Computer Science Books

This book reveals the true nature of the nearly tectonic shift in the landscape of content being caused by digital technology. Even as the editor of Digital TV magazine, I have not read a book that examines, in such a penetrating manner, and with such a dazzling collection of expert voices, the depth of this dramatic change and what it now means. Further, it reveals the implications for the future of creating and distributing content in the digital age. This book is a must for anyone who cares about navigating the new world of digital content.

This is a "must buy" for anyone interested in the digital revolution that is changing the way we communicate. It explains how camcorders, Avids, and computers have changed video, movie-making, web streaming, and how to become part of it. "Digital content" is really what video, TV and movies have become. You can re-use your video and audio in many different ways to better serve clients or create original programming. The book explains what's going on very clearly. Digital video is really computer data, so it's cheaper and easier to work with than "regular" video. And the image is better! You can produce any type of show for less money than ever before, and you can do more things with your video; stream it on the web, put it on a DVD disc, project it as a movie, or re-use clips for other programs. Audio and sound techniques are also included.
"Creating Digital Content" starts off with a funny story by Firesign Theatre's Peter Bergman that makes you realize how much digital video and software has changed the way movies and TV are made. Then there's a really interesting section on what "digital" really means, which is the most concise definition I've ever read. Really helpful is the fact that they go into specifics about the best equipment available... over 25 chapters all about computers, Avids, camcorders, memory, etc. which can be used to make HDTV, corporate video, interactive TV and yes, feature films! Whether you're at a local TV station, a production house, a university A/V department, or you're an "A" list DGA feature film director, these are the NEW tools that you must be familiar with and ready to use.
You'll understand how computers, software and camcorders have become the new ways to make TV, streaming video, and big budget movies. Plus amazing interviews with the giants in the field, such as George Lucas and James Cameron.
I highly recommend "Creating Digital Cinema". It's an invaluable resource for anyone seriously interested in video, TV, streaming, and movies, and at the same it's a great read.

For a subject rife with hype and confusion, the editors bring together articles that are by turns surprising, authoritative and laugh-out-loud funny. For industries with notoriously short attention spans, the book reveals the lessons learned from decades of failure and success in Interactive TV and digital TV and gives roadmaps to the future.

I *loved* this book.

It covers the essential number theory required to understand various encryption schemes, and while it is a thin book, it doesn't omit any steps between various mathematical steps (" ... and then magic happens ..."). You end up with the satisfying feeling of being able to derive the proof for RSA, starting from high-school math.

Highly recommended.

I cannot speak for the female side of the human race, but when I was young all the boys wanted to be a spy. We formed clubs and pretended to be secret agents. It was such great fun to create and use the codes to encrypt, pass and decode our important messages. Reading this book took me back to those days, not only reminding me of the good times we had but also how serious encryption is.
This book was a good deal of fun to read, but underlying the fun there is an air of extreme seriousness. It is not an exaggeration to say that secure encryption is the key to the efficient functioning of the global economy. Billions of dollars are electronically moved every day and without the security of unbreakable encryption, it would all be too unreliable to use. If the current codes were proven to be breakable, it would be a catastrophe, probably the only threat to the world economy that does not involve a major natural disaster.
The mathematics of encryption are surprisingly easy to understand. Starting with the simple substitution ciphers and moving through the more complex polyalphabetic and polygraphic substitutions, the techniques to create and break them are described. For most of the codes, the most complex mathematics needed to understand them is a basic understanding of matrices and how they are added and multiplied. It is only in the last chapter of public key cryptography where some advanced mathematics of number theory are used. Each chapter ends with a set of problems and solutions to the even ones are given in an appendix.
This would be an excellent textbook for a course in applied mathematics. There is an inherent fascinating quality to the subject matter and the tales of encryption are very well done. I strongly recommend that you read it.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

As I do not work for M.I.6, the N.S.A. or some other `Secret Service' a computer program as Wolfram's ` Mathematical Explorer' [at Amazon for $75, or so] which can encrypt a message by R.S.A [heavy duty crypto] is `really' all I need.

I have a number of books on all kinds of cryptography ... `classical' crypto, `Codes' [different from cyphers], number theory and so on.

