Dynamic Systems (DEDS) are almost endless: military C31 Ilogistic
systems, the emergency ward of a metropolitan hospital, back offices of
large insurance and brokerage fums, service and spare part operations of
multinational fums . . . . the point is the pervasive nature of such
systems in the daily life of human beings. Yet DEDS is a relatively new
phenomenon in dynamic systems studies. From the days of Galileo to
Newton to quantum mechanics and cosmology of the present, dynamic
systems in nature are primarily differential equations based and time
driven. A large literature and endless success stories have been built
up on such Continuous Variable Dynamic Systems (CVDS). It is, however,
equally clear that DEDS are fundamentally different from CVDS. They are
event driven, asynchronous, mostly man-made and only became significant
during the past generation. Increasingly, however, it can be argued that
in the modem world our lives are being impacted by and dependent upon
the efficient operations of such DEDS. Yet compared to the successful
paradigm of differential equations for CVDS the mathematical modelling
of DEDS is in its infancy. Nor are there as many successful and
established techniques for their analysis and synthesis. The purpose of
this series is to promote the study and understanding of the modelling,
analysis, control, and management of DEDS. The idea of the series came
from editing a special issue of the Proceedings of IEEE on DEOS during
1988.