Introduction

Zusammenfassung

How can computers help us? This question, at the very foundation of (applied) computer science, is not yet answered conclusively. There are many fields where computer systems are widely accepted, e.g., administration or education, even though their positive impact is debatable [33, 261, 326]. If there is any aspect of human activity for which the surplus of using computers is not questionable, this is the scientific endeavor. Computers have profoundly changed and enhanced research methodology: peta-bytes of measurement data are stored and processed to interpret experiments with the Large Hadron Collider [285], efficient algorithms help analyzing DNA sequences [2], and whole experimentation processes are automated by computers and robots [178]. Apart from merely processing symbolic data faster and less error-prone than humans, computers are also valuable tools for testing our hypotheses regarding a system under investigation.