STYLITISM, SYNERGISM AND SYNCRETISM: THE INTERFACE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND OPERATIONS RESEARCH

Nance, Richard E. (1978) STYLITISM, SYNERGISM AND SYNCRETISM: THE INTERFACE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND OPERATIONS RESEARCH. Technical Report CS78005-R, Computer Science, Virginia Tech.

Abstract

The interface of computer science and operations research is described from a stylitic perspective. This position enables an honest appraisal of the disciplinary synergism often claimed for the two. Operations research emphasizes the development of algorithms and the implications therein; while computer science gives primary emphasis to the representation of algorithms and the implications of execution on a digital computer. The realization of a syncretic state can be claimed only for discrete event simulation and, to a lesser extent, for scheduling theory. To the extent that the "algorithm" can serve as common ground for both disciplines, a broader, more fundamental form of syncretism might be achieved.