Customer Reviews

Introduction to Computing and Algorithms

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a teaching assistant for CS1501, Introduction to Computing at Georgia Tech, a successful brain-child of Dr. Shackelford's, I have used this book from both a student's and a teacher's standpoint, and thus feel adept at highlighting its successes.

This book provides a concise, clear review of the basic concepts of algorithmic thought and its subsequent expression and application. After a brief review of the history of computing, the reader is launched into an ever-deepening understanding of basic CS tools from a problem-solving point of view.

Topics of interest include dynamic data structures (BST's, linked lists), array storage, stacks + queues, object-oriented programming, precedence and dependence, and a brief sojourn into higher-level theory concepts.

The highlight, and in my opinion success, of this book is the fact that no "real" programming language is used to notate any examples. Rather, Dr. Shackelford, along with other TA's of recent past, devised a pseudo-language which encapsulates many elements of previous educational languages (such as Pascal); naturally, this language is not vulnerable to obsolescence. Also, since this language can not be practically compiled, the reader is forced to trace through examples on his or her own, building his or her skills in mentally evaluating algorithms.

This book, once limited to the Georgia Tech CS curriculum, has now expanded to many other colleges and universities, and more institutions are becoming interested as the months progress. This text is a must-have for any individual interested in getting a substantial taste in algorithms and computing.

I've been a professional computer programmer for the last seven years, with no formal training. I bought this book to begin improving my grasp of computer theory as well as practice. I've found this book to be eminantly readable, an actual page turner. Parts of it are quite elementary, but it's very good at explaining "why" as well as "what".

I consider the pseudo-code an advantage, since it forces me to look at unfamiliar terms and structures and equate them with the equivalent items in my "real" language. It teaches *theory*, which I can apply to any language, not implementation in a single language that will be obsolete in a year or two.

I can only copy the other two reviewers. This book makes for an excellent....no, an awesome introduction into computing, algorithms and data structures (even OOP fundamentals are covered).

While this book is a textbook for computer science students it's neither dry to read nor hard to understand. There are several amusing or eye-opening anecdotes plus an excellent history section of how the alphabet developed (and with it book printing, etc.) and how programming influences our way of thinking.

On the technical side this book is the first I read that explained the inner workings of recursive functions in such a simple way that I wondered why there's so much mystery around recursion. Not to mention all the other things like ADTs, BSTs, debugging and so on.

Although this book uses pseudo-code for its explanations and exercises don't think of this as a disadvantage. In fact, it makes things easier to follow and makes for good exercises to convert the pseudo-code to real code to whatever language you're using.

Anyone who's programming should have read this book. Anyone who's going to learn programming MUST read this book (well, to be honest, you do not need to, but don't come crying if, after years, you read it and find out how much easier it would have been....).

So I give this book 5 Million stars, a hug and a big smile :)))

If the title of this book was "Introduction to Programming", then I would wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Black below. Indeed, Dr. Shackelford does not teach programming in his book. Rather, he presents algorithms in a general sense, and algorithmic thought over programming practice is presented to the novice.

An adequate programming foundation begins with the trials and errors of learning one's first programming knowledge. Dr. Shackelford's book better preparesone for their first programming language experience, but is by no means a substitute for a programming language course if one's goal is to learn to program.

There are many that wish to gain a better knowledge of computing from a higher-level, theoretical standpoint. Also as an upper-level computer science theory TA at Georgia Tech, I realize the importance of being introduced to a concept in its high-level foundations, rather than in its gory details.

The CS curriculum at Tech is moving to Scheme as an introduction to computing and computer science. While I adamantly feel this is an excellent move on the part of the College of Computing, given their goal to output programmers from the school, I also feel some generalized theoretical foundations are lacking from the course that were present when it was taught with Dr. Shackelford's book.

Overall, if one is interested in grasping high-level algorithms and receiving a basic understanding of how computers process data and execute programs, then this book is wonderful. If, however, one is interested in coding VB applications in a couple of weeks, this book is not appropriate.

After years of trying, this book has finally put the pieces together for me and helped me understand what's really going on in the world of computer engineering. There's no question in my mind that this book is a superior manual for engineering students and for non-programmers who need to understand computer engineering.

I'm a technical writer who took an introduction to computing class in college as well as Fortran and C. I've attended seminars on C and C++, have worked with software engineers, and have even documented APIs. But during all that instruction and effort, I've always felt as though the teachers or engineers were assuming some knowledge I didn't have.

Shackleford filled in that knowledge with a comprehensive description of computer engineering - its purpose, its application, and its effect. His manual teaches the true essence of the craft, providing a solid foundation for further understanding of programming languages, development techniques, and life in the computer age.

If this book had been used when I was in school, I would be a computer engineer today! Ouch!!

Like the previous review, I finally can see the big picture after reading this book. Instead of cracking my head over functions and subroutines and not making head of tail of the whole thing, I see the light now.

For those of you who are struggling with your desire to program but do not have the Computer Science background, this book will be a great help as a roadmap. Couple this with a WROX's Beginning book, you will program real soon.

I was a student of Dr. Shackelford in 1997. I didn't even know how to turn on a computer when I first arrived in the US in 1993. In fact, I had never seen one but seeing a 2 year old having a command for it made me vow to learn how it worked.

I found the class difficult when I took it, so much so that I wanted to drop it and perhaps change majors/schools altogether. Thanks to Dr. Shackelford's encouragement though and offering students at the time a chance to retake the class the next semester and having their new grade replace the old one is what did it for me. I retook the class, had a better understanding of programming, thanks in part to the book, and came out with an A and eventually became a Teaching Assistant for the next 2 or 3 years. I graduated in 1999 and have been a web developer ever since. I have been privileged to not only work for fortune 500 companies but to also have my own freelance web development business.

I don't know if there have been any new editions to the book but based on the edition I used in 1997, I give the book 5 stars, not only for its content but because through this book, Dr. Shackelford has made me what I am today, professionally.

I started learning programming back in the day with FORTRAN IV. I hated with a passion. This idea of breaking down every task in its idiot's level drudgery so the computer would not mess up was just so tedious. And what were each and every step, anyways? I sucked at algorithms, bottom line. This book finally gives the reader a road map about how to organize and write a "recipe" so the computer will do what is supposed to do. And since it does not use any "real" computer language, these general principles can be applied to ANY language. Better still, it does not bog the student down with formatting and syntax issues (a great relief for those of us still suffering with PTSD from FORTRAN and cryptic error messages). If you think globally and autistic level detail is NOT your forte, this is the book for you.

I only read the first chapter before returning to the library, however, that was enough to know that I would purchase this book. Profound ideas were presented.

As a former student of Dr. Shackelford when I was an undergrad at Tech, I have first hand knowledge of trying to learn programming with psudeo code as my basis. While proponents of psuedo code claim that it allows learning the basics without getting bogged down in the mechanics of programming, there isn't a whole lot you can actually do with the knowledge gained from this book. You may understand programming better after learning this material, however you will never be able to program an actual computer to do anything. As an engineer who leans towards the hardware side but would like to have more practical programming skills, I would have appreciated learning more of the practical implementation with the material in this book. Personally the formula that has worked for me is to learn the theory, then implement that knowledge by creating something in the real world with real tools. While this book may help you with the theory, the practical implementation side must be found elsewhere. Hence two stars; this book is half the story.

If you are looking for a book that goes over the basics of programming and you don't care about any practical applications, this is the book for you. If you are looking for real world programming skills, look elsewhere. This book will not teach you how to program with real world tools.