Great Principles of Computing

Author: Peter J. Denning
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026252712X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Book Description
A new framework for understanding computing: a coherent set of principles spanning technologies, domains, algorithms, architectures, and designs. Computing is usually viewed as a technology field that advances at the breakneck speed of Moore's Law. If we turn away even for a moment, we might miss a game-changing technological breakthrough or an earthshaking theoretical development. This book takes a different perspective, presenting computing as a science governed by fundamental principles that span all technologies. Computer science is a science of information processes. We need a new language to describe the science, and in this book Peter Denning and Craig Martell offer the great principles framework as just such a language. This is a book about the whole of computing—its algorithms, architectures, and designs. Denning and Martell divide the great principles of computing into six categories: communication, computation, coordination, recollection, evaluation, and design. They begin with an introduction to computing, its history, its many interactions with other fields, its domains of practice, and the structure of the great principles framework. They go on to examine the great principles in different areas: information, machines, programming, computation, memory, parallelism, queueing, and design. Finally, they apply the great principles to networking, the Internet in particular. Great Principles of Computing will be essential reading for professionals in science and engineering fields with a “computational” branch, for practitioners in computing who want overviews of less familiar areas of computer science, and for non-computer science majors who want an accessible entry way to the field.

Computational Thinking

Author: Peter J. Denning
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262353423
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 266

Book Description
This pocket-sized introduction to computational thinking and problem-solving traces its genealogy centuries before the digital computer. A few decades into the digital era, scientists discovered that thinking in terms of computation made possible an entirely new way of organizing scientific investigation. Eventually, every field had a computational branch: computational physics, computational biology, computational sociology. More recently, “computational thinking” has become part of the K–12 curriculum. But what is computational thinking? This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series offers an accessible overview—tracing a genealogy that begins centuries before digital computers and portraying computational thinking as the pioneers of computing have described it. The authors explain that computational thinking (CT) is not a set of concepts for programming; it is a way of thinking that is honed through practice: the mental skills for designing computations to do jobs for us, and for explaining and interpreting the world as a complex of information processes. Mathematically trained experts (known as “computers”) who performed complex calculations as teams engaged in CT long before electronic computers. In each chapter, the author identify different dimensions of today's highly developed CT: • Computational Methods • Computing Machines • Computing Education • Software Engineering • Computational Science • Design Along the way, they debunk inflated claims for CT and computation while making clear the power of CT in all its complexity and multiplicity.

The Elements of Computing Systems

Author: Noam Nisan
Publisher:
ISBN: 0262640686
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 343

Book Description
This title gives students an integrated and rigorous picture of applied computer science, as it comes to play in the construction of a simple yet powerful computer system.

Principles of Computer System Design

Author: Jerome H. Saltzer
Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
ISBN: 0080959423
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 561

Book Description
Principles of Computer System Design is the first textbook to take a principles-based approach to the computer system design. It identifies, examines, and illustrates fundamental concepts in computer system design that are common across operating systems, networks, database systems, distributed systems, programming languages, software engineering, security, fault tolerance, and architecture.Through carefully analyzed case studies from each of these disciplines, it demonstrates how to apply these concepts to tackle practical system design problems. To support the focus on design, the text identifies and explains abstractions that have proven successful in practice such as remote procedure call, client/service organization, file systems, data integrity, consistency, and authenticated messages. Most computer systems are built using a handful of such abstractions. The text describes how these abstractions are implemented, demonstrates how they are used in different systems, and prepares the reader to apply them in future designs.The book is recommended for junior and senior undergraduate students in Operating Systems, Distributed Systems, Distributed Operating Systems and/or Computer Systems Design courses; and professional computer systems designers. - Concepts of computer system design guided by fundamental principles - Cross-cutting approach that identifies abstractions common to networking, operating systems, transaction systems, distributed systems, architecture, and software engineering - Case studies that make the abstractions real: naming (DNS and the URL); file systems (the UNIX file system); clients and services (NFS); virtualization (virtual machines); scheduling (disk arms); security (TLS) - Numerous pseudocode fragments that provide concrete examples of abstract concepts - Extensive support. The authors and MIT OpenCourseWare provide on-line, free of charge, open educational resources, including additional chapters, course syllabi, board layouts and slides, lecture videos, and an archive of lecture schedules, class assignments, and design projects

But how Do it Know?

