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  • Textbook
  • © 2013

Fundamentals of Discrete Math for Computer Science

A Problem-Solving Primer

  • Highly accessible and easy to read, introducing concepts in discrete mathematics without requiring a university-level background in mathematics
  • Ideally structured for classroom-use and self-study, with modular chapters following ACM curriculum recommendations
  • Contains examples and exercises throughout the text, and highlights the most important concepts in each section

Part of the book series: Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science (UTICS)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
  2. Algorithms, Numbers, and Machines

    • Tom Jenkyns, Ben Stephenson
    Pages 1-42
  3. Sets, Sequences, and Counting

    • Tom Jenkyns, Ben Stephenson
    Pages 43-75
  4. Boolean Expressions, Logic, and Proof

    • Tom Jenkyns, Ben Stephenson
    Pages 77-130
  5. Searching and Sorting

    • Tom Jenkyns, Ben Stephenson
    Pages 131-182
  6. Graphs and Trees

    • Tom Jenkyns, Ben Stephenson
    Pages 183-231
  7. Relations: Especially on (Integer) Sequences

    • Tom Jenkyns, Ben Stephenson
    Pages 233-264
  8. Sequences and Series

    • Tom Jenkyns, Ben Stephenson
    Pages 265-309
  9. Generating Sequences and Subsets

    • Tom Jenkyns, Ben Stephenson
    Pages 311-350
  10. Discrete Probability and Average-Case Complexity

    • Tom Jenkyns, Ben Stephenson
    Pages 351-395
  11. Turing Machines

    • Tom Jenkyns, Ben Stephenson
    Pages 397-411
  12. Back Matter

    Pages 413-416

About this book

This textbook provides an engaging and motivational introduction to traditional topics in discrete mathematics, in a manner specifically designed to appeal to computer science students. The text empowers students to think critically, to be effective problem solvers, to integrate theory and practice, and to recognize the importance of abstraction. 

Clearly structured and interactive in nature, the book presents detailed walkthroughs of several algorithms, stimulating a conversation with the reader through informal commentary and provocative questions. Features: no university-level background in mathematics required; ideally structured for classroom-use and self-study, with modular chapters following ACM curriculum recommendations; describes mathematical processes in an algorithmic manner; contains examples and exercises throughout the text, and highlights the most important concepts in each section; selects examples that demonstrate a practical use for the concept in question.

Reviews

From the reviews:

“This book is dedicated to presenting the basic notions of discrete mathematics for undergraduate students in computer science. With a good balance between theory and practice – including the algorithmic point of view – this book will prove very helpful. … Many examples and exercises make the book both enjoyable and useful.” (Jean-Paul Allouche, zbMATH, Vol. 1278, 2014)

“Jenkyns (Brock Univ., Canada) and Stephenson (Univ. of Calgary, Canada) have written an introductory textbook on discrete mathematics for computer science majors. The volume’s ten chapters cover the standard topics taught in such courses at the freshman or sophomore level … . In comparison with other introductory discrete mathematics textbooks, this work has a very strong emphasis on algorithms, proofs of algorithmic correctness, and the analysis of worst-case and average-case complexity. … Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates.” (B. Borchers, Choice, Vol. 50 (9), May,2013)

“This book is specifically aimed at CS students. The authors include the same discrete math topics that other books have, but, in contrast to most existing books, they introduce each topic with a clear (and entertaining) CS motivation. … Each section is well written, with a highlighted subsection on the most important ideas and plenty of exercises. I highly recommend this book to everyone.” (V. Kreinovich, Computing Reviews, December, 2012)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Mathematics, Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada

    Tom Jenkyns

  • Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Ben Stephenson

About the authors

Dr. Tom Jenkyns is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Computer Science at Brock University, Canada.

Dr. Ben Stephenson is an Instructor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary, Canada.

Bibliographic Information