4 ms·

"Foundations of Computer Science" by Aho and Ullman might fit your bill. Its focus is more on the concepts and principles of computing rather than math-centric

"Foundations of Computer Science" by Aho and Ullman might fit your bill. Its focus is more on the concepts and principles of computing rather than math-centric CS theory. http://infolab.stanford.edu/~ullman/focs.html http://infolab.stanford.edu/~ullman/focs.html Another nontraditional intro to computing worth mentioning is "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" by Abelson and Sussman(s). It teaches programming concepts using the Lisp/Scheme language (seldom used any more), but does so brilliantly. "Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist" by Downey might provide the right mix of computing concepts and programming practice. If you do want a traditional intro to CS theory, two books that cover that topic well are: "Introduction to the Theory of Computation" by Sipser, and "Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation" by Hopcroft, Motwani, and Ullman. Three very good books that introduce algorithms are: "Introduction to Algorithms: A Creative Approach" by Manber, "The Algorithm Design Manual" by Skiena, and "Algorithms" by Sedgewick and Wayne. Remember that CS theory doesn't age, so buying a used early edition of a textbook should serve your needs just as well as an new up-to-date edition.

pjmorris 5y ago
I second the recommendation for "Foundations of Computer Science." (and for the other books as well, but wanted to highlight it.) For a second or third book, consider 'Algorithm Design Manual', Skiena. I find it more approachable than the MIT Intro to Algorithms. Also, 'The C Programming Language' remains one of my favorites for a pragmatic approach to learning how to say things to a computer, a great balance to learning the theory. There's a reason 'Hello World' has become so widely known that it's a cliche. But there is plenty of great advice there no matter what language you're in.
- chasil 5y ago
  Both editions of The C Programming Language are on archive.org, by the way. This is the second edition: https://ia802802.us.archive.org/15/items/The_C_Programming_Language/The_C_Programming_Language.pdf https://ia802802.us.archive.org/15/items/The_C_Programming_L... The Aho book also looks to have gone out of print. http://infolab.stanford.edu/~ullman/focs.html http://infolab.stanford.edu/~ullman/focs.html

pjmorris 5y ago

I second the recommendation for "Foundations of Computer Science." (and for the other books as well, but wanted to highlight it.) For a second or third book, consider 'Algorithm Design Manual', Skiena. I find it more approachable than the MIT Intro to Algorithms. Also, 'The C Programming Language' remains one of my favorites for a pragmatic approach to learning how to say things to a computer, a great balance to learning the theory. There's a reason 'Hello World' has become so widely known that it's a cliche. But there is plenty of great advice there no matter what language you're in.

chasil 5y ago
Both editions of The C Programming Language are on archive.org, by the way. This is the second edition: https://ia802802.us.archive.org/15/items/The_C_Programming_Language/The_C_Programming_Language.pdf https://ia802802.us.archive.org/15/items/The_C_Programming_L... The Aho book also looks to have gone out of print. http://infolab.stanford.edu/~ullman/focs.html http://infolab.stanford.edu/~ullman/focs.html