Logic in Computer Science: Modelling and Reasoning about Systems (Paperback)

~ (Author), Mark Ryan (Author), M. Huth (Author), M. Ryan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is an excellent textbook on logic and formal methods which is very suitable for computer science students... discusses the whole range from logic to applications: propositional and predicate logic, temporal logic and more generally model logic, program verification, model checking, and symbolic model checking using binary decision diagrams ... As any good textbook, this book is not only to be recommended for students but for anyone who is interested in applications of logic in computer science.' Theory and Practice of Logic Programming

'... an unusual, inspiring and remarkable book ... one can find in it all the material which is suitable for undergraduate and beginning graduate students in computer science and electrical engineering who will profit by using it in their professional activities in the near future.' Marat M. Arslanov, Zentralblatt MATH

Product Description

In recent years, powerful tools for verifying hardware and software systems have been developed. Major companies, such as Intel, Siemens, BT, AT&T, and IBM have increasingly become interested in that technology. Students need a basic formal training that allows them to gain sufficient proficiency in using logic-based verification methods. This book addresses these needs by providing a sound basis in logic and an introduction to the logical frameworks used in modeling, specifying and verifying computer systems. Coverage provides a simple and clear presentation, detailing propositional and predicate logic as well as some specialized logics used for reasoning about the correctness of computer systems. The authors introduce a carefully chosen core of essential terminology; further technicalities are introduced only where they are required by the applications. Numerous examples are given, as well as a full exposition of a fast-growing technique for modeling and verifying computer systems, known as symbolic model checking. It will be an ideal introduction for undergraduate students. A worldwide web tutorial that supports the course activities and provides solutions to the sample exercises is available to instructors.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 405 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521656028
• ISBN-13: 978-0521656023
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.1 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,456,970 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for undergrads, advanced textbook, December 28, 2003

By	Steve Uhlig (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The coverage of this book is quite good for what concerns logic in computer science. However, using it as an introduction on logic for computer scientists is probably ambitious because the explanations are rather complicated for undergraduates. A first course on logic and another on AI would not hurt before getting into this one. Too many notions of computer science (syntax and semantics of programming languages, complexity) are needed to fully understand some topics, hence it is better that you already have a broad view of all aspects of computer science before reading this one. As an advanced course textbook to formal techniques in computer sciente on the other hand, this one would do the job.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a decent book, October 4, 2000

By	Jose Berlin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

A lot of good material is covered and in a relatively tight fashion. The presentation of logic is well done, but when getting into the BDDs, the explanations get a little complicated and I personally had to read it over several times before I could make sure I understood what was going on. This book also does not have anything on symmetry, so if that's what you're looking for, there are better books out there. However, this book can hold its own and I recommend it to anyone interested in learning the basics of model checking provided they can take handle some of the heavy duty reading.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great intro to logic, September 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Logic in Computer Science: Modelling and Reasoning about Systems (Hardcover)

This book is a good introduction to logic. It is highly readable, not dry. It explains logic in the language of humans, not arcane mathematics, yet it somehow is able to remain rigorous. This makes logic make sense, rather than it being an abstract intellectual pursuit detached from life and other topics.

Half the book is on logic, half on model checking. I've only read the logic part so far, so I cannot compare the model checking treatment to that in Clarke et al.'s "Model Checking."

The logic treatment is not specific to computer science (or at least did not seem to be so, for someone not a student of mathematics and logic), so in my opinion the title is a misnomer; perhaps a better title would be "Logic for People, and Model Checking Too."