This manuscript portrays optimization as a process. In many practical applications the environment is so complex that it is infeasible to lay out a comprehensive theoretical model and use classical algorithmic theory and mathematical optimization. It is necessary as well as beneficial to take a robust approach, by applying an optimization method that learns as one goes along, learning from experience as more aspects of the problem are observed. This view of optimization as a process has become prominent in varied fields and has led to some spectacular success in modeling and systems that are now part of our daily lives.

翻译：本手稿将优化描述为一个过程。在许多实际应用中,环境如此复杂,因此不宜提出一个全面的理论模型,并使用经典算法理论和数学优化。 有必要而且有益的做法是采取强有力的方法,通过应用一个不断学习的优化方法,在观察到问题的更多方面时从经验中学习。 这种将优化视为一个过程的观点在许多领域变得十分突出,并导致在建模和系统方面取得一些令人瞩目的成功,这些现已成为我们日常生活的一部分。