4 ms·

You can browse a few pages of the Simon book at this link supplied in the OP's comments section[1]. It actually looks like a highly readable intro to automata t

You can browse a few pages of the Simon book at this link supplied in the OP's comments section[1]. It actually looks like a highly readable intro to automata theory, and much more enjoyable than Hopcroft and Ullman's book Introduction to Automata, Languages, and Computation that the OP himself recommends in his comments. I found Hopcroft and Ullman to be a dull, formal proof-based approach with few of the practical examples that one needs to get an intuitive feel for a subject. The Simon book might be a bit of the opposite--too many practical examples and not enough theory--but, hey, I would have preferred that over Hopcroft and Ullman (or in addition to it). Many of OP's objections come off as petty, like "the author uses the capital letter "X" to represent ×, the cross product symbol." Come on, really? I think the OP's real reason for hating the book was the strange quotes Simon used; it was a bad decision for Simon to use those quotes even if he had absolutely no political agenda, because someone somewhere is going to take it the wrong way, and academia being the leading edge of the politically correct movement is especially dangerous. [1] http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DpGTpuWTIoNsC%26pg%3DPA5%26lpg%3DPA5%26dq%3D%2522White%2Band%2BNegro%2Bproduces%2Bmulatto%2522%26source%3Dbl%26ots%3DqrkM372LYY%26sig%3DoBiERDev99DMwQpO15wC5hyugIM%26hl%3Den%26ei%3Db9BTStSXAZ-ltge06MymCA%26sa%3DX%26oi%3Dbook_result%26ct%3Dresult%26resnum%3D1&ei=b9BTStSXAZ-ltge06MymCA&rct=j&q=%22White+and+Negro+produces+mulatto%22&usg=AFQjCNH6b3GY22Kti90ru8mFAr-6eAAgcA http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&url=ht...

jey 8y ago
Looks like it was typeset in MS Word. Seems this project is a good start but really could use some editing.
thebooktocome 8y ago
> Come on, really? Yes, really. It's exceedingly annoying to read a mathematics text that does not conform to the usual typographic conventions. These kinds of considerations are particularly important if one wants to teach out of a textbook, because it gets annoying and confusing for students to constantly have to transcribe notation into the modern convention.
erwan 8y ago
That's a bit unfair, Hopcroft and Ullman is extensive and detailed by design. They invented the field AFAIK so this book ought to be deep as they use it to lay its foundations. If you - or lurkers - are looking for a solid, down-to-earth exploration of automata theory - but not so much proofs, then I would recommend these in no particular order: - "Introduction to the Theory of Computation" [Part I] by M. Sipser - "Introduction to Compiler Design" by Torben A. Mogensen - "An introduction to Formal Languages and Automata" by P. Linz - "Languages and Machines" by Thomas A. Sudkamp >Many of OP's objections come off as petty I have had the book in my hands, I have turned the pages and seen the typesetting myself. It's not an exaggeration. It looks like one of those books written by a typewriter with some of the lines are misaligned, except it wasn't and that is overall a pain to parse. Also the pages are small and margins wide. Why inflict that upon yourself when there are plenty of other books that show a modicum of effort in editing.

jey 8y ago

Looks like it was typeset in MS Word. Seems this project is a good start but really could use some editing.

thebooktocome 8y ago

> Come on, really? Yes, really. It's exceedingly annoying to read a mathematics text that does not conform to the usual typographic conventions. These kinds of considerations are particularly important if one wants to teach out of a textbook, because it gets annoying and confusing for students to constantly have to transcribe notation into the modern convention.

erwan 8y ago

That's a bit unfair, Hopcroft and Ullman is extensive and detailed by design. They invented the field AFAIK so this book ought to be deep as they use it to lay its foundations. If you - or lurkers - are looking for a solid, down-to-earth exploration of automata theory - but not so much proofs, then I would recommend these in no particular order: - "Introduction to the Theory of Computation" [Part I] by M. Sipser - "Introduction to Compiler Design" by Torben A. Mogensen - "An introduction to Formal Languages and Automata" by P. Linz - "Languages and Machines" by Thomas A. Sudkamp >Many of OP's objections come off as petty I have had the book in my hands, I have turned the pages and seen the typesetting myself. It's not an exaggeration. It looks like one of those books written by a typewriter with some of the lines are misaligned, except it wasn't and that is overall a pain to parse. Also the pages are small and margins wide. Why inflict that upon yourself when there are plenty of other books that show a modicum of effort in editing.