Customer Reviews

Schaum's Outline of Introduction to Computer Science

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

 

 

This book is unique in that it is both low-priced and provides an overview of four popular languages - C, C++, Java and VisualBasic (I couldn't find anything on Pascal and Fortran, unlike what the Publisher's review implies). It is sometimes heavy going and or lacks detail in places, and will need to be supplemented by other books and courses. Still, it's good value for the price.

This is a pretty good introduction to basic undergraduate ideas in computer science including different number systems (hex, binary), computing structures (components, architecture), and the concept of program layout and algorithms. This book does not go deep into these concepts, but at least it makes the student aware that these issues exist and gives a very brief idea of how they work. In other words, don't expect any in-depth examination of computational complexity in the section on algorithms. The lion's share of the book is dedicated to simple programming concepts. First the ideas of variables, constants, operators, operator precedence, and input/output are introduced. Then these concepts are used to examine the constructs of control structures, functions, subroutines, arrays, strings, files, and data structures. There is a very basic chapter on object oriented programming that includes the advantages of object orientation as well as an introduction to terminology and program structure. Simple programs are shown as examples and also given as exercises in four popular languages - C, C++, Visual Basic, and Java.

This book was written in 1999, so the properties of the four featured programming languages have changed some, but not enough to nullify the usefulness of this book. I would say that this book is suitable for high school and freshman college students getting their first look at the basics of computing and of programming in any language. This book does not substitute as an introductory textbook for learning the four programming languages used, but it would make a nice supplement.