Understanding Computation: Pillars, Paradigms, Principles

Computation theory is a discipline that uses mathematical concepts and tools to explain computational phenomena and to expose the nature of computation. This textbook aims to provide students with the necessary tools to make computation theory part of their professional lives by developing mathematical concepts and tools from the simplest instances, organizing development of theory around four pillars, and illustrating the big ideas with applications in practical domains.

Format: Hardback
Length: 570 pages
Publication date: 10 August 2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

Computation theory is a field that employs mathematical concepts and tools to explore the essence of computation and explain a wide array of computational phenomena. Why are some computations more challenging than others? Are the differences in difficulty inherent or are they the result of our approach to computation? How can we reason about these questions?

This groundbreaking textbook aims to equip students with the conceptual and manipulative tools necessary to integrate computation theory into their professional lives. The book achieves this objective through three distinct strategies that set it apart from most other texts on the subject.

Firstly, it develops the necessary mathematical concepts and tools from the most basic instances, thereby helping students gain operational control over the required mathematics. Secondly, it organizes the development of theory around four pillars, allowing students to see computational topics that share the same intellectual origins in close proximity to one another. Finally, the text illustrates the fundamental ideas upon which computation theory is built with applications of these ideas within practical domains in mathematics, computer science, computer engineering, and even beyond.

Suitable for advanced undergraduate students and beginning graduates, this textbook augments the classical models traditionally supporting courses on computation theory with novel models inspired by real, modern computational topics, such as crowd-sourced computing, mobile computing, robotic path planning, and volunteer computing.

Arnold L. Rosenberg is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. Lenwood S. Heath is Professor at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA.

Weight: 1039g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031100543
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022