The most complex machine: a survey of computers and computing
Choice Reviews Online · 1996
From the Publisher: This unique introduction to computer science takes the unusual tack of presenting the fundamental ideas and principles upon which the field is built rather trying to teach the reader how to program or become an expert computer user. The book on one level examines that most complex machine - the computer - and provides an overview appropriate for all students regardless of whether they pursue their studies of computer science. But it is the idea of complexity itself, and the methods for creating and understanding the complexity, that is the book's real subject. Eck masterfully uses his detailed examination of the computer and its applications as a tool for elucidating more abstract ideas. The book contains an annotated bibliography and each chapter ends with a set of thought-provoking questions that are meant to be read and pondered (answers included). A set of Macintosh computer programs and lab worksheets based on these programs are available from the author and on the World Wide Web and are designed to make the abstract ideas in the text more accessible. The book will please computer scientists because it conveys concepts rather than the usual list of recipes, and it will be useful to students because it serves as an introduction to tools they will use for the rest of their professional and personal lives.