paper follow essentially the flow of the seminar slides. However, there are some differences. These differences stem from our perception from the experience of teaching the seminar, that the technical aspects are the ones which need more attention and clearer explanations in the written version. Thus, this document includes more examples than those in the slides, more exercises (and the solutions to them), as well as four additional programming projects, with which we hope the reader will obtain a clearer view of the process of development and tuning of programs using CLP. On the other hand, several parts of the seminar have been taken out: those related with the account of fields and applications in which C(L)P is useful, and the enumerations of C(L)P tools available. We feel that the slides are clear enough, and that for more information on available tools, the interested reader will find more up-to-date information by browsing the Web or asking the vendors directly. More details in this direction will actually boil down to summarizing a user manual, which is not the aim of this document.

Introduction to technical communications of the 26th Int'l. Conference on logic programming (ICLP'10)

Abstract is not available.

Programming with Global Analysis

Abstract is not available

The ciao logic programming environment: A tutorial

Abstract is not available.

Improving probabilistic flood forecasting through a data assimilation scheme based on genetic programming

Opportunities offered by high performance computing provide a significant degree of promise in the enhancement of the performance of real-time flood forecasting systems. In this paper, a real-time framework for probabilistic flood forecasting through data assimilation is presented. The distributed rainfall-runoff real-time interactive basin simulator (RIBS) model is selected to simulate the hydrological process in the basin. Although the RIBS model is deterministic, it is run in a probabilistic way through the results of calibration developed in a previous work performed by the authors that identifies the probability distribution functions that best characterise the most relevant model parameters. Adaptive techniques improve the result of flood forecasts because the model can be adapted to observations in real time as new information is available. The new adaptive forecast model based on genetic programming as a data assimilation technique is compared with the previously developed flood forecast model based on the calibration results. Both models are probabilistic as they generate an ensemble of hydrographs, taking the different uncertainties inherent in any forecast process into account. The Manzanares River basin was selected as a case study, with the process being computationally intensive as it requires simulation of many replicas of the ensemble in real time.

Sustainability of irrigated farming systems in a Tunisian region: A recursive stochastic programming analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the sustainability of farm irrigation systems in the Cébalat district in northern Tunisia. It addressed the challenging topic of sustainable agriculture through a bio-economic approach linking a biophysical model to an economic optimisation model. A crop growth simulation model (CropSyst) was used to build a database to determine the relationships between agricultural practices, crop yields and environmental effects (salt accumulation in soil and leaching of nitrates) in a context of high climatic variability. The database was then fed into a recursive stochastic model set for a 10-year plan that allowed analysing the effects of cropping patterns on farm income, salt accumulation and nitrate leaching. We assumed that the long-term sustainability of soil productivity might be in conflict with farm profitability in the short-term. Assuming a discount rate of 10% (for the base scenario), the model closely reproduced the current system and allowed to predict the degradation of soil quality due to long-term salt accumulation. The results showed that there was more accumulation of salt in the soil for the base scenario than for the alternative scenario (discount rate of 0%). This result was induced by applying a higher quantity of water per hectare for the alternative as compared to a base scenario. The results also showed that nitrogen leaching is very low for the two discount rates and all climate scenarios. In conclusion, the results show that the difference in farm income between the alternative and base scenarios increases over time to attain 45% after 10 years.

