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Introduction to logic programming
on the Foundations of Information Science, this book constitutes a cross-section of contemporary thought on the foundation of information science, particularly important in the context of the need to understand the current epistemological thoughts surrounding a science still being structured. This book is not easy to read, with many notes and abstract developments, but is worth reading to better understand the place of Information theory, Artificial Intelligence and Recipient in Information Science, and the place of Interpretation in Observation and Communication (the four parts of the book).
J. D. Nicoud
Microcomputer Use by Teresa Alberte-Hallam et aL, Academic Press, Orlando, Florida, 1985, 421 pp. This book is intended to explain an accompanying software, named MicroUSE. As such, it is very well presented and an easy-toread book. It covers the principles of personal computers with their terminology, the concepts of word processing, spreadsheets, databases and, although more superficially, data communications and graphics. Examples are provided using the MicroUSE software (screen copies) and exercises are provided. Even if sold without the software, the book still has some interest due to its clear presentations and its explanations which are not of the 'type-this-and-you-will-get-this' nature.
Computational Complexity of Sequential and Parallel Algorithms by Lydia Kronsjo, John Wiley and Sons, 1985. This book contains a broad tutorial survey of the field of concrete computational complexity that extends the traditional coverage of sequential algorithms to include several models of parallel computers and algorithms suited for them. This book can also serve as an introduction to the field of algorithm design and analysis at the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level. Part 1, Sequential Algorithms, is a fairly general and comprehensive summary of the major results developed over the past two decades in the field of computational complexity. It introduces important concepts which are illustrated by brief examples, but full comprehension of this part requires from the reader a more extensive background in concrete algorithms than the examples presented here. A textbook on algorithms and data structures appears to be a prerequisite for this book. Part 2, Parallel Algorithms, is a selfcontained collection of algorithms for a variety of problems (root finding, matrix multiplication, fast Fourier transform, sorting, graph search and traversal) and for parallel computers of different architectures, with examples of computations worked in great detail. The book ends with an extensive bibliography of the research literature and index of technical terms.
J. D. Nicoud J. Nievergelt
Fifth Generation Computers by Peter Bishop, Ellis Horwood, 1986, 166 pp. This small book is an excellent survey which presents the history of computing, the notions of artificial intelligence and the fifth generation research programmes in Japan, the U.S. and Europe. It presents the principles of the hardware and software for intelligent machines in very readable, but of course superficial, form. The applications and perspectives are also mentioned. This book can be recommended to a large category of scientists and managers; it will also be of interest to computer specialists who want a first exposure to the fifth generation computers before reading additional papers and books on the topic to get the more detailed information they need; references at the end of each chapter will be very useful for this purpose.
J. D. Nicoud 174
Introduction to Logic Programming by Christopher John Hogger, Academic Press Inc., London, 1984. This may well be the most comprehensive textbook on logic programming available today. Written in a concise style that relies on examples for comprehension, it manages to cover in 278 pages all of the following topics: 1. Representation and reasoning---an introduction to mathematical logic. 2. Logic programs--computation, control, operational features. 3. Programming style--iteration, recursion, (non-) determinism. 4. Data structures--representation and access, structured term representations. 5. Program verification--correctness of programs and algorithms. 6. Formal program synthesis--using pro-
cedure derivation, resolution, and nonresolution inference. 7. Implementation--control state, data assignments, efficiency. 8. Broader contributions to computing--to computing theory, practice, and technology. The book contains a list of almost 200 references that includes much of the existing English-language literature on logic programming. As stated in the foreword, this broadranging survey 'covers a middle ground between the practical introductions to PROLOG and the more general treatments of computational logic (like Robinson's and Kowalski's)'. A serious study of this book is rather demanding; it makes an excellent text for a graduate course on logic programming which emphasizes fundamental issues.
J. Nievergelt
Handbook of Information Technology and Office Systems Edited by A. E. Cawkell, NorthHolland, Amsterdam, 1986, 996 pp., Dfl. 325. Several different handbooks, yearbooks etc. exist covering nearly all fields of information technology (IT), e.g. the Calculator Handbook, the Microcomputer Yearbook. The Handbook of Information Technology and Office Systems, however, is to some extent extraordinary in quality. One exception is the immense bulkiness of its 996 pages; another is the scope ranging from IT fundamentals (e.g. principles of digital computing) over social and political issues as well as telecommunications to papers discussing progress in information system structures. Supplier addresses, abbreviations, a glossary, and an index of 14 pages complete the book. The handbook is subdivided into 50 chapters, 29 of which have been written by the editor himself. The remainder comes from 21 authors from five countries describing mainly the situation and trends in Japan, Switzerland, the UK, the USA, and West Germany. The book is thus both a reference book and a forum for discussing the state of the art. A lot of information can be expected, but some is, naturally, valid only for a very short period in the extremely fast-changing IT world. Another point of criticism is the fact that some of the typewritten scripts are not optimally reproduced. But one must admit that the handbook is an important publication which should have a place on the desks of all decision makers and other people seriously interested in information technology.
