Sets, Logic and Maths for Computing (Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science) - Softcover

David Makinson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846288444 ISBN 13: 9781846288449

Publisher: Springer, 2008

Synopsis

This book equips the student with essential intellectual tools that are needed from the very beginning of university studies in computing. These consist of abilities and skills - to pass from a concrete problem to an abstract representation, reason with the abstract structure coherently and usefully, and return with booty to the specific situation. The most basic and useful concepts needed come from the worlds of sets (with also their employment as relations and functions), structures (notably trees and graphs), and combinatorics (alias principles of counting, with their application in the world of probability). Recurring in all these are two kinds of instrument of proof – logical (notably inference by suppositions, reductio ad absurdum, and proof by cases), and mathematical (notably induction on the positive integers and on well-founded structures). From this book the student can assimilate the basics of these worlds and set out on the paths of computing with understanding and a platform for further study as needed.

About this title

From the Back Cover

University studies in computing require the ability to pass from a concrete problem to an abstract representation, reason with the abstract structure, and return with useful solutions to the specific situation. The tools for developing these skills are in part qualitative – concepts such as set, relation, function, and structures such as trees and well-founded orders. They are also in part quantitative – notably elementary combinatorics and finite probability. Recurring in all of these are instruments of proof, both purely logical ones (such as proof by contradiction) and mathematical (the various forms of induction). Features: · Explains the basic mathematical tools required by students as they set out in their studies of Computer or Information Science · Explores the interplay between qualitative thinking and calculation · Teaches the material as a language for thinking, as much as knowledge to be acquired · Uses an intuitive approach with a focus on examples for all general concepts · Provides numerous exercises, solutions and proofs to deepen and test the reader’s understanding · Includes highlight boxes that raise common queries and clear away confusions · Tandems with additional electronic resources including slides on author's website http://david.c.makinson.googlepages.com This easy-to-follow text allows readers to carry out their computing studies with a clear understanding of the basic finite mathematics and logic that they will need. Written explicitly for undergraduates, it requires only a minimal mathematical background and is ideal for self-study as well as classroom use.

About the Author

David Makinson is currently Visiting Professor at London School of Economics (LSE). Previous affiliations include the Department of Computer Science at King’s College London, UNESCO in Paris, and the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. He is well known for his early research in modal and deontic logics, and more recently in the logic of belief change (as one of the founders of the AGM paradigm) and nonmonotonic reasoning.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1846288444
• ISBN 13: 9781846288449
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 320