Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Computer Science

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I have the 1983 Second Edition and it is, as I assume the pricey Third is,a reference of biblical proportions, a sort of Brittanica of computer science. Lucid, authoritative articles. But while I lust after the new Edition, the three figure price makes me too shy to make a pass. Pity. If you can afford it, buy it.

Two words for you - David Hemmindinger - Can this man edit or what? Was Very excited about the release of this book, excellent reference material. I think Dinger needs to write a book of his own next! I know I'll read it.

An excellent overview of Computer Science.

This really is an excellent basic reference for non-specialists who need to elaborate on Computer Science topics. This encyclopedia is comprehensive in its breadth of coverage, and directs the reader at the next level of depth through cross-reference to articles and bibliographic references for those who need to in-depth in an specific topic.

It will be a valuable part of your library if you are not a CS specialist have an interest on Computer Science subjects.

If you are a practitioner, you may do better with "The Engineering and Computer Science Handbook".

This comprehensive work on Computer Science is a must-have for Computer Science and Engineering faculty and students alike. On questions of theory this reference is your first place to look, often the review I found within was of enough detail that I could walk away with enough background to understand the concepts, their application and what directions to go in order to learn more.

How can I best describe it's wealth of content? It's an Encyclopedia, alright. Many articles extend more than a page in length, with helpful illustrations (diagrams of data structures, tables and charts, code snippets) and pertinent mathematical formulae. Paragraph by paragraph the descriptions grow deeper into the subject matter. Related terms are highlighted and explained in context.

After a brief perusal you can grasp the concepts pertinent to each topic, whereas a thorough reading including related articles can renew your understanding with a fine grain of detail.

This is a must-have for consultations by computing professionals who need a refresher in network theory or algorithmic analysis. Its highly educative for students to read up on BNF, compiler theory or relation databases prior to and during such undergraduate courses, to get the most out of lectures and labs.

This is a computer science encyclopedia, so its coverage of technology is limited (you won't find anything on DCOM or CORBA). Its more classical science than that (the sections on Distributed Computing and Parallel Processing will make a useful introduction to DCOM today, and whatever the future technology in the field is tomorrow.)

It's sad to hear its out-of-print. Every computer person should have a copy to rely upon. The third edition (1993) went for $99 when it was in print and was a worthwhile reference value. There have been long spans of time between editions, perhaps we can expect a fourth one sometime soon.

I have as of this writing passed through about half of the encyclopedia and found it to be of the highest value. It has helped me to gain insights into areas that I am foggy in and also expanded my knowledge of areas in which I hold some expertise.

Ron Davis MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, MCP+I, MCP+SB, MCT, CIW, CI, CTT

Have been using this for the past 7 years before going to Stanford and still now.

I first got to know this book through its on-line version at ACM. Whenever I need to know what a term in computer science means, this is what I check first. Written with authority and clarity, it should be in the library of every person who is curious about computer science subjects.