The lectures in this volume are the proceedings from the 1995 AMS-SIAM Summer Seminar in Applied Mathematics held in Park City, UT. The mathematical theory of real number algorithms was the subject of the conference, with emphasis on geometrical, algebraic, analytic, and foundational perspectives. Investigations on efficiency played a special role.

The goal of the conference was to give the topic of numerical analysis greater coherence by focusing on the mathematical side. Particular attention was aimed at strengthening the unity of mathematics and numerical analysis and narrowing the gap between pure and applied mathematics. The conference was international in character, with strong representation from the most mathematically developed parts of numerical analysis. Seminars in the following areas were held: linear algebra, nonlinear systems-path following, differential equations, linear programming, interval arithmetic, algebraic questions, foundations, information based complexity, lower bounds, and approximation theory.