Computability, Complexity, and Languages,: Fundamentals of Theoretical Computer Science (Computer Science and Scientific Computing) - Hardcover

Martin Davis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0122063821 ISBN 13: 9780122063824

Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann, 1994

Synopsis

Computability, Complexity, and Languages is an introductory text that covers the key areas of computer science, including recursive function theory, formal languages, and automata. It assumes a minimal background in formal mathematics. The book is divided into five parts: Computability, Grammars and Automata, Logic, Complexity, and Unsolvability.

• Computability theory is introduced in a manner that makes maximum use of previous programming experience, including a "universal" program that takes up less than a page.
• The number of exercises included has more than tripled.
• Automata theory, computational logic, and complexity theory are presented in a flexible manner, and can be covered in a variety of different arrangements.

About this title

Review:

"If there is a single book on the theory of computing that should be in every college library collection, this is it. Although written as a text for an advanced undergraduate course in theoretical computer science, the book may serve as an introductory resource, or the foundation for independent study, in many areas of theoretical computing: grammars, automata theory, computability, complexity theory, and unsolvability. The beauty of this book is that the breadth of coverage is complemented with extraordinary depth." ―CHOICE

"Theoretical computer science is often viewed as a collection of disparate topics, including computability theory, formal language theory, complexity theory, logic, and so on. This well-written book attempts to unify the subject by introducing each of these topics in turn, then showing how they relate to each other... This is an excellent book that succeeds in tying together a number of areas in theoretical computer science." ―COMPUTING REVIEWS

About the Author:

Born in New York City in 1928, Martin Davis was a student of Emil L. Post at City College and his doctorate at Princeton in 1950 was under the supervision of Alonzo Church. Davis's book Computability and Unsolvability (1958) has been called "one of the few real classics in computer science." He is best known for his pioneering work in automated deduction and for his contributions to the solution of Hilbert's tenth problem. For this latter work he was awarded the Chauvenet and Lester R. Ford Prizes by the Mathematical Association of America and the Leroy P. Steele Prize by the American Mathematical Society. In 1983 he was a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow and in 2005 he received the Herbrand Prize from the Conference on Automated Deduction. His books have been translated into a number of languages including Russian and Japanese. Davis has been on the faculty of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University since 1965, was one of the charter members of the Computer Science Department founded in 1969, and is now Professor Emeritus. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.

About this edition

• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0122063821
• ISBN 13: 9780122063824
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 609