The Language of Machines: An Introduction to Computability and Formal Languages by Robert W. Floyd (PDF)

Description

The Language of Machines: An Introduction to Computability and Formal Languages (Ref.usedbxs.ml.us)

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐LOM is or ought to be a classic. For my money, it’s the “Dragon Book” for undergrad/graduate teaching of a first course in automata theory.This book was used as the textbook in the automata theory course that I took post-baccalaureate. It is probably the book most responsible for my decision to go to grad school. I was working almost full time during the term I took this class, and I remember getting up early just so I would have a chance to read the optional material, since evenings were for the required parts.And yes, it was my first exposure to the subject; indeed to all of theoretical computer science, since I’d not yet taken an algorithms, discrete math, or programming languages course. Contrary to the frustration expressed in some other 1-star reviews (many from Chicago — same class? same person?), I found the material clearly and systematically presented. The one change I think would benefit the book is a slightly more terse formalism, although what’s given seems designed to aid the intuition of the learner.Yes the exercises were hard. But most of the problems are also very beautiful, and the insight I gained by doing them fully justified the effort. Even several years past the last of my grad course work, my memory of the course that used this book remains one of the highpoints of my education.As a basic reference work, I think LOM compares well to many other related texts. Sipser’s more terse style is probably quite usable in the hands of a lecturer who can fill in the missing pieces, but I suspect it would be much harder to use on your own. In addition to the standard chapters on automata, formal languages, and computability (all extensive), there is a chapter each on recursion theory and intractability. Chapter 0, giving mathematical preliminaries, is *60 pages* long, and is the material I used to learn the prerequisite discrete mathematics.

⭐This is the most hardcore CS book I have ever set eyes upon. Topics covered in this book are postgraduate-level discussions of the type that allow us to make decisions about the computability of the most difficult problems that computers solve. If you can gain a clear understanding of concepts in this book you should easily be paid in excess of 100,000 annually. Learn and apply the techniques in this book and you might be in posession of the kind of mind that wins a Nobel prize.

⭐This is a clearly written introduction to theoretical aspects of computer science. The first six chapters are devoted to the Chomsky hierarchy followed by chapters on computability, recursion theory and complexity. An energetic student may also want to consult Sipser, Kiesler, Papadimitiou, Gruska and/or Savage.

⭐Typically books of this nature are shrouded in cryptic and terse (albeit mathematically precise) theory. This book reworks the presentation in a more understandable way (e.g. non-determinism is presented early and used often; the term automata is dropped for the more descriptive term finite machine). I used this text last fall (fall ’99) for an intro course on automata and formal languages and I plan on using it again.

⭐

Keywords

Free Download The Language of Machines: An Introduction to Computability and Formal Languages in PDF format
The Language of Machines: An Introduction to Computability and Formal Languages PDF Free Download
Download The Language of Machines: An Introduction to Computability and Formal Languages 1993 PDF Free
The Language of Machines: An Introduction to Computability and Formal Languages 1993 PDF Free Download
Download The Language of Machines: An Introduction to Computability and Formal Languages PDF
Free Download Ebook The Language of Machines: An Introduction to Computability and Formal Languages