The Most Complex Machine: A Survey of Computers and Computing

By David Botstein

Book Overview

This introduction to computers presents the fundamental ideas and principles on which modern computers are built. While used as a text for courses in computer appreciation as well as introductions to computer science, the book has found a wide audience among computer users who wish to understand the basis of the machines that form and transform our society. What Computers Do - Teaching Silicon to Compute - Building a Computer -+Theoretical Computers - Real Computers - Programming - Subroutines and Recursion - Real Programming Languages - Applications - Cooperating Computers - Graphics - Artificial Intelligence - Answers - The text is supplemented by a web site that gives access to other problems and projects. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568811284
• ISBN13: 9781568811284
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: A K PETERS
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Clear infomation teory and complexity creation

The book explains with great clarity -in a succesion of layers- how to manage complex things from "structured simple components". A lot of insights of great utility for any person interested in gaining knowledge on the computers architecture, software engineering and cognitive science. Maybe introductory for computer science students but very deep for other knowledge areas interested in understanding how can complexity and...

Principles behind computer science

This reference discusses the principles behind computer science. It is clearly and simply written, and suitable for the general reader.

Good introductory book with potential to become GREAT

The book is provides a very good introduction to the field of computer science. Eck's writing is fairly clear and comprehensible. However, the book falters in structure, using incredibly long footnotes that at times occupy over half a page. It seems as if the author hurriedly wrote half of the book and then, upon realizing his omission of the other half, threw in the rest as footnotes. Eck has devoted a web page to...