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Computer Science Reading

 
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Computer Science Reading
homemade-jam
31 Aug, 2008 - 01:16 AM
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I'm applying to university in November, are there any books that I should read, last minute, to make sure that I know at least something useful!?

Have read Snow Crash; a couple of computer science textbooks and The Code Book by Simon Singh among others.
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NickDMax
RE: Computer Science Reading
1 Sep, 2008 - 08:19 PM
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Well I suppose that depends. As a CS tutor I found that the big trouble areas were Algorithms and Data structures -- but a big part of this is the analysis portion.

So browsing though the analysis chapters of a CS text book would probably be helpful. Learn what a recurrence relation is and see if you can follow some of the analysis.

Of course, this is WHY you are going to school, so in another way, it probably makes more sense to concentrate on things that excite you while you can, there will be plenty of time to agonize of the complexities of mathematical proofs.
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homemade-jam
RE: Computer Science Reading
1 Sep, 2008 - 10:11 PM
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Well my school at the moment don't tech ict or computing; at the moment I'm taking maths which is about as close as you can get to the subject and even then there is only one module called Decision maths that discusses algorithms...bin packing, sorting etc.
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dbasnett
RE: Computer Science Reading
22 Oct, 2008 - 05:02 AM
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Dr. Knuth
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homemade-jam
RE: Computer Science Reading
22 Oct, 2008 - 08:15 AM
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Yeah was also looking at him, though his books are a little pricey!
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mattman059
RE: Computer Science Reading
24 Oct, 2008 - 07:11 AM
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Browse the halls of Half.com and you'll find a wealth of books for no more than $1 - 5 US dollars
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I_hate_scheme
RE: Computer Science Reading
28 Oct, 2008 - 07:13 PM
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QUOTE(homemade-jam @ 31 Aug, 2008 - 02:16 AM) *

I'm applying to university in November, are there any books that I should read, last minute, to make sure that I know at least something useful!?

Have read Snow Crash; a couple of computer science textbooks and The Code Book by Simon Singh among others.


Im also a computer science major, and for my intro to computer science class we used the book, " How To Design Programs". The book uses Dr Scheme to teach basic principles of programming. Also it teaches ways to think like a computer scientists. I personally hate it, but, it seems to be popular among many universities in the US.
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dbasnett
RE: Computer Science Reading
29 Oct, 2008 - 12:51 PM
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Dr Scheme looks like !@#$%^.

in a lot of ways i had it easier because the computer didn't do anything for you. IBM 1620 it divided by table lookup!

so i grew up knowing what binary was, character codes where, what a loop was, etc. that why i liked knuth and the mix system.
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Gloin
RE: Computer Science Reading
29 Oct, 2008 - 01:58 PM
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Reading math is a very good preparation for CS. My first year at UNI I read analysis and algebra and I must say I've used the later alot and the first, not so much.

Try to learn the principles of induction proof.
Data structures like NickDMax said.
Algorithms is usually a later chapter but knowing some of the most common is good.
Learn SQL, you'll come across databases sooner or later.
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