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Computing and problem solving with PASCAL
Computingand problemsolving with PASCAL C~put~ng and Problem ~5lvin~ with PASCAL by T Ray Nanney. Published by Prentice-Hall. 647~~. &!7.55. There are so many books on PASCAL
available that a new one really has to be very good to break into the market. This one is much like so many others which cover PASCAL competently but dully from first principles onwards. It does have its strong points. Before approaching PASCAL proper, algorithm design in general is discussed and simple LOGO graphics are used to introduce and illustrate programming concepts. Throughout, there’s a welcome emphasis on topdown structured program design which is used in the plentiful examples. It also has many of its competitors’ weaknesses. It underplays the import-
ance of procedures and functions for program design and organization and too little consideration is given to data structures. Arrays are covered rather late on but it is interesting to see them presented through character and string manipulation rather than the usual numbers and counting. There’s nothing like enough material on records and pointers or on recursion. The book tries to situate PASCAL within computing with the apparently obligatory potted history and survey of the area. Here it over extends itself and there is little balance in the treatment or presentation of widely differing material. For example, in the first chapter, parity checking is discussed in some detail after a comparison of the IBM 360-40 and the IBM PC and before a resume of the
EDP administ~~on and control
-
EDP Administration and Control by William E Perry. Published by Prentice-Hall. 354~~. $46.15.
The first paragraph of the Preface declares ‘Good data processing administration and control are necessary for success. Projects that are successfully administered and controlled succeed. Projects with poor administration and control are frequently overbudget, behind schedule, and undergo extensive maintenance’. The Preface concludes with the following statement of the book’s purpose. ‘This book was designed to provide immediately implementable solutions to many of the problems occurring in data processing. The processes proposed do not increase the cost of data processing but rather, decrease it. It is far more economical to do it right first time with good administrative and control practices than to pay to correct systems after they have been
voi27 no 7 September 1985
implemented improperly’. In providing ‘a road map through the book’ the author suggests there are four basic managerial responsibilities: organising, planning, directing and controlling. Each requires administrative support. The book is divided into four sections to address these four managerial responsibilities and a table is provide indicating the intended audience for each chapter into which the sections are subdivided. The book provides extensive coverage of the EDP context. It is based on American experience and addressed to an American audience. However there is perhaps some conflict between the text’s target audience and the text’s main message. The text stresses the importance of establishing good quality ad~nistration and control and the detailed advice offered underlines the amount of time and effort required to achieve ‘good qual-
various branches of computer science. The style is a little too American for my taste. In particular, each chapter ends with review quizzes and exercises which can often be answered by mindlessly scanning the preceding material. The price is outrageous! This book is intended for students on introductory programming courses but they’re not going to be able to afford it at g27.55. Prentice-Hall already publish a number of PASCAL texts, notably the excellent Intr~ducti5n to PASCAL by Welsh and Elder which, at &9,95, is a far better buy.
GREG MICHAELSON Heriot-Watt University ity’. Given the pressures on EDP (noted in the text) the expenditure of such time and effort would seem to need the unambiguous support of ‘senior’ and ‘user’ management, yet these two groups are never considered more than a ‘secondary audience’. The book is well produced and well illustrated. It covers organizing an effective administrative function, administrative planning, directing administration and controlling administration. There is an appendix on administrative measurement criteria and one listing the ‘guidelines’ which are distributed throughout the text. There are some 97 numbered figures and almost every topic is supported by a checklist, some of which run to several pages. There is a short index but no list of figures. Despite the quality of the production and the substance of the text it is not easy to identify likely UK purchasers at the price. T G GOUGH University of Leeds
49
available that a new one really has to be very good to break into the market. This one is much like so many others which cover PASCAL competently but dully from first principles onwards. It does have its strong points. Before approaching PASCAL proper, algorithm design in general is discussed and simple LOGO graphics are used to introduce and illustrate programming concepts. Throughout, there’s a welcome emphasis on topdown structured program design which is used in the plentiful examples. It also has many of its competitors’ weaknesses. It underplays the import-
ance of procedures and functions for program design and organization and too little consideration is given to data structures. Arrays are covered rather late on but it is interesting to see them presented through character and string manipulation rather than the usual numbers and counting. There’s nothing like enough material on records and pointers or on recursion. The book tries to situate PASCAL within computing with the apparently obligatory potted history and survey of the area. Here it over extends itself and there is little balance in the treatment or presentation of widely differing material. For example, in the first chapter, parity checking is discussed in some detail after a comparison of the IBM 360-40 and the IBM PC and before a resume of the
EDP administ~~on and control
-
EDP Administration and Control by William E Perry. Published by Prentice-Hall. 354~~. $46.15.
The first paragraph of the Preface declares ‘Good data processing administration and control are necessary for success. Projects that are successfully administered and controlled succeed. Projects with poor administration and control are frequently overbudget, behind schedule, and undergo extensive maintenance’. The Preface concludes with the following statement of the book’s purpose. ‘This book was designed to provide immediately implementable solutions to many of the problems occurring in data processing. The processes proposed do not increase the cost of data processing but rather, decrease it. It is far more economical to do it right first time with good administrative and control practices than to pay to correct systems after they have been
voi27 no 7 September 1985
implemented improperly’. In providing ‘a road map through the book’ the author suggests there are four basic managerial responsibilities: organising, planning, directing and controlling. Each requires administrative support. The book is divided into four sections to address these four managerial responsibilities and a table is provide indicating the intended audience for each chapter into which the sections are subdivided. The book provides extensive coverage of the EDP context. It is based on American experience and addressed to an American audience. However there is perhaps some conflict between the text’s target audience and the text’s main message. The text stresses the importance of establishing good quality ad~nistration and control and the detailed advice offered underlines the amount of time and effort required to achieve ‘good qual-
various branches of computer science. The style is a little too American for my taste. In particular, each chapter ends with review quizzes and exercises which can often be answered by mindlessly scanning the preceding material. The price is outrageous! This book is intended for students on introductory programming courses but they’re not going to be able to afford it at g27.55. Prentice-Hall already publish a number of PASCAL texts, notably the excellent Intr~ducti5n to PASCAL by Welsh and Elder which, at &9,95, is a far better buy.
GREG MICHAELSON Heriot-Watt University ity’. Given the pressures on EDP (noted in the text) the expenditure of such time and effort would seem to need the unambiguous support of ‘senior’ and ‘user’ management, yet these two groups are never considered more than a ‘secondary audience’. The book is well produced and well illustrated. It covers organizing an effective administrative function, administrative planning, directing administration and controlling administration. There is an appendix on administrative measurement criteria and one listing the ‘guidelines’ which are distributed throughout the text. There are some 97 numbered figures and almost every topic is supported by a checklist, some of which run to several pages. There is a short index but no list of figures. Despite the quality of the production and the substance of the text it is not easy to identify likely UK purchasers at the price. T G GOUGH University of Leeds
49