 |
GetTextbooks.co.uk
Compare Prices & Save up to 90% |
|
|
|
| Login | Sign up | My Wish List |
 | | Languages and Machines: An Introduction to the Theory of Computer Science (2nd Edition) by Thomas A. Sudkamp ISBN-10: 9780201821369 ISBN-10: 0-201-82136-2 ISBN-13: 9780201821369 ISBN-13: 978-0-201-82136-9 Hardcover 1996-11-04 Addison Wesley Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Amazon.com Languages and Machines is a user-friendly text that covers the key ideas of the theory of computation clearly and thoroughly. Examples and numerous diagrams, including diagrams that illustrate the principle of induction, aid in the understanding of the material. Relative to other books containing similar information, this text contains in-depth coverage of languages and parsing. | ||
Reviews | ||
No Examples , No Answers, No Hints Besides the fact that the book is "dry", in which most Math theory based books are, the examples are just the basis step towards solving a problem. I equate it to teaching a child how to add, and just giving them the example "1 + 0", then assume they can figure out the rest. There are no answers, either in the back of the book for particular exercies, nor was a study guide made available. What is really shocking is that it's the most expensive book out there! Not to mention that there isn't any programming steps made available. Great text for a Math major ... horrible textbook for Computer Science Majors, mainly because computer science majors would want to see programming examples and may not be as strongly math oriented as a Math major would be. | ||
A Good Book for a Tough Subject Abstract language theory is hard, but Languages and Machines does a very good job of explaining the subject step by step. The topics are covered extremely thoroughly and with just the right amount of rigor. As for those who claim it's not exciting enough, you can't get blood out of a stone. Only the most dedicated computer scientist and mathematicians will find this topic interesting. Even so, this book does a superb job of tying theory to application (e.g., the machines one can use language theory to build) for even the most obscure concepts (like the Greibach Normal Form). That being said, there are a few problems. First, the author's claim that this is a book for undergrads is not credible (except perhaps at MIT or CalTech). Even my graduate students have to read sections multiple times to "get it". Second, the author needs to provide solutions to selected problems at the back of the textbook. Most theory books do this, but not this one. This is a major weakness, especially given the difficulty of the material. Lastly, Sudkamp's proofs are extremely dry and very difficult to follow. He should take a cue from Sipser's excellent book (Intro to Theory of Computation) and introduce "proof ideas" to give the big picture for important proofs. | ||
emphasises the Turing machine [A review of the 3RD EDITION, 2005.] Sudkamp gives a formal and rigorous explanation of what constitutes a language. Where this is deliberately taken to include both natural (spoken) languages and programming languages. To do this, you should note that the treatment is necessarily non-trivial. It is not a lightweight book, conceptually. The book summarises decades of work in this field, that have attempted to reduce human languages to a form that could be "understood" by a machine. So he explains the various techniques that have arisen. Like finite state machines (finite automata). Notably, he discusses what is a Turing machine. A universal computing engine, that all other computers can map to. Such a Turing machine might be deterministic or non-deterministic. You can learn very powerful unifying ideas. From the construct of a Turing machine, the book uses this to delve into problems that are NP complete or P complete. The implementation of a solution as steps to be done by a Turing machine are elegant, and show how such a machine, while an idealisation, can be used to give provable results. | ||
horrified The book is incredibly boring. If you're condemned to read it (say, it's required reading for your qualifiers), I strongly recommend that you find a group of people to study w/ and pool your resources to only buy a single copy. The lack of answers at the back of the book makes self study difficult, and groupwork might be the only way to stay awake. I wish to God I could think of another book to recommend over this one. I imagine any will do. | ||
Taught by the author! Hey, I was fortunate enough to learn this course from the author of the book. The book by itself might seem tough. The fault lies in the fact that subject matter is not altogether too simple to understand without someone teaching it to you! With the help of the instructor, we did learn a lot about formal languages, finite automaton, regular grammer, etc. The key to understanding this material (and using this book effectively) is solving as many problems as possible, preferably in a group setting so that solutions can be discussed. Note: For most problems, there exists multiple solutions, and the approach is what needs to be learned and discussed. Recommended, with some reservations...Good luck! | ||