An Invitation to Computer Science: Java Version

A Java version of the authors' best-selling introduction to the field of computer science. This text provides a breadth-first overview of the central topics studied in the field: algorithms, hardware design, computer organization, system software, language models, programming, compilation, theory of computation, applications, networks, artificial intelligence, and the impact of computers on society. The authors present these topics in the context of the big picture, using a six-layer hierarchy of abstractions. The hierarchy is based on the algorithmic foundations of computer science and works upward from low-level hardware concepts through virtual machine environments, languages, software, and applications programs to the social issues raised by computer technology. Each layer in the hierarchy builds on ideas and concepts presented earlier. An accompanying lab manual provides exploratory lab activities. For this Java Version, Chapters 7 (Introduction to High-Level Language Programming) and 8 (The Tower of Babel) have been thoroughly revised to incorporate Java 2 as the programming language of implementation.

G. Michael Schneider is Professor of Computer Science at Macalester College. He is also the Chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department at Macalester. His research interests lie in the areas of parallel processing and computer networks. He has written textbooks on software development, data structures, computer organization, and a breadth-first overview of computer science. Mike's recreational interests include running, cooking, and, most of all, traveling. He has taught computer science in England, Israel, Kenya, Australia, Japan, Zimbabwe, and Malaysia.