Fundamental Concepts in Computer Science

This book presents fundamental contributions to computer science as written and recounted by those who made the contributions themselves. As such, it is a highly original approach to a “living history” of the field of computer science. The scope of the book is broad in that it covers all aspects of computer science, going from the theory of computation, the theory of programming, and the theory of computer system performance, all the way to computer hardware and to major numerical applications of computers.

Contents:

• Böhm's Theorem (S Guerrini et al.)
• Membrane Computing: History and Brief Introduction (G Paun)
• Critique of Computational Reason in the Natural Sciences (G Longo)
• Deterministic Computation with Random G-Networks (E Gelenbe et al.)
• Assertions: A Personal Perspective (T Hoare)
• The Call to ARMs (S Furber)
• Carl Adam Petri and “Petri Nets” (W Brauer & W Reisig)
• From Stochastic Modeling to Operational Analysis: The Journey Begins (J P Buzen)
• From Rocket Control to Virtual Design (O Pironneau)

Readership: Graduate students, academics, and professionals in the field of computer science.
Key Features:

• The book gives an account of major conceptual and practical developments in computer science, which are presented here by the major contributors themselves
• All of the authors of the book are themselves pioneers of computers and of computer science, rather than people who may recount the major developments from a second-hand perspective