Controlador MIDI basado en Arduino

El presente proyecto tiene como objetivo la creación de un controlador MIDI económico que haga uso de la tecnología actual, y partiendo de la idea del instrumento clásico, el Theremin, desarrollado por Lev Serguéievich Termen. Para ello se ha dividido el proyecto en dos principales bloques, el primero, hardware y el segundo, software. En la parte del hardware, se explica cual ha sido la razón de la utilización del microprocesador Arduino Uno, sus características técnicas y el uso de sensores de ultrasonido, ya que proporcionan la característica de poder interactuar con el controlador a través de gestos con las manos, al igual que un Theremin clásico. Se explica el montaje de los dispositivos que conforman el controlador, así como la mejora realizada, con la utilización de 4 de estos sensores, para dar más capacidades de interactuación con el controlador MIDI. También se ve en ese apartado, como se programa la tarjeta de Arduino, para que se encargue de realizar medidas con los sensores y enviarlas por el puerto serial USB. En el apartado del software se da una introducción al entorno de programación Max/MSP. Se ve el plug in desarrollado con este lenguaje, para poder comunicar el controlador MIDI con un software de audio profesional (Ableton Live) y se explica con detalle los bloques que conforman el plug in de control de sensores y como es transformada la información que entrega el microprocesador Arduino por el puerto USB, en datos MIDI. También, se da una explicación sobre el manejo correcto del controlador a la hora de mover las manos sobre los sensores y de donde situar el instrumento para que no se produzcan problemas de interferencias con las señales que envían los ultrasonidos. Además, se proporciona un presupuesto del coste de los materiales, y otro del coste del desarrollo realizado por el ingeniero. ABSTRACT The aim of this Project is the creation of an economical MIDI controller that uses nowadays technology and that is based on the idea of the Theremin, a classical instrument conceived by Lev Serguéievich Termen. In order to accomplish this, the project has been divided into two sections: hardware and software. The hardware section explains why the microprocessor Arduino Uno has been chosen, sets out its technical specifications and the use of ultrasonic sensors. These sensors enable the user to interact with the controller through hand gestures like the Theremin. The assembly of the devices is exposed as well as the improvements made with the use of four of these sensors to offer more interactive capabilities with the MIDI controller. The Arduino singleboard programming that performs the measurements with the sensors and sends these measurements through the USB serial port is also explained here. The software section introduces Max/MSP programming environment as well as the plug in developed with this language that connects the MIDI controller with professional audio software (Ableton Live). The blocks that build the sensor controller plug in are explained in detail along with the way the Arduino delivers the information through the USB port into MIDI data. In addition, an explanation of the correct handling of the MIDI controller is given focusing on how the user should move his hands above the sensors and where to place the instrument to avoid interference problems with the signals sent. Also, a cost estimation of both materials and engineering is provided.

Independence, Global analysis, and parallelism, in dinamically scheduled constraint logic programming.

El punto de vista de muchas otras aplicaciones que modifican las reglas de computación. En segundo lugar, y una vez generalizado el concepto de independencia, es necesario realizar un estudio exhaustivo de la efectividad de las herramientas de análisis en la tarea de la paralelizacion automática. Los resultados obtenidos de dicha evaluación permiten asegurar de forma empírica que la utilización de analizadores globales en la tarea de la paralelizacion automática es vital para la consecución de una paralelizarían efectiva. Por último, a la luz de los buenos resultados obtenidos sobre la efectividad de los analizadores de flujo globales basados en la interpretación abstracta, se presenta la generalización de las herramientas de análisis al contexto de los lenguajes lógicos restricciones y planificación dinámica.

Controlador MIDI basado en Kinect

Este proyecto tiene como objetivo el desarrollo de una interfaz MIDI, basada en técnicas de procesamiento digital de la imagen, capaz de controlar diversos parámetros de un software de audio mediante información gestual: el movimiento de las manos. La imagen es capturada por una cámara Kinect comercial y los datos obtenidos por ésta son procesados en tiempo real. La finalidad es convertir la posición de varios puntos de control de nuestro cuerpo en información de control musical MIDI. La interfaz ha sido desarrollada en el lenguaje y entorno de programación Processing, el cual está basado en Java, es de libre distribución y de fácil utilización. El software de audio seleccionado es Ableton Live, versión 8.2.2, elegido porque es útil tanto para la composición musical como para la música en directo, y esto último es la principal utilidad que se le pretende dar a la interfaz. El desarrollo del proyecto se divide en dos bloques principales: el primero, diseño gráfico del controlador, y el segundo, la gestión de la información musical. En el primer apartado se justifica el diseño del controlador, formado por botones virtuales: se explica el funcionamiento y, brevemente, la función de cada botón. Este último tema es tratado en profundidad en el Anexo II: Manual de usuario. En el segundo bloque se explica el camino que realiza la información MIDI desde el procesador gestual hasta el sintetizador musical. Este camino empieza en Processing, desde donde se mandan los mensajes que más tarde son interpretados por el secuenciador seleccionado, Ableton Live. Una vez terminada la explicación con detalle del desarrollo del proyecto se exponen las conclusiones del autor acerca del desarrollo del proyecto, donde se encuentran los pros y los contras a tener en cuenta para poder sacar el máximo provecho en el uso del controlador . En este mismo bloque de la memoria se exponen posibles líneas futuras a desarrollar. Se facilita también un presupuesto, desglosado en costes materiales y de personal. ABSTRACT. The aim of this project is the development of a MIDI interface based on image digital processing techniques, able to control several parameters of an audio software using gestural information, the movement of the hands. The image is captured by a commercial Kinect camera and the data obtained by it are processed in real time. The purpose is to convert the position of various points of our body into MIDI musical control information. The interface has been developed in the Processing programming language and environment which is based on Java, freely available and easy to used. The audio software selected is Ableton Live, version 8.2.2, chosen because it is useful for both music composition and live music, and the latter is the interface main intended utility. The project development is divided into two main blocks: the controller graphic design, and the information management. The first section justifies the controller design, consisting of virtual buttons: it is explained the operation and, briefly, the function of each button. This latter topic is covered in detail in Annex II: user manual. In the second section it is explained the way that the MIDI information makes from the gestural processor to the musical synthesizer. It begins in Processing, from where the messages, that are later interpreted by the selected sequencer, Ableton Live, are sent. Once finished the detailed explanation of the project development, the author conclusions are presented, among which are found the pros and cons to take into account in order to take full advantage in the controller use. In this same block are explained the possible future aspects to develop. It is also provided a budget, broken down into material and personal costs.

