Customer Reviews

Computer Science Illuminated

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am currently using this text for the fifth time in my survey course for non-majors. It does exactly what I want it to do: it gives the students a feel for each of the topics with just enough depth to be rigorous for non-majors without being overwhelming. It's not perfect for my tastes; I do less than a full chapter, for example, when talking about languages (only covering the introductions to Chapters 7 and 8), whereas I do a full week on an expanded coverage of databases (Chapter 12). But I have a hard time imagining a text with a better fit, and I have used this since its first edition.

It's been a semester since I had to buy this expensive shrink-wrapped textbook for my Intro to Computer Science class. In a text like this, topics are glossed over in an attempt to cover a wide range of ideas related to general CS. Even after a semester of CS and having gotten my feet wet in related areas (3D graphics programming, networking, and network security), I still say this text falls short of providing any real material to the budding computer scientist/engineer.

The author Nell Dale's writing inadequately explains certain concepts, something which could make these first time topics even more distant, or even further confuse those - particularly those with no prior programming or computer experience, especially those taking Intro to CS as an elective. For example, our professor taught us a more adequate technique in binary arithmetic. Dale's explanations of binary arithmetic are slightly confusing, especially to the uninitiated.

While the focus of the first semester was on beginning OOP with C++, we ended the semester with basic programming concepts (e.g. functions, data types, pointers, etc.) and the fundamentals of the OO paradigm (using C++). The chapter on programming paradigms, in my opinion, is utterly TERRIBLE. Although I took time outside of class to read better books on the subject, had I solely based my budding knowledge of OOP on this textbook, I would've been in trouble down the road -- I didn't understand a thing of OOP based upon this book's explanations. 3-4 pages are solely dedicated to the seemingly Stone Age concept of using "class cards".

Although this textbook was a complete waste of money, my personal experience with this book was even worse because I had a professor who taught Intro to CS as if we were Software Engineering seniors. If you have to buy this book for class but what a better understanding of CS in general (before you get into the details), either buy or check your local or school's library for Computer Science: An Overview by J. Glenn Brookshear (ISBN: 0201781301). If you're buying this, the latest edition is the 8th but the last edition, the 7th, you can get used for about $5-$7.

If you're like me and your class is covering more basic OOP programming techniques using a OOP "optimized" language than learning a generalized overview of many CS topics (e.g. operating systems, artificial intelligence, etc.), another really good book to check out and/or buy is Introduction to Computer Science Using C++, 2nd Edition by Todd Knowlton (ISBN: 0538676000). The last I checked, you can get this hardcover used from the Amazon Marketplace for about $3.50-$5 used. This book covers nothing but basic programming concepts such as variables, loops, operators, strings, I/O, functions, on and on and on.

Again, if you have to get this book, I would highly recommended supplementing your learning by reading one of the aforementioned books (not necessarily the whole book however) along with CS Illuminated. Some people may think this book is okay, but I would still say that to really get a firm grasp of what basic programming is all about, you'll need a better text to give you that foundation. Perhaps the reason why this textbook fails overall is that it gives too much attention to too many different topics. Had if focused on basic programming (which it seems most Intro to CS teachers emphasize anyway) like Introduction to Computer Science Using C++, it may have been better. Anyway, good luck to all!

I am currently taking a computer science class with this book. It was pretty useful and explained the basics of computer science. The book is illustrated with charts, tables, and pictures that help explain the concepts better.

The book was helpful but, the book is somewhat confusing with the more complex and conceptual topics of Computer Science. For an introductory class, it is sometimes hard to grasp the conceptual topics because the book doesn't lay it out very clearly.

