Once Upon an Algorithm
Description
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.
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ISBN:
9781977393548
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 2683cc16-9a83-9cda-73b6-9e14b301e582 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | once upon an algorithm |
Grouping Author | martin erwig |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-01-04 16:00:02PM |
Last Indexed | 2024-05-01 03:35:27AM |
Solr Fields
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accelerated_reader_reading_level
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auth_author2
Dixon, Walter
author
Erwig, Martin
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Dixon, Walter,reader
hoopla digital
hoopla digital
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Erwig, Martin
display_description
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.
format_bemis
eAudiobook
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Audio Books
eBook
eBook
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isbn
9781977393548
last_indexed
2024-05-01T09:35:27.916Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Unknown
literary_form_full
Unknown
primary_isbn
9781977393548
publishDate
2018
publisher
Tantor Media, Inc
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Algorithms
Literary Criticism
Science
Literary Criticism
Science
title_display
Once Upon an Algorithm
title_full
Once Upon an Algorithm [electronic resource] / Martin Erwig
title_short
Once Upon an Algorithm
topic_facet
Algorithms
Literary Criticism
Science
Literary Criticism
Science
Solr Details Tables
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hoopla:MWT12148398 | Online Hoopla Collection | Online Hoopla | eAudiobook | Audio Books | 1 | false | true | Hoopla | https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12148398?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435 | Available Online |
record_details
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
hoopla:MWT12148398 | eAudiobook | Audio Books | Unabridged | English | Tantor Media, Inc | 2018 | 1 online resource (1 audio file (10hr., 48 min.)) : digital. |
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