An introduction to formal languages and automata
by Peter Linz · first published 1990
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…Computation is great and the one by Hopcroft et al is also very good (as suggested by others). But the most beginner-friendly (or, light on math) coverage of this area is apparently in Peter Linz's book "Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata". An alternative flavor in the treatment of much of the same topics is in this free book: http://cs.brown.edu/people/jsavage/book/
on “Ask HN: What book to read to get a footing in CS theory?” ↗…CS(I'm not a CS graduate) Here are the books I found most useful/interesting: 1. The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold : Used it because I had a hard time digesting the original Alan Turing paper 2. An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata by Peter Linz : To grab the concept of state machines 3. The description of sequential processes by Iverson 4. Clrs: Have kept it for reference Then I studied a matrix of math books, along with other…
on “Ask HN: What are the most fundamental books on computer science?” ↗…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…
on “The Strangest Book on the Theory of Computation (2009)” ↗…statistics, linear algebra etc. were prerequisites to other courses. So see if those books are blocked as a "threat to order". If those get through and he reads through them, try sending things like "An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata", "A First Course in Combinatorial Optimization" and this sort of thing. There are also prison reform groups like FAMM that you can talk to.
on “Ask HN: Prisoners Not Allowed to Study Programming?” ↗Those books cover a part of topics I've studied at the University: The Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth Introduction to Algorithms by Thomas Cormen An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata by Peter Linz Probability and Statistics by by Morris H. DeGroot Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles by William Stallings Understanding Cryptography by Christof Paar Database Systems:…
on “Ask HN: What is a must read for a developer without a computer science degree?” ↗