An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata [Hardcover]

Peter Linz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0763714224 | ISBN-13: 978-0763714222 | Publication Date: October 1, 2000 | Edition: 3

Computer Science

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 3 edition (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763714224
• ISBN-13: 978-0763714222
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #417,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A poor text, December 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata (Hardcover)

A couple of years ago I taught two computability courses during the same semester. One of the courses was in the undergraduate program while the other was in the graduate program. As I was a visitor, I did not have a hand in picking either text. This text had been selected for the undergradate version of the course. At the time, I wrote a review for the book we used for the graduate course saying how much better it was than the Linz book. The Linz book not only covered less material, but it offered poorer explanations. Although I was a visitor, I endeavored to warn succeeding instructors of the undergraduate course against using the Linz book and sincerely hope that it was not used the next year.

A couple of days ago, I received email from someone thinking of using the text for the graduate course asking me to identify the Linz book which I mentioned, but did not identify, in my original review. This request prompted me to write this review. Regardless, the Linz book is a poorly developed and presented text. As there are several superior texts, there is little reason to adopt this one. This book is suitable neither for well-prepared nor ill-prepared students. There is too little material for the well-prepared and insufficient clarity of exposition for the ill-prepared. In all, a poor combination of anemic material and exposition.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not an "Introduction", January 20, 2000

By 

JB (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata (Hardcover)

This book contains all of the essential information and the author does have a fairly good writing style. However, where it fails is in the title: "An Introduction to ..." If it was intended to be an introduction to automata and formal language it should have a lot more clear explanation and none of the proofs. This book is filled with proofs that no one but a mathematics major could possibly understand. And the proofs aren't even relevant to the fundamental understanding of the concepts.

It is clear that the author isn't writing this book as a tutorial for students, but as a reference for professors. It seems like he is trying to show off his proof-writing ability throughout the book and has no concern for the poor student who might be struggling to understand new concepts. That's why I give it a low rating.

I was lucky to have an excellent instructor for this class so that after her lectures I could read this book and understand most of it. But, it would be almost impossible to learn anything from this book by self study only. So my advice, like others who have posted is: Unless this book is required for a class, don't buy it!

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a good book, May 13, 2003

By 

Brett Bernstein (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata (Hardcover)

First off, let me say this book did not confuse me. It's just very poorly written. If this was the only Automata book I ever read, my review would not mean as much. On the contrary, I have read 4-5 Automata books and have taught the topic numerous times. I urge teachers and students to avoid this book. If you would like a great book covering this material, get Dexter Kozen's Automata and Computability. That book is so well written and elegant that it puts most of the other books to shame. It is one of the top CS books on my list along with SICP, CLRS, and a few others. In addition, the "OLD" version of Hopcroft and Ullman is pretty good but the newer version with Motwani is bad. Anyways, I hope this helps some of you who are looking for a good book to read.