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Once Upon an Algorithm: How Stories Explain Computing by Martin Erwig (Hardcover, 2017)

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How Hansel and Gretel, Sherlock Holmes, the movie Groundhog Day, Harry Potter, and other familiar stories illustrate the concepts of computing.Picture a computer scientist, staring at a screen and clicking away frantically on a keyboard, hacking into a system, or perhaps developing an app. Now delete that picture. In Once Upon an Algorithm, Martin Erwig explains computation as something that takes place beyond electronic computers, and computer science as the study of systematic problem solving. Erwig points out that many daily activities involve problem solving. Getting up in the morning, for example- You get up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast. This simple daily routine solves a recurring problem through a series of well-defined steps. In computer science, such a routine is called an algorithm.Erwig illustrates a series of concepts in computing with examples from daily life and familiar stories. Hansel and Gretel, for example, execute an algorithm to get home from the forest. The movie Groundhog Day illustrates the problem of unsolvability; Sherlock Holmes manipulates data structures when solving a crime; the magic in Harry Potter's world is understood through types and abstraction; and Indiana Jones demonstrates the complexity of searching. Along the way, Erwig also discusses representations and different ways to organize data; intractable problems; language, syntax, and ambiguity; control structures, loops, and the halting problem; different forms of recursion; and rules for finding errors in algorithms.This engaging book explains computation accessibly and shows its relevance to daily life. Something to think about next time we execute the algorithm of getting up in the morning.

Product Identifiers

Publisher
MIT Press Ltd
ISBN-13
9780262036634
eBay Product ID (ePID)
238030598

Product Key Features

Author
Martin Erwig
Publication Name
Once Upon an Algorithm: How Stories Explain Computing
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Subject
Computer Science, Science
Publication Year
2017
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
336 Pages

Dimensions

Item Height
229mm
Item Width
178mm

Additional Product Features

Title_Author
Martin Erwig
Series Title
The MIT Press
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States

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Once Upon an Algorithm: How Stories Explain Computing by Martin Erwig (Hardcover, 2017)

About this product

Product Information

Product Identifiers

Product Key Features

Dimensions

Additional Product Features

Best Selling in Adult Learning & University

Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Religious Studies Route B: Catholic Christianity and Judaism by Deirdre Cleary, Andrew Barron, Joy White, Patrick Harrison (Paperback, 2017)

Save on Adult Learning & University

Weed Forager's Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia by A

Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy: Classic Regional Approach

Michael Nehls The Indoctrinated Brain (Hardback) (US IMPORT)

Bill Perkins Die With Zero (Paperback)

Havard's Nursing Guide to Drugs

Nelson Senior Maths 11 Mathematics Essential Student Book with 1 Access Code for

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