While there are `better' books on specific parts of cryptology this book is by far the best overall introduction.

The title of this book scared me a bit. I have never been that `comfortable' with some sorts of maths and this book `sounded' brutal, and while it is a `math' book it is really not impossible to `figure out' [although some spots I must have read twenty times but thats the topic].

`REQUIRED BACKGROUND'

You can `do' with less but it helps to know basic algebra and understand variables. The vocabulary and nomenclature of areas as Set Theory and Probability [which I had to `study up' on] would be `nice' but you can `slide' without them,

Reading level: age 14 through senility :-) [ but a challenge for those `dead and encrypted'.
`Classical', pen and paper, cryptology: B+
Clear Writing: A-
The `History' of cryptology: C+
Physical [binding and paper, type, type size ... ] B

Also covered in detail is "public key' cryptography which as I wrote I do by `pre - written' computer program.

I found this book an exellent introduction to advanced geometry concepts used in computer graphics, vision, robotics, geometric modeling and many other related areas. Gallier has struck a perfect balance between formal mathematical rigour and intuition and readability which the book lends easily with its many beautiful illustrations and examples. The concept of "blossoming" is a rarely-seen but extremely elegant way of presenting the curves and surfaces. This book is a must for anyone who loves the elegance of geometry.

This book is a good review of the concepts of geometry for Modeling. The presentation is original. The mathematical treatment is sound. This a "required reading" for those in Computer Graphics research and did not have a good course in geometry. Those who have had a good course in geometry will appreciate the original style of presentation. This book fills a long felt gap in the treatment of geometry from the perspective of Computer Graphics. The book assumes minimal background in mathematics, and is almost self-contained.

There are fewer graphics programmers who have an adequate understanding of the underlying mathematical concepts. This book can partially help the graphics programmers to cross over to that select group. Problems at the end of each chapter enhance the value of the book. The material is updated with latest developments in the field such as subdivision surfaces.

People interested in Computer Graphics, Geometric Modeling, Computer Vision, and Robotics will benefit from studying this book.

This is a great book, definitely the best among the various books on geometric design and CAGD (other good ones include Farin, Mortsenson, Piegl and Tiller, Hoscheck and Lasser). It is not as encyclopedic as the sources listed above, but it a lot more coherent and a lot clearer, because it follows the unifying concept of blossoming. As a result, one gets multiple complementary views of polynomial curves and surfaces: algebraic, geometric, combinatorial, and algorithmic. For example, we can see where the Bernstein polynomials come from, instead of mysteriously being dropped from the sky. The systematic use of blossoms (polar forms) is particularly elegant in the presentation of surfaces, where it clarifies greatly the differences between rectangular and triangular patches. The discussion of subdivision versions of the de Casteljau algorithm is very thorough and unique. Gallier's book is also the only book to discuss subdivision surfaces in some detail (Doo-Sabin, Catmull-Clark, and Loop). In particular, an analysis of the convergence of Loop's scheme is given. For this, the author gives a remarkable crash course on the discrete Fourier transform. However, this chapter is too dense and should have been split. Also, much more pictures are needed. It seems that the author was in a rush. The appendix on vector spaces is gorgeous, and the one on differentials is also excellent. This book is highly recommended to mathematically inclined readers interested in geometric modeling and computer graphics. Too bad that applications to medicine such as organ modeling, or to computer animation, are not presented. Nevertheless, Mathematica code is provided for most of the algorithms. A web site would be helpful.

Norbert Wiener was interested in the means by which feedback could be communicated to help correct the problems that develop in an organism. In investigating this matter, Weiner investigates a number of topics that differentiate between mere computation and intelligence and the importance that information plays in both. This is the unifying theme of a book that seems to wander through many topics using philosophy, mathematics, and the theory of computation.

For example, in chapter one of the book, Wiener illustrates the basic difference between man and machine with a discussion of the concept of Newtonian versus Bergsonian time. He states that Newtonian time - that of high level physics phenomena- is reversible. Bergsonian time, the time of living organisms making their way against entropy is not reversible. Thus since Newtonian time is reversible nothing "new" happens, as opposed to the irreversible time of evolution and biology in which there is always something new.