Author: J. Clark Scott
Publisher: John C Scott
ISBN: 0615303765
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 223

Book Description
This book thoroughly explains how computers work. It starts by fully examining a NAND gate, then goes on to build every piece and part of a small, fully operational computer. The necessity and use of codes is presented in parallel with the apprioriate pieces of hardware. The book can be easily understood by anyone whether they have a technical background or not. It could be used as a textbook.

Code

Author: Charles Petzold
Publisher: Microsoft Press
ISBN: 0137909292
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 563

Book Description
The classic guide to how computers work, updated with new chapters and interactive graphics "For me, Code was a revelation. It was the first book about programming that spoke to me. It started with a story, and it built up, layer by layer, analogy by analogy, until I understood not just the Code, but the System. Code is a book that is as much about Systems Thinking and abstractions as it is about code and programming. Code teaches us how many unseen layers there are between the computer systems that we as users look at every day and the magical silicon rocks that we infused with lightning and taught to think." - Scott Hanselman, Partner Program Director, Microsoft, and host of Hanselminutes Computers are everywhere, most obviously in our laptops and smartphones, but also our cars, televisions, microwave ovens, alarm clocks, robot vacuum cleaners, and other smart appliances. Have you ever wondered what goes on inside these devices to make our lives easier but occasionally more infuriating? For more than 20 years, readers have delighted in Charles Petzold's illuminating story of the secret inner life of computers, and now he has revised it for this new age of computing. Cleverly illustrated and easy to understand, this is the book that cracks the mystery. You'll discover what flashlights, black cats, seesaws, and the ride of Paul Revere can teach you about computing, and how human ingenuity and our compulsion to communicate have shaped every electronic device we use. This new expanded edition explores more deeply the bit-by-bit and gate-by-gate construction of the heart of every smart device, the central processing unit that combines the simplest of basic operations to perform the most complex of feats. Petzold's companion website, CodeHiddenLanguage.com, uses animated graphics of key circuits in the book to make computers even easier to comprehend. In addition to substantially revised and updated content, new chapters include: Chapter 18: Let's Build a Clock! Chapter 21: The Arithmetic Logic Unit Chapter 22: Registers and Busses Chapter 23: CPU Control Signals Chapter 24: Jumps, Loops, and Calls Chapter 28: The World Brain From the simple ticking of clocks to the worldwide hum of the internet, Code reveals the essence of the digital revolution.

The Science of Computing

Author: Matti Tedre
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482217694
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 294

Book Description
The identity of computing has been fiercely debated throughout its short history. Why is it still so hard to define computing as an academic discipline? Is computing a scientific, mathematical, or engineering discipline? By describing the mathematical, engineering, and scientific traditions of computing, The Science of Computing: Shaping a Discipline presents a rich picture of computing from the viewpoints of the field’s champions. The book helps readers understand the debates about computing as a discipline. It explains the context of computing’s central debates and portrays a broad perspective of the discipline. The book first looks at computing as a formal, theoretical discipline that is in many ways similar to mathematics, yet different in crucial ways. It traces a number of discussions about the theoretical nature of computing from the field’s intellectual origins in mathematical logic to modern views of the role of theory in computing. The book then explores the debates about computing as an engineering discipline, from the central technical innovations to the birth of the modern technical paradigm of computing to computing’s arrival as a new technical profession to software engineering gradually becoming an academic discipline. It presents arguments for and against the view of computing as engineering within the context of software production and analyzes the clash between the theoretical and practical mindsets. The book concludes with the view of computing as a science in its own right—not just as a tool for other sciences. It covers the early identity debates of computing, various views of computing as a science, and some famous characterizations of the discipline. It also addresses the experimental computer science debate, the view of computing as a natural science, and the algorithmization of sciences.

