Simply Scheme: Introducing Computer Science - Hardcover

Harvey, Brian & Matthew Wright & Harold Abelson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0262082268 ISBN 13: 9780262082266

Publisher: The MIT Press, 1994

Synopsis

An introductory-level text for students who are not majoring in computer science as well as for computer science majors with no prior programming experience, Simply Scheme teaches computer science from a functional/symbolic point of view. It provides a solid platform from which students can go on to study the seminal work Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. Beginners will find the authors' approach sophisticated yet conversational and unintimidating. Using Scheme, a modern dialect of Lisp, they teach fundamental ideas and concepts of computer science -- composition of functions, function as object, recursion, abstraction (data abstraction and procedural abstraction), and sequential (non-functional) techniques -- in a way that avoids confusing technical pitfalls. Interesting nonmathematical programming examples use words and sentences as data; practical examples are represented by miniature spreadsheet and database programs. Simply Scheme devotes five chapters to recursion, presenting distinct ways for readers to think about this watershed idea. There is also a chapter on file input/output, and students are able to work on substantial, realistic programming projects in the first semester. Compared to Pascal- or C-based texts, Simply Scheme has many advantages in its use of the Scheme programming language. Scheme is interactive and allows for ease of program development and debugging; its first-class functions and automatic storage allocation provide a high level of abstraction so that programmers can concentrate on the desired goal instead of on the computer; its simple, uniform syntax doesn't take up months of class time. Simply Scheme differs from other Scheme-based books in its detailed and thorough exploration of the beginning steps in computer science. In addition to its emphasis on recursion, it also explores higher-order procedures and trees in depth, leaving object-oriented programming and the more difficult environment model for a later course. Simply Scheme extends the standard Scheme language with word and sentence data types to make symbolic programming easier for beginners. It also features a series of large sample programs and a series of suggested large programming projects. Download the program files for use with the book

About this title

About the Author

Brian Harvey, author of Computer Science Logo Style, is a lecturer in the Computer Science Department at the University of California, Berkeley. Matthew Wright is a researcher at the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies at the University of California, Berkeley.

Reviews

Should programming be a matter of learning where to put the semicolon and goto? According to Harvey and Wright, absolutely not. Programming, especially when you're starting off, is about the big picture, learning how to use your imagination and not your grammar. The authors use Scheme, a dialect of Lisp, as their base. Scheme and Lisp are symbolic programs that let you create programs that will write programs. Exercises throughout with Scheme help you get up to speed quickly and even have a good time. The first half of the book makes you comfortable with functions, leading you to projects involving bridge games and tic-tac-toe. In the second half, you deal with recursion, abstraction, files, and vectors. By the end of these chapters, you're ready to use Scheme to tackle databases and spreadsheets. Simply Scheme proves that programming can be accessible as long as it stimulates, rather than deadens, the imagination. This book will give you a sense of the inner workings of computer applications like no other.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262082268
• ISBN 13: 9780262082266
• Binding: Hardcover