After using Computer Science Illuminated for my introductory computer science course, I found the book to be mostly helpful yet confusing at times. The begining of each chapter clearly states the lessons and objectives to be learned. The language is easy to understand for the most part, yet some of the paragraphs do have lengthy and confusing explanations. Often, a chapter will refer to information covered in a previous chapter, so it is adviseable to read the chapters in order.
The book does make an attempt to explain the intricate and confusing details of computer science using simple metaphors (ie. elephants and goldfish to explain orders of magnitude), yet there were instances where such metaphors could be just as confusing.
The book does include some helpful and colorful diagrams to aid in the student's understanding of the material. Overall, I found that the book was not the clearest explanation of computer science, but being that the subject is one that is mostly complicated and difficult to grasp, the book was helpful in providing a brief overview for an introductory student.

I have used this book for an introduction to computer science course. It has proved to be adequate but not extraordinary. I have learned some important concepts and terms, and the simple, spaced out language is easy to read. However, more detail and inclusion of more complex terms would have made the textbook a lot better. It would not be sufficient for a higher level computer class, but has allowed me to do above average in a basic computing class.

Computer Science Illuminated is a beginner's guide to the field of computer science, most often used in Intro classes. The chapters work outward, beginning with the basic explanation of the first layer, the information layer; and closing with the more complex outer layer, the communications layer. The book is illustrated with charts, tables, and pictures that coincide with its topics to help build a further understanding of its ideas for each chapter. Following each chapter, a one-page summary is given as well as review questions pertaining to the topic(s) discussed in the chapter, both which I found helpful.

On the negative side, computers are extremely complex, and for the majority of the text, terms and explanations are briefly explained where further explanation is necessary. Taking this class, I spent more time just memorizing definitions from the book rather than actually getting an understanding of computer science. The biggest reason most likely for this lack of understanding for which the text did not help is probably the wide range of topics that it discusses instead of focusing and developing smaller ideas. After nearly completing the text, I feel I have a mediocre sense of foundation for computer science

Coming from the perspective of a college freshman currently studying from this book, I would say that Dale and Lewis did a satisfactory job with this Illuminated textbook. The graphs and charts are for the most part easy to read and comprehend, and the information is helpful for my computer science course. The questions at the end of the chapter are very helpful in identifying key concepts, with the glossary and the index as additonal tools for understanding.

One thing that the authors could have done better with this book is making it clearer to understanding. While those charts may be simple, the facts about computer and network systems are something that I feel is over my head. With having very little knowledge about this type of computer systems, I was unsure of the meaning of certain terms and components of the machine. Pretty well written, helpful when paired with a computer science course.

This book is a very interesting book that covers all the basic topics of modern computer science. It is very in-depth and very informative. When I first read the book I was confused and did not understand the text but once you look at the many illustration the information makes sense. This book is a very good book for any college level computer science class.

This text, Computer Science Illuminated, attempts to provide students with an overview of the basics in computer science. The book is complete with long detailed chapters broken into sections, followed by chapter review questions. The book certainly provides students with the chance to be introduced to a wide variety of topics dealing with computer science.

In my opinion, the downside to this textbook is that it may be too complex for an intro level course. So much is put into one chapter that I often felt that I was bouncing around and not quite clear with everything that I had read. Although the chapter review questions helped, because they focused in on certain points that I was then able to go back to and explore, I felt like I was not getting a full understanding of everything in the chapter.

As a student currently using this textbook, Computer Science Illuminted by Nell Dale and John Lewis, I would strongly recommend it to anyone. As a college freshman with no experience what so ever with computers, I believe that this textbook helped me greatly to better understand the concepts and basic knowledge of the fundamentals of computer science. The textbook does a great job of using examples such as pictures and diagrams to help explain the material. They also provide answers in the back of the textbook to allow you to solve the problems on your own and then confer to the back of the book to see if you are correct or not. The sections of the chapters in this book are short and precise, getting to the point and not dancing around it.

The only complaint that I would have about this book is that sometimes, when reading the textbook, I could not comprehend what Dale and Lewis were talking about. Having no previous computer knowledge, I felt that they expected the readers to already know some things about the topic. They did not do that great of a job thoroughly explaining some of the information and at times I was extremely confused when reading.

All in all, I would recommend this textbook to anyone who was interested.