The Principles of Computer Hardware

Author: Alan Clements
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780198564539
Category : Computer input-output equipment
Languages : en
Pages : 716

Book Description
Principles of Computer Hardware, now in its third edition, provides a first course in computer architecture or computer organization for undergraduates. The book covers the core topics of such a course, including Boolean algebra and logic design; number bases and binary arithmetic; the CPU;assembly language; memory systems; and input/output methods and devices. It then goes on to cover the related topics of computer peripherals such as printers; the hardware aspects of the operating system; and data communications, and hence provides a broader overview of the subject. Its readable,tutorial-based approach makes it an accessible introduction to the subject. The book has extensive in-depth coverage of two microprocessors, one of which (the 68000) is widely used in education. All chapters in the new edition have been updated. Major updates include: * powerful softwaresimulations of digital systems to accompany the chapters on digital design; * a tutorial-based introduction to assembly language, including many examples; * a completely rewritten chapter on RISC, which now covers the ARM computer.

The Practice of Programming

Author: Brian W. Kernighan
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
ISBN: 0133133419
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 283

Book Description
With the same insight and authority that made their book The Unix Programming Environment a classic, Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike have written The Practice of Programming to help make individual programmers more effective and productive. The practice of programming is more than just writing code. Programmers must also assess tradeoffs, choose among design alternatives, debug and test, improve performance, and maintain software written by themselves and others. At the same time, they must be concerned with issues like compatibility, robustness, and reliability, while meeting specifications. The Practice of Programming covers all these topics, and more. This book is full of practical advice and real-world examples in C, C++, Java, and a variety of special-purpose languages. It includes chapters on: debugging: finding bugs quickly and methodically testing: guaranteeing that software works correctly and reliably performance: making programs faster and more compact portability: ensuring that programs run everywhere without change design: balancing goals and constraints to decide which algorithms and data structures are best interfaces: using abstraction and information hiding to control the interactions between components style: writing code that works well and is a pleasure to read notation: choosing languages and tools that let the machine do more of the work Kernighan and Pike have distilled years of experience writing programs, teaching, and working with other programmers to create this book. Anyone who writes software will profit from the principles and guidance in The Practice of Programming.

Discovering Computer Science

Author: Jessen Havill
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000218481
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 534

Book Description
"Havill's problem-driven approach introduces algorithmic concepts in context and motivates students with a wide range of interests and backgrounds." -- Janet Davis, Associate Professor and Microsoft Chair of Computer Science, Whitman College "This book looks really great and takes exactly the approach I think should be used for a CS 1 course. I think it really fills a need in the textbook landscape." -- Marie desJardins, Dean of the College of Organizational, Computational, and Information Sciences, Simmons University "Discovering Computer Science is a refreshing departure from introductory programming texts, offering students a much more sincere introduction to the breadth and complexity of this ever-growing field." -- James Deverick, Senior Lecturer, The College of William and Mary "This unique introduction to the science of computing guides students through broad and universal approaches to problem solving in a variety of contexts and their ultimate implementation as computer programs." -- Daniel Kaplan, DeWitt Wallace Professor, Macalester College Discovering Computer Science: Interdisciplinary Problems, Principles, and Python Programming is a problem-oriented introduction to computational problem solving and programming in Python, appropriate for a first course for computer science majors, a more targeted disciplinary computing course or, at a slower pace, any introductory computer science course for a general audience. Realizing that an organization around language features only resonates with a narrow audience, this textbook instead connects programming to students’ prior interests using a range of authentic problems from the natural and social sciences and the digital humanities. The presentation begins with an introduction to the problem-solving process, contextualizing programming as an essential component. Then, as the book progresses, each chapter guides students through solutions to increasingly complex problems, using a spiral approach to introduce Python language features. The text also places programming in the context of fundamental computer science principles, such as abstraction, efficiency, testing, and algorithmic techniques, offering glimpses of topics that are traditionally put off until later courses. This book contains 30 well-developed independent projects that encourage students to explore questions across disciplinary boundaries, over 750 homework exercises, and 300 integrated reflection questions engage students in problem solving and active reading. The accompanying website — https://www.discoveringcs.net — includes more advanced content, solutions to selected exercises, sample code and data files, and pointers for further exploration.