\lcTex{\chapter*{Preface}} \lcHtml{\chapter{Preface}} \cgal\ is a {\em Computational Geometry Algorithms Library} written in \CC, developed by a consortium consisting of \ccAnchor{http://www.inf.ethz.ch/}{ETH Z\"urich} (Switzerland), \ccAnchor{http://www.inf.fu-berlin.de/}{Freie Universit{\"a}t Berlin} (Germany), \ccAnchor{http://www.inria.fr/Equipes/PRISME-eng.html}{{\sc Inria} Sophia-Antipolis} (France), \ccAnchor{http://www.informatik.uni-halle.de/}{Martin-Luther-Universit{\"a}t Halle-Wittenberg} (Germany), \ccAnchor{http://www.mpi-sb.mpg.de/}{Max-Planck Institut f{\"u}r Informatik}, Saarbr\"ucken (Germany), \ccAnchor{http://info.risc.uni-linz.ac.at/}{{\sc Risc}} Linz (Austria) \ccAnchor{http://www.math.tau.ac.il/}{Tel-Aviv University} (Israel), and \ccAnchor{http://www.cs.uu.nl/}{Utrecht University} (The Netherlands). You can find more information on the project on the \ccAnchor{http://www.cs.uu.nl/CGAL/}{\cgal\ home page} \ccTexHtml{at URL {\tt http://www.cgal.org}}{}. Should you have any questions, comments, remarks or criticism concerning \cgal, please send a message to \ccTexHtml{{\tt contact@cgal.org}}{<contact@cgal.org>}. \section*{Editorial Committee} Andreas Fabri ({\sc Inria} Sophia-Antipolis) \\ %Bernd G\"artner (ETH Z\"urich) \\ Susan Hert (\ccHtmlNoLinksFrom{Max-Planck Institut f\"ur Informatik})\\ Shai Hirsch (Tel-Aviv University) \\ Michael Hoffmann (ETH Z\"urich) \\ Lutz Kettner (\ccHtmlNoLinksFrom{Max-Planck Institut f\"ur Informatik})\\ Sylvain Pion ({\sc Inria} Sophia-Antipolis)\\ Monique Teillaud ({\sc Inria} Sophia-Antipolis)\\ Remco Veltkamp (Utrecht University)\\ Mariette Yvinec ({\sc Inria} Sophia-Antipolis)\\ \section*{Authors} Herv\'e Br\"onnimann ({\sc Inria} Sophia-Antipolis). \\ Stefan Schirra (\ccHtmlNoLinksFrom{Max-Planck Institut f\"ur Informatik}).\\ Michael Seel (\ccHtmlNoLinksFrom{Max-Planck Institut f\"ur Informatik}) \section*{Design and Implementation History} This higher-dimensional kernel is the result of a long evolving development. A first version of the kernel was offered as a LEDA extension package ddgeo by Kurt Mehlhorn and Michael Seel. The original design was driven by the realization of a d-dimensional convex hull data type developed at the \ccHtmlNoLinksFrom{Max-Planck Institut f\"ur Informatik}. The code base was discussed and reviewed within the CGAL kernel group (of the low-dimensional kernel). This led to the identification of the concept interfaces and in parallel to adaptations according to the evolvement of the low-dimensional kernel. The kernel was revised based on suggestions by Herv\'e Br\"onnimann, Michael Hoffmann, and Stefan Schirra. It is currently maintained by Michael Seel. \section*{Acknowledgement} This work was supported by ESPRIT IV Long Term Research Projects No.~21957 (CGAL) and No.~28155 (GALIA).