In geometry, there are several challenging problems studying numbers associated to convex bodies. For example, the packing density problem, the kissing number problem, the covering density problem, the packing-covering constant problem, Hadwiger＇s covering conjecture and Borsuk＇s partition conjecture. They are flmdamental and fascinating problems about the same objects. However, up to now, both the methodology and the technique applied to them are essentially different. Therefore, a common foundation for them has been much expected. By treating problems of these types as functionals defined on the spaces of n-dimensional convex bodies, this paper tries to create such a foundation. In particular, supderivatives for these functionals will be studied.
