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Computer science: a mathematical introduction
Lew A., Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1985. Type: Book (9789780131642522) |
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The subtitle of this text is “Applied Mathematics: Modelling, Analysis and Optimization Techniques with Applications to Software Systems.” It is dedicated to Richard Bellman and carries on in his tradition; however, as the author points out in his Preface, this book has “breadth, albeit at the expense of depth.” This has a tendency to make the book read like an encyclopedia in places. The book has enough material for a full-year course at the junior/senior level. The book has a good, three-level Table of Contents; only the top level is presented here: (1) Basic Concepts. (2) Algebraic Systems. (3) Applications--Numerical and Non-Numerical Computation. (4) Digraphs and Trees. (5) Applications--Algorithms and Formal Computation. (6) Elements of Probability and Statistics. (7) Applications--Information Structures. (8) Optimization and Dynamic Programming. (9) Applications--Operating Systems.
I think I’d enjoy teaching a course from this book and that students would enjoy reading this book. It is well written, and has a good layout, typography, and nice figures. It has numerous exercises of good quality, a good bibliography, a good index, and many interesting applications. In his Postscript, the author speaks truly: “We have covered a wealth of material in this book.” Three of the top texts in this area are [1], [2], and [3]. [1] and [2] are for junior/senior level; [3] is for the senior/first-year graduate level. If I were going to teach a junior/senior-level course surveying the applications of mathematics in computer science this term, I’d probably choose Lew’s text. However, I’d supplement it with extra handouts in two areas: (1) combinatorics and enumeration, and (2) switching and logic circuits.
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Reviewer:
D. Hicks |
Review #: CR109702 |
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| 1) |
Kemeny, J. G.; Snell, J. L.; and Thompson, G. L.Introduction to finite mathematics (3rd ed.), Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1974. |
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| 2) |
Prather, R. E.Discrete mathematical structures for computer science Houghton Mifflin, Co., Boston, MA, 1976. See <CR> 17, 5 (May 1976), Rev. 29,871. |
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| 3) |
Stone, H. S.Discrete mathematical structures and their applications, Science Research Associates, Inc., Chicago, IL, 1973. |
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| Other reviews under "General": |
Date |
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Type: Journal |
Feb 1 1986 |
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Science, computers, and people: from the tree of mathematics
Ulam S., Birkhäuser Boston Inc., Cambridge, MA, 1986. Type: Book (9789780817632762) |
May 1 1988 |
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Mathematics for programming computers (3rd ed.)
Clark F., Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1988. Type: Book (9789780135631805) |
Apr 1 1989 |
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