Interfaz gráfica y fase de pruebas de software de vídeo forense (Sistema de codificación DV)

El presente proyecto fin de carrera, realizado por el ingeniero técnico en telecomunicaciones Pedro M. Matamala Lucas, es la fase final de desarrollo de un proyecto de mayor magnitud correspondiente al software de vídeo forense SAVID. El propósito del proyecto en su totalidad es la creación de una herramienta informática capacitada para realizar el análisis de ficheros de vídeo, codificados y comprimidos por el sistema DV –Digital Video-. El objetivo del análisis, es aportar información acerca de si la cinta magnética presenta indicios de haber sido manipulada con una edición posterior a su grabación original, además, de mostrar al usuario otros datos de interés como las especificaciones técnicas de la señal de vídeo y audio. Por lo tanto, se facilitará al usuario, analista de vídeo forense, información que le ayude a valorar la originalidad del contenido del soporte que es sujeto del análisis. El objetivo específico de esta fase final, es la creación de la interfaz de usuario del software, que informa tanto del código binario de los sectores significativos, como de su interpretación tras el análisis. También permitirá al usuario el reporte de los resultados, además de otras funcionalidades que le permitan la navegación por los sectores del código que han sido modificados como efecto colateral de la edición de la cinta magnética original. Otro objetivo importante del proyecto ha sido la investigación de metodologías y técnicas de desarrollo de software para su posterior implementación, buscando con esto, una mayor eficiencia en la gestión del tiempo y una mayor calidad de software con el fin de garantizar su evolución y sostenibilidad en el futuro. Se ha hecho hincapié en las metodologías ágiles que han ido ganando relevancia en el sector de las tecnologías de la información en las últimas décadas, sustituyendo a metodologías clásicas como el desarrollo en cascada. Su flexibilidad durante el ciclo de vida del software, permite obtener mejores resultados cuando las especificaciones no están del todo definidas, ajustándose de este modo a las condiciones del proyecto. Resumiendo las especificaciones técnicas del software, C++ es el lenguaje de programación orientado a objetos con el que se ha desarrollado, utilizándose la tecnología MFC -Microsoft Foundation Classes- para la implementación. Es un proyecto MFC de tipo cuadro de dialogo,creado, compilado y publicado, con la herramienta de desarrollo integrado Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. La arquitectura con la que se ha estructurado es la arquetípica de tres capas, compuesta por la interfaz de usuario, capa de negocio y capa de acceso a datos. Se ha visto necesario configurar el proyecto con compatibilidad con CLR –Common Languages Runtime- para poder implementar la funcionalidad de creación de reportes. Acompañando a la aplicación informática, se presenta la memoria del proyecto y sus anexos correspondientes a los documentos EDRF –Especificaciones Detalladas de Requisitos funcionales-, EIU –Especificaciones de Interfaz de Usuario , DT -Diseño Técnico- y Guía de Usuario. SUMMARY. This dissertation, carried out by the telecommunications engineer Pedro M. Matamala Lucas, is in its final stage and is part of a larger project for the software of forensic video called SAVID. The purpose of the entire project is the creation of a software tool capable of analyzing video files that are coded and compressed by the DV -Digital Video- System. The objective of the analysis is to provide information on whether the magnetic tape shows signs of having been tampered with after the editing of the original recording, and also to show the user other relevant data and technical specifications of the video signal and audio. Therefore the user, forensic video analyst, will have information to help assess the originality of the content of the media that is subject to analysis. The specific objective of this final phase is the creation of the user interface of the software that provides information about the binary code of the significant sectors and also its interpretation after analysis. It will also allow the user to report the results, and other features that will allow browsing through the sections of the code that have been modified as a secondary effect of the original magnetic tape being tampered. Another important objective of the project is the investigation of methodologies and software development techniques to be used in deployment, with the aim of greater efficiency in time management and enhanced software quality in order to ensure its development and maintenance in the future. Agile methodologies, which have become important in the field of information technology in recent decades, have been used during the execution of the project, replacing classical methodologies such as Waterfall Development. The flexibility, as the result of using by agile methodologies, during the software life cycle, produces better results when the specifications are not fully defined, thus conforming to the initial conditions of the project. Summarizing the software technical specifications, C + + the programming language – which is object oriented and has been developed using technology MFC- Microsoft Foundation Classes for implementation. It is a project type dialog box, created, compiled and released with the integrated development tool Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. The architecture is structured in three layers: the user interface, business layer and data access layer. It has been necessary to configure the project with the support CLR -Common Languages Runtime – in order to implement the reporting functionality. The software application is submitted with the project report and its annexes to the following documents: Functional Requirements Specifications - Detailed User Interface Specifications, Technical Design and User Guide.