He continues this idea in the chapter "Computing Machines and the Nervous System." In it, he defines the characteristics of computing machinery. He concludes that the brain, being irreversible, is thus an analog of a single run of a machine. Wiener also points out that many problems of human metabolism and reproduction are associated with the inability to receive and organize impulses and make them effective in the outer world. Thus Weiner ultimately concludes that to live effectively is to live with adequate information.

There are also chapters that are almost purely philisophical about the role of information in society. Then there are other chapters that present heavy-duty mathematics on such topics as representing a time series of known statistical parameters as Brownian motion in an attempt to solve communications problems in nonlinear situations. The mathematics in this book is presented with little or no background, so you are going to need other sources to understand what Wiener is trying to convey.

In summary, if you want an interesting read on the science and philosophy of artificial intelligence and the role of the machine this is one of the best out there. It still stands the test of time after nearly sixty years.

Two books, both written in the late 1940s stand out as contributing much to our understanding of the world around us. One of these is "Cybernetics" by Weiner and the other is "The mathematical theory of communication" by Shannon. Both require some study by contain many sections that are easily readable by anyone which get the main points across in an understandable manner.

Weiner's book discuses the use of feedback on virtually every type of control mechanism known... i.e., those of nature as well as those of man. It is the "basic" stuff that everyone of us uses everyday and every moment of our lives whether we are aware of it or not. Whereas Shannon's book tells us how to communicate information in an error-free (or nearly so) way, Weiner's book explains how that information is used to provide effective control of everything around us. For many decades since I first was introduced to these two works, I have used their principles in most things I do.

I very highly recommend these two books to anyone who considers themselves a "thinking person" and is seeking to understand the world around them. Both easily get 5 stars. They are major works!

Why is everything called "cyber" (cyberspace, cyberpunk)? Because of this book from 1948 in which Norbert Wiener, a prof at MIT, coined the phrase "cybernetics," from the Greek word "kybernutos" meaning "governor." If you're tired of viewing your computer as a black box (the input goes in here, the output comes out there, and something mysterious happens inside), or if you wonder if the tech world has any relation to the natural world, check out this unusual book, which is rewarding on many different levels.

Find out why robotics, neural nets and artificial intelligence (AI) predate the PC and even the mainframe computer and are not a new development. Travel back to the days of the giant ENIAC when the computer seemed to be an idea on everyone's mind, simply waiting for advances in technology to make it a reality. But this very readable book goes further, as suggested in Wiener's subtitle: "Control and Communication in the Animal and Machine." Many specialists in various fields initially opposed this book because of Wiener's interdisciplinary approach, which broke down the hard and fast walls between various disciplines.

The vocabulary of this book has now become commonplace (we ask for "feedback" and refer to "systems" on a daily basis), but many of its ideas have yet to be discovered. I couldn't keep up with the math, but you don't need to to grasp the basic ideas or to enjoy Wiener's lucid and luminous style, which ranks among the best of popular science writing. Wiener also wrote a general market book, "The Human Use of Human Beings" to present some of these ideas to a wider audience. Some fifty years after its initial publication, this book still forms an inviting welcome to the machine.

This book has a lot of good information on de-interlacing, motion estimation, and interlace versus progressive display. One chapter contains a particularly nicely done survey and objective evaluation of 16 de-interlacing algorithms. A few of the algorithms listed (including one covered in detail later in the book) were developped by the authors. There are also discussions of the history & future of interlacing, the impact of interlaced and progressive video on MPEG-2 encoding, and the impact of interlace on displays.

My only problem is that the authors don't mention where to find software or hardware implementations of the recommended de-interlacing algorithms. This information would have been a valuable addition to the book.