Harald Schumny
J. D. Nicoud
Microcomputer Use by Teresa Alberte-Hallam et aL, Academic Press, Orlando, Florida, 1985, 421 pp. This book is intended to explain an accompanying software, named MicroUSE. As such, it is very well presented and an easy-toread book. It covers the principles of personal computers with their terminology, the concepts of word processing, spreadsheets, databases and, although more superficially, data communications and graphics. Examples are provided using the MicroUSE software (screen copies) and exercises are provided. Even if sold without the software, the book still has some interest due to its clear presentations and its explanations which are not of the 'type-this-and-you-will-get-this' nature.
Computational Complexity of Sequential and Parallel Algorithms by Lydia Kronsjo, John Wiley and Sons, 1985. This book contains a broad tutorial survey of the field of concrete computational complexity that extends the traditional coverage of sequential algorithms to include several models of parallel computers and algorithms suited for them. This book can also serve as an introduction to the field of algorithm design and analysis at the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level. Part 1, Sequential Algorithms, is a fairly general and comprehensive summary of the major results developed over the past two decades in the field of computational complexity. It introduces important concepts which are illustrated by brief examples, but full comprehension of this part requires from the reader a more extensive background in concrete algorithms than the examples presented here. A textbook on algorithms and data structures appears to be a prerequisite for this book. Part 2, Parallel Algorithms, is a selfcontained collection of algorithms for a variety of problems (root finding, matrix multiplication, fast Fourier transform, sorting, graph search and traversal) and for parallel computers of different architectures, with examples of computations worked in great detail. The book ends with an extensive bibliography of the research literature and index of technical terms.
J. D. Nicoud J. Nievergelt
Fifth Generation Computers by Peter Bishop, Ellis Horwood, 1986, 166 pp. This small book is an excellent survey which presents the history of computing, the notions of artificial intelligence and the fifth generation research programmes in Japan, the U.S. and Europe. It presents the principles of the hardware and software for intelligent machines in very readable, but of course superficial, form. The applications and perspectives are also mentioned. This book can be recommended to a large category of scientists and managers; it will also be of interest to computer specialists who want a first exposure to the fifth generation computers before reading additional papers and books on the topic to get the more detailed information they need; references at the end of each chapter will be very useful for this purpose.
J. D. Nicoud 174
Introduction to Logic Programming by Christopher John Hogger, Academic Press Inc., London, 1984. This may well be the most comprehensive textbook on logic programming available today. Written in a concise style that relies on examples for comprehension, it manages to cover in 278 pages all of the following topics: 1. Representation and reasoning---an introduction to mathematical logic. 2. Logic programs--computation, control, operational features. 3. Programming style--iteration, recursion, (non-) determinism. 4. Data structures--representation and access, structured term representations. 5. Program verification--correctness of programs and algorithms. 6. Formal program synthesis--using pro-
cedure derivation, resolution, and nonresolution inference. 7. Implementation--control state, data assignments, efficiency. 8. Broader contributions to computing--to computing theory, practice, and technology. The book contains a list of almost 200 references that includes much of the existing English-language literature on logic programming. As stated in the foreword, this broadranging survey 'covers a middle ground between the practical introductions to PROLOG and the more general treatments of computational logic (like Robinson's and Kowalski's)'. A serious study of this book is rather demanding; it makes an excellent text for a graduate course on logic programming which emphasizes fundamental issues.
J. Nievergelt
Handbook of Information Technology and Office Systems Edited by A. E. Cawkell, NorthHolland, Amsterdam, 1986, 996 pp., Dfl. 325. Several different handbooks, yearbooks etc. exist covering nearly all fields of information technology (IT), e.g. the Calculator Handbook, the Microcomputer Yearbook. The Handbook of Information Technology and Office Systems, however, is to some extent extraordinary in quality. One exception is the immense bulkiness of its 996 pages; another is the scope ranging from IT fundamentals (e.g. principles of digital computing) over social and political issues as well as telecommunications to papers discussing progress in information system structures. Supplier addresses, abbreviations, a glossary, and an index of 14 pages complete the book. The handbook is subdivided into 50 chapters, 29 of which have been written by the editor himself. The remainder comes from 21 authors from five countries describing mainly the situation and trends in Japan, Switzerland, the UK, the USA, and West Germany. The book is thus both a reference book and a forum for discussing the state of the art. A lot of information can be expected, but some is, naturally, valid only for a very short period in the extremely fast-changing IT world. Another point of criticism is the fact that some of the typewritten scripts are not optimally reproduced. But one must admit that the handbook is an important publication which should have a place on the desks of all decision makers and other people seriously interested in information technology.
Harald Schumny