Handbook of Theoretical Computer Science - 2 Vol Set [Hardcover]

Jan van Leeuwen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 1990 | ISBN-10: 0262220407 | ISBN-13: 978-0262220408 | Edition: 1st

Theoretical computer science provides the foundations for understanding and exploiting the concepts and mechanisms in computing and information processing. This handbook will provide professionals and students with a comprehensive overview of the main results and developments in this rapidly evolving field. It consists of thirty-seven chapters in two volumes, all addressing core areas of theoretical computer science as it is practiced today. The material is written by leading American and European researchers, and each volume may be used independently.

Volume A covers models of computation, complexity theory, data structures, and efficient computation in many recognized subdisciplines of theoretical computer science. Volume B presents a choice of material on the theory of automata and rewriting systems, the foundations of modem programming languages, logics for program specification and verification, and several chapters on the theoretic modeling of advanced information processing. The organization of each volume reflects the development of theoretical computer science from its classical roots to the modem theoretical approaches in parallel and distributed computing. Extensive bibliographies, a subject index, and list of contributors are included in each volume.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Of all the books I have covered in the Forum to date, this set is the most unique and possibly the most useful to the SIGACT community, in support both of teaching and research.... The books can be used by anyone wanting simply to gain an understanding of one of these areas, or by someone desiring to be in research in a topic, or by instructors wishing to find timely information on a subject they are teaching outside their major areas of expertise."
—Rocky Ross, SIGACT News

"This is a reference which has a place in every computer science library."
—Raymond Lauzzana, Languages of Design --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Matthew Paterson is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Keele University. He is author of Global Warming and Global Politics (1996) and Understanding Global Environmental Politics (2003), as well as many articles and book chapters on these subjects. He is currently working on cars and global environmental politics. He is Associate Editor of Global Environmental Politics.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 2293 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1st edition (December 19, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262220407
• ISBN-13: 978-0262220408
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 3.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,021,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Massive collection on computer science, February 21, 2001

By 

Dr. Lee D. Carlson (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handbook of Theoretical Computer Science - 2 Vol Set (Paperback)

This collection of articles on the foundations of computer science is a nice addition addition to the literature and guides the reader to further reading on the subject. I did not read all of the chapters so I will concentrate my remarks on the ones that I did: Chapter 4 on Kolmogorov complexity puts emphasis on the applications and the authors endeavor to bring the reader quickly to the level of understanding needed for applications. The ones discussed are primarily in the area of parallel computation and branching programs. The chapter on algorithms for finding patterns in strings is nicely written and the authors do a good job of summarizing the main results. Computational biologists dealing with string matching algorithms may find the presentation very helpful. The author uses pseudocode to illustrate the main algorithms, such as Knuth-Morriss-Platt, Boyer-Moore, Aho-Corasick, and Commentx-Walter. Concrete examples are given for each of these algorithms. The chapter on computational geometry discusses the main algorithms for finding convex hulls and Voronoi diagrams are discussed in fairly good detail. Linear programming, triangulation, and point locating are given a fast treatment. The author does make use of pictures to illustrate the the algorithms. The only disappointment was that combinatorial geometry was given only a very cursory treatment. Of particular importance to me was the chapter on algorithms in number theory. Interestingly, the authors jump right into a discussion of elliptic curves and actually do a fairly good job (within 4 pages) of summarizing this massive area of mathematics. The authors return to elliptic curves in a later section on factoring integers, after discussing algorithms for finite abelian groups. The Shanks baby-step-giant-step, Pollard's rho method, the Chinese Remainder theorem, and the index calculus algorithm are discussed concisely. Elliptic curves are again used in the section on primality testing. There is a good summary of cryptography in Chapter 13, with the most interesting discussions on probabilistic encryption, "over-the-phone" poker, and zero-knowledge interactive proofs. In Volume B, those interested in the foundations of logic and functional programming, Chapter 6 on rewrite systems covers the main points. The chapter is fairly long an detailed. Functional programming and lambda calculus are contained in the next chapter with proofs given of the main results. The most interesting section is on denotational semantics. LISP is discussed a little at the end of the chapter. Chapter 10 also discusses logic programming in a fairly detailed manner. The most interesting sections are the ones on the completion of programs and deductive databases. The author ends the chapter with a brief history of logic programming. In reading this I found out that there has been work done on developing a theory of logic programming based on 3-valued logic and useful references were given. The theory of relational databases in covered in Chapter 17. This is of overwhelming importance today and the author does a decent job of outlining what relational databases are all about. The section on query optimization is particularly illuminating. Although the text is very formal and very far away from the everday practice of database management, reading it does give a deeper appreciation of the foundations of the subject. Overall, a very fine addition to the literature...I hope the publishers decide to move ahead with an updated edition.

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly Comprehensive, November 10, 2011

By 

Liam - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Handbook of Theoretical Computer Science - 2 Vol Set (Hardcover)

The entire contents of my degree can be found in this book, and more. The best part about it is, if you're looking for a certain result for a paper or whatnot, the references provided at the end of each section give great tips for further reading. A must-have for any academic.