Transductor óptico-sonoro basado en procesado de imagen

En este proyecto se aborda la transducción óptico-sonora utilizando métodos de tratamiento digital de imagen. Para llevar a cabo el proyecto se consideran únicamente métodos de bajo presupuesto, por lo que para realizar todo el proceso de conversión óptico-sonora se utilizan un ordenador y un escáner doméstico. Como el principal objetivo del proyecto es comprobar si es viable utilizar el tratamiento digital de imagen como conversor no se ha contemplado la utilización de equipamiento profesional. La utilidad de este proyecto está en la restauración del sonido de material fílmico con importantes degradaciones, tales que no sea posible su reproducción en un proyector. Con el prototipo que se propone, realizado con el software de programación Matlab, se consigue digitalizar el audio analógico de las películas en malas condiciones ya que la captura de audio se efectúa de manera óptica sobre las bandas sonoras. Lo conseguido en este proyecto cobra especial importancia si se tiene en cuenta la cantidad de material cinematográfico que hay en películas de celulosa. La conservación de dicho material requiere unas condiciones de almacenamiento muy específicas para que el soporte no se vea afectado, pero con el paso del tiempo es habitual que las bobinas de película presenten deformaciones o incluso ruptura. Aplicando métodos de tratamiento digital de imagen es posible restaurar el audio de fragmentos de película que no puedan ser expuestos a la tensión producida por los rodillos de los proyectores, incluso es posible recuperar el audio de fotogramas concretos ya que la digitalización del audio se realiza capturando la imagen de la forma de onda. Por ello, el procedimiento seguido para digitalizar la película debe ser poco intrusivo para garantizar la conservación del soporte fílmico. Cabe destacar que en este proyecto se ha realizado la conversión óptico-sonora sobre las bandas de sonido analógicas de área variable presentes en la película, pero el procedimiento es aplicable también a las bandas de área variable realizando modificaciones en el prototipo. Esto último queda fuera del objetivo de este proyecto, pero puede ser un trabajo futuro. ABSTRACT This project addresses optical to sound conversion using digital image processing methods. To carry out the project are considered only low-budget methods , so for all optical to sound conversion process using a computer and a home scanner . As the main application of this project is to test the feasibility of using the digital image processing as a converter does not contemplate the use of professional equipment. The main objective of this project is the restoration of sound film material with significant impairments , such is not possible playback on a projector. With the proposed prototype , made with Matlab programming software , you get digitize analog audio bad movies because the audio capture is performed optically on the soundtracks. The achievements in this project is especially important if you consider the amount of film material is in cellulose films . The preservation of such material requires a very specific storage conditions to which the support is not affected , but over time it is common for film reels presenting deformations or even rupture. Applying methods of digital image processing is possible to restore the audio from movie clips that can not be exposed to the tension produced by the rollers of the projectors , it is even possible to retrieve specific frames audio and audio that digitization is done by capturing the image of the waveform. Therefore, the procedure used to digitize the film should be bit intrusive to ensure the conservation of the film medium. Note that in this project was carried out optical to sound conversion on analog variable area soundtracks present in the film, but the procedure is applicable to variable-area bands making changes to the prototype. The latter is beyond the scope of this project, but can be a future work.