This is a great book that you must have if you are interested in post video processing. or research in digital video processing. It describes the both approaches from non-motion compensation and motion compensation deinterlacing in depth and details. There are a lot of comparisons with other algorithms. The best part yet is the 3-D recursive search block matcher which checks the neighboring blocks in quarter pel resolution for 3 fields and the majority selection for different de-interlacing algorithms. If you have some algorithms for de-interlacing, you can apply the concept for majority selection in terms of performance and quality selection. The research on de-interlacing work is from Philips Research lab. Some works of de-interlacing have been implementated on Trimedia chip with enhancements in both hardware and software

The intended audience for this book are research and development professionals in image processing. This is not a book for video hobbyists, but instead you should at least be at the advanced undergraduate level in electrical engineering or computer science to fully grasp the concepts presented. The book's goal is to show a survey of well-known deinterlacing algorithms and then go into details of how you can improve upon these algorithms. The book is divided into three major parts: basic technology, system optimization, and the future of interlace, and contains the following chapters:
1. Introduction
2. Overview of de-interlacing algorithms
3. Motion estimation on interlaced video
4. Improving motion-vector accuracy
5. On the optimization of de-interlacing
6. MPEG-2 coding efficiency of interlaced versus progressive video
7. Display formats
Chapter 2 appears to be an expansion of a paper that the authors wrote entitled "De-interlacing an overview". When I first read that paper I found it to be the clearest I had ever read on the subject, yet their book manages to improve it further. The emphasis is on the authors' own algorithm -adaptive recursive deinterlacing.
Likewise, chapter 3 is an expansion of the authors' paper "Motion estimation on interlaced video". The authors examine and compare the performance of block matching algorithms, true motion estimation, global-based models, and object-based motion models.
Chapter 4 examines accuracy of motion vectors, improving block-based motion estimation, and using interpolation to improve accuracy.
Chapter 5 examines the optimization of interlacing and introduces the Majority-Selection de-interlacer, which combines the strengths of several individual de-interlacing algorithms into a single output signal. This material is from the authors' paper "Majority selection de-interlacing; An advanced motion-compensated spatio-temporal interpolation technique for interlaced video".
Chapter 6 looks at the MPEG-2 video coding standard and discusses the efficiency of interlaced versus progressive video on an MPEG-2 digital channel. This chapter draws heavily from the authors' paper "On Coding Efficiency and Scan-Rate Conversion".
Chapter 7 borrows heavily from the authors' paper "Towards an Optimal Display Television Format". In this chapter the authors explore a new display format free from television history. From their various experiments the authors form an overall preference for a 75 Hz interlaced scanning format.
The appendices deal with the TGST de-interlacer, and is largely drawn from the authors' paper "Advanced Motion Estimation and Motion Compensated Deinterlacing" in which they combine two well-known algorithms.
I found the book very enlightening. The authors do a good job of tying the various papers from which this book was formed into a cohesive format. Although there is a heavy and necessary use of mathematics, their writing style is very accessible and clear. If you are not sure you want to spend so much money on one book, you might try downloading off the web the papers I mentioned in this review. It will give you a good idea of the book's content and let you know if you like the authors' writing style. Personally, I highly recommend this book.

Danger.com / Dead Man's Hand by Jordan Cray was a great fiction book for kids and adults of all ages. I really enjoyed the book because I never wanted to put it down. The suspense made it so interesting and you never knew what was going to happen next. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to read a good suspenseful story. A couple of reasons why I liked this book was because you got to know the main character Nick Annunciato very well and it almost felt like he was someone you knew, because the author gives such detail in what he does. Also, the suspense is a key factor into why I picked out this book, I always like to have a reason to keep reading a story, and this book you will never want to stop! I also read Danger.com / Shiver and they all were about someone on the internet, I found them very interesting also!

I loved this book so much because it never let you dry for suspense. I was always wanting to read more and more. I couldn't stop. This book had a fantastic main charcters that seemed like I could meet them down the street. I love these books and I have already read a couple of the "Danger.com". Each story almost seemed to almost happen on the internet. The charters in this book made a mistake to tell online that he wanted illegal cigars. This is why it left me in suspense because I never knew what was going to happen to them.

This was a sequal to Shadow man. This is a MUST have if you have read that one. It takes you on differnt twists and turns, but it always leads you back one way or another. If you like the internet, you'll love this!

