How to Think Like a Computer Scientist

How to Think Like a Computer Scientist

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How to Think Like a Computer Scientist

The goal of this course book is to teach you to think like a computer scientist. When computer scientists think they combine some of the best features of Mathematics, Engineering, and Natural Science. Like mathematicians, computer scientists use formal languages to denote ideas (specifically computations). Like engineers, they design things, assembling components into systems and evaluating tradeoffs among alternatives. Like scientists, they observe the behavior of complex systems, form hypotheses, and test predictions.

These texts are excellent introductions to Computer Science in three programming languages. The order of presentation is what is called "procedural first," meaning that the programming style is procedural (or functional) until the later chapters, which include a brief introduction to the concepts of object-oriented programming.

The single most important skill for a computer scientist is problem-solving. This is the ability to formulate problems, think creatively about solutions, and express a solution clearly and accurately. As it turns out, the process of learning to program is an excellent opportunity to practice problem-solving skills.

Java Version:

Chapter 1: The way of the program
Chapter 2: Variables and types
Chapter 3: Methods
Chapter 4: Conditionals, graphics and recursion
Chapter 5: Fruitful methods
Chapter 6: Iteration
Chapter 7: Strings and things
Chapter 8: Interesting objects
Chapter 9: Create your own objects
Chapter 10: Arrays
Chapter 11: Arrays of Objects
Chapter 12: Objects of Arrays
Chapter 13: Object-oriented programming
Chapter 14: Linked lists
Chapter 15: Stacks
Chapter 16: Queues and Priority Queues
Chapter 17: Trees
Chapter 18: Heap
Chapter 19: Table
Appendix C: The Slate Class
Index

Learning with C++:

Chapter 1: The way of the program
Chapter 2: Variables and types
Chapter 3: Function
Chapter 4: Conditionals and recursion
Chapter 5: Fruitful functions
Chapter 6: Iteration
Chapter 7: Strings and things
Chapter 8: Structures
Chapter 9: More structures
Chapter 10: Vectors
Chapter 11: Member functions
Chapter 12: Vectors of Objects
Chapter 13: Objects of Vectors
Chapter 14: Classes and invariants
Chapter 15: Object-oriented programming
Chapter 16: Pointers and References
Chapter 17: Templates
Chapter 18: Linked lists
Chapter 19: Stacks
Chapter 20: Queues and Priority Queues
Chapter 21: Trees
Chapter 22: Heap
Chapter 23: File Input/Output and pmatrices
Appendix A: Quick reference for pclasses
Index

Learning with Python:

Preface
Chapter 1: The way of the program
Chapter 2: Variables, expressions, and statements
Chapter 3: Functions
Chapter 4: Conditionals and recursion
Chapter 5: Fruitful functions
Chapter 6: Iteration
Chapter 7: Strings
Chapter 8: Lists
Chapter 9: Histograms
Chapter 10: Tuples and dictionaries
Chapter 11: Files and exceptions
Chapter 12: Classes and objects
Chapter 13: Classes and functions
Chapter 14: Methods
Chapter 15: Sets of objects
Chapter 16: Inheritance
Chapter 17: Linked Lists
Chapter 18: Stacks
Chapter 19: Queues and priority queues
Chapter 20: Trees
Appendix A: Debugging
Appendix B: Creating a new datatype
Appendix C: Complete Python listings
Appendix D: Recommendations for further reading
Index

Bonus: Download the LiveWires Python Course rel.1.2 (1.15mb) - This course is intended to help people who have not programmed before to learn the Python language.

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