Distributed Web Interface for Real-Time Spatial Audio Reproduction System

SSR es el acrónimo de SoundScape Renderer (tool for real-time spatial audio reproduction providing a variety of rendering algorithms), es un programa escrito en su mayoría en C++. El programa permite al usuario escuchar tanto sonidos grabados con anterioridad como sonidos en directo. El sonido o los sonidos se oirán, desde el punto de vista del oyente, como si el sonido se produjese en el punto que el programa decida, lo interesante de este proyecto es que el sonido podrá cambiar de lugar, moverse, etc. Todo en tiempo real. Esto se consigue sin modificar el sonido al grabarlo pero sí al emitirlo, el programa calcula las variaciones necesarias para que al emitir el sonido al oyente le llegue como si el sonido realmente se generase en un punto del espacio o lo más parecido posible. La sensación de movimiento no deja de ser el punto anterior cambiando de lugar. La idea era crear una aplicación web basada en Canvas de HTML5 que se comunicará con esta interfaz de usuario remota. Así se solucionarían todos los problemas de compatibilidad ya que cualquier dispositivo con posibilidad de visualizar páginas web podría correr una aplicación basada en estándares web, por ejemplo un sistema con Windows o un móvil con navegador. El protocolo debía de ser WebSocket porque es un protocolo HTML5 y ofrece las “garantías” de latencia que una aplicación con necesidades de información en tiempo real requiere. Nos permite una comunicación full-dúplex asíncrona sin mucho payload que es justo lo que se venía a evitar al no usar polling normal de HTML. El problema que surgió fue que la interfaz de usuario de red que tenía el programa no era compatible con WebSocket debido a un handshacking inicial y obligatorio que realiza el protocolo, por lo que se necesitaba otra interfaz de red. Se decidió entonces cambiar a JSON como formato para el intercambio de mensajes. Al final el proyecto comprende no sólo la aplicación web basada en Canvas sino también un servidor funcional y la definición de una nueva interfaz de usuario de red con su protocolo añadido. ABSTRACT. This project aims to become a part of the SSR tool to extend its capabilities in the field of the access. SSR is an acronym for SoundScape Renderer, is a program mostly written in C++ that allows you to hear already recorded or live sound with a variety of sound equipment as if the sound came from a desired place in the space. Like the web-page of the SSR says surely better explained: “The SoundScape Renderer (SSR) is a tool for real-time spatial audio reproduction providing a variety of rendering algorithms.” The application can be used with a graphical interface written in Qt but has also a network interface for external applications to use it. This network interface communicates using XML messages. A good example of it is the Android client. This Android client is already working. In order to use the application should be run it by loading an audio source and the wanted environment so that the renderer knows what to do. In that moment the server binds and anyone can use the network interface. Since the network interface is documented everyone can make an application to interact with this network interface. So the application can have as many user interfaces as wanted. The part that is developed in this project has nothing to do neither with audio rendering nor even with the reproduction of the spatial audio. The part that is developed here is about the interface used in the SSR application. As it can be deduced from the title: “Distributed Web Interface for Real-Time Spatial Audio Reproduction System”, this work aims only to offer the interface via web for the SSR (“Real-Time Spatial Audio Reproduction System”). The idea is not to make a new graphical interface for SSR but to allow more types of interfaces and communication. To accomplish the objective of allowing more graphical interfaces this project is going to use a new network interface. By now the SSR application is using only XML for data interchange but this new network interface support JSON. This project comprehends the server that launch the application, the user interface and the new network interface. It is done with these modules in order to allow creating new user interfaces that can communicate with the server or new servers that can communicate with the user interface by defining a complete network interface for data interchange.