After a countless number of Perl books have been published, not much has been published like this book. The Learning Perl books are great, but learning the syntax isn't always the needed information to programmers. This book is different in that it focuses on some of the quirky odd things that you may run into programming. After designing in Perl for 3 years, I still run into times the code does not work the way I thought it would (maybe from thinking in C, Java, etc terms) and need a book of quirks instead a book of syntax. Finally, a book about how Perl behaves (or misbehaves). Great work. Long live Perl.

Very good. Author isn't only describing "how to debug Perl programs" but he's
mainly concerned in "how to write Perl programs that you won't need to debug" - this
sounds better, right ? A "hands-on" developer experience brought by someone who obviously
stepped on most of errors people may step and trying to warn you before you're doing
the same.
If "Programming Perl" is about "Perl", this book is about "real-world-Perl" and .. hey ..
those things aren't the same, as you should know (you *will* after reading the book).
Thank you, Martin !

After a countless number of Perl books have been published, not much has been published like this book. The Learning Perl books are great, but learning the syntax isn't always the needed information to programmers. This book is different in that it focuses on some of the quirky odd things that you may run into programming. After designing in Perl for 3 years, I still run into times the code does not work the way I thought it would (maybe from thinking in C, Java, etc terms) and need a book of quirks instead a book of syntax. Finally, a book about how Perl behaves (or misbehaves). Great work. Long live Perl.

The best book about PIC microcontrollers.
It covers 16F and 18F families.

As an amateur roboticist, I wanted a book that would cover the PIC16 and the PIC18 architecture in detail, and this is the book I needed. I was hesitant to learn PIC Assembler since I already knew x86 C, and it was no problem to move to PIC C for me. This book showed me that PIC Assembler is necessary if you really want to know about the architecture (and if you really need precise timing). I realized it was not a big hassle after all. Although the author tells you to skip the chapters on PIC Assembler and move on to C if you wish to do so, I did not, and I am glad I did not. This books is the PIC Bible for me. It is an awesome tutorial, and a marvelous reference for the beginner and the novice PIC enthusiast. The author provides many working examples (on a pong game, and a complete robot - the Derbot AGV). I have not finished it yet, but I use it as a reference all the time as I also continue learning more about the PIC architecture and assembler. Assembler was scary for me before I bought this book, now it is not. If you need a book that covers it all, buy this book, you will not regret it.

It's been a long while now that I have been purchasing every PIC related book that I can find and finally this one was recommended by my local Micro supplier. The fall down with most publications is that you start with the 16F84 (fantastic micro, no doubt) and then just as things get interesting the book ends.

This book avoids that and does a whole lot more. The first few chapters devoted to theory, but then hey we are not all genius level. The book then takes the reader form the 16F84 right the way through to more advanced micros e.g. 16F873. All the while expanding on the knowledge base and building ever better projects. The overall project theme of the book is the little Robot, which is great. You apply what you learn as you go practically.

Another major advantage is that in the latter part of the book the transition is made to C i.e. that High level language the gets you away from assembler. Not really a teach all you need on C, but enough to get you going and get the projects working.

I would really recommend the book to anyone who wants to avoid buying every other book just to find the right one. All the essential detail and information required is contained within these two covers and is great value for money for novice or intermediate / Advanced user.

I have stuied many books. I found this book is very useful for the reader who are working on groundwater field. I think this is one of the best book in this field.

I have stuied many books. I found this book is very useful for the reader who are working on groundwater field. I think this is one of the best book in this field.

I have stuied many books. I found this book is very useful for the reader who are working on groundwater field. I think this is one of the best book in this field.

I highly recommend this book to anyone planning to go into die design. It is extremely thorough and up to date. More importantly, it not only explains how a die works but it also helps in the designing process. It takes you through a step by step process and each chapter is dedicated to a part of the die i.e., the punch, the die, the stripper plate, pilots, types of die processes, die buttons, front and back rails, etc. For those already in the field, it helps to have this book handy.

an excellent book for engineers or technicians with no experience in die design. This sets you up for a new and another dimension in the world of tool and dies. It is worth having one in the shelf.

Great book for beginners. This book is essential material if you want to go in this field and learn about Die Design. I would definitely recommend it as a starter. Very good indeed!