6 replies to this topic

[DarkLordoftheMonkeys]

Are there any books on abstract computer science and programming theory that would be easy for someone without a lot of mathematical background to understand and that don't cost $80+? I've looked on Amazon and I can't seem to find any.

[WingedPanther]

Probably not, but you can look here: Free Computer Books, Free eBooks and Books Online

The problem is that programming theory crosses into combinatorics, finite math, and mathematical symbolic logic. It also has a habit of crossing into set theory, integral calculus, advanced statistics, and other areas, just for giggles. All of these math courses tend to be junior/senior level college courses or higher. A large number of my advanced math courses were cross-listed as CS.

[Mossop]

I find both these good books on the subject. I've read them both and the mathematics is well explained, and on a moderate level. Here are my suggestions:

- "Discrete Mathematics for Computing" (Grassroots series) by Peter Grossman

- "A Short Course in Discrete Mathematics" by Edward A. Bender

Both are for sale on British amazon.


-Mossop

[JCoder]

The Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth is a must for an advanced programmer.
But it is somehow hard if you want to stay away from maths. ;)

[WingedPanther]

I'll second that :)

[Mossop]

It would be nice if you could tell us what type of maths or how much maths you are familiar with. Have you taken any higher degree courses? Both of the books listed above are undergraduate and should be readable and understandable for people with limited education in maths, i.e high school mathematics.

-Mossop

[semprance]

I have a book called "Beginning Pre-Calculus for Game Developers" that literally starts from the assumption that you have no mathematical knowledge (the first chapter actually describes what a number is in great detail - I had to skip a few chapters just to get to a point where I was learning something new). It's not limited to game development as it can be applied across all areas of programming.

I don't know how cheap it is new but I picked mine up for £5.99 from Oxfam (the best source for astonishingly cheap computer science books) :-)