The second edition of this 5-volume handbook is intended to be a basic yet comprehensive reference work in combinatorial optimization that will benefit newcomers and researchers for years to come. This multi-volume work deals with several algorithmic approaches for discrete problems as well as with many combinatorial problems. The editors have brought together almost every aspect of this enormous field of combinatorial optimization, an area of research at the intersection of applied mathematics, computer science, and operations research and which overlaps with many other areas such as computation complexity, computational biology, VLSI design, communications networks, and management science. An international team of 30-40 experts in the field form the editorial board. The Handbook of Combinatorial Optimization, second edition is addressed to all scientists who use combinatorial optimization methods to model and solve problems. Experts in the field as well as non-specialists will find the material stimulating and useful.