From Logistic Networks to Social Networks

Foreword

What original writing on the topic of networks is yet to be written when thousands of books devoted to the subject have been published? This challenge has been taken up by the authors of this book, who have chosen to highlight the many commonalities of the most significant types of networks in order to identify methods and tools for study. This new approach is thus a welcome addition to the literature.

The concept of network has been in common use for several decades. The word itself is quite old. Its etymology goes back to the Latin retiolus, the diminutive of retis, meaning “net”. The English term network is derived from this same “net”. First used in the domains of textile, medicine and military fortifications, as of the 19th century, the word was used to designate all paths, roads and then railways, which run through a particular region or a country. Information and communication technologies have since become the prominent modern-day meaning.

The structure of this book is broken down into three parts, with corresponding prerequisites set out in the introduction, which responds well to an educational pursuit and to the various expectations of readers: this book is not a novel, and as such does not require a linear reading.

Part 1 presents some of the more significant types of networks that provide services of increasing quality to users in their personal or professional activities. It also describes modeling discrete flow networks, that is, networks in which physical ...