Computer Science Illuminated, 5th Edition

By Nell B. Dale, John Lewis, Nell B. Dale, et al.

Book Overview

Revised and updated with the latest information in the field, the Fifth Edition of best-selling Computer Science Illuminated continues to provide students with an engaging breadth-first overview of computer science principles and provides a solid foundation for those continuing their study in this dynamic and exciting discipline. Authored by two of today's most respected computer science educators, Nell Dale and John Lewis, the text carefully unfolds the many layers of computing from a language-neutral perspective, beginning with the information layer, progressing through the hardware, programming, operating systems, application, and communication layers, and ending with a discussion on the limitations of computing. Separate program language chapters are available as bundle items for instructors who would like to explore a particular programming language with their students. Ideal for introductory computing and computer science courses, the fifth edition's thorough presentation of computing systems provides computer science majors with a solid foundation for further study, and offers non-majors a comprehensive and complete introduction to computing. New Features of the Fifth Edition: - A new chapter on computer security provides readers with the latest information on preventing unauthorized access; types of malware and anti-virus software; protecting online information, including data collection issues with Facebook, Google, etc.; security issues with mobile and portable devices; and more. - A NEW section on cloud computing offers readers an overview of the latest way in which businesses and users interact with computers and mobile devices. - The section on social networks has been rewritten to include up-to-date information, including new data on Google+ and Facebook. - The sections covering HTML have been updated to include HTML5. - Revised and updated Did You Know callouts are included in the chapter margins. - The updated Ethical Issues at the end of each chapter have been revised to tie the content to the tenth strand recommended by the ACM, which stresses the importance of computer ethics. Accompanied by a comprehensive suite of instructor resources including answers to the end of chapter exercises, answers to the optional lab exercises, PowerPoint Lecture Outlines, Image Bank, and a complete Test Bank. Every new copy is packaged with full student access code to the robust Companion Website featuring: Animated Flashcards; Relevant Web Links; Crossword Puzzles; Interactive Glossary; Digital Lab Manual; R. Mark Meyer's labs, Explorations in Computer Science; Additional programming chapters, including Alice, C++, Java, JavaScript, Pascal, Perl, Python, Ruby, SQL, and VB.NET; C++ Language Essentials labs; Java Language Essentials labs; Link to Download Pep/8

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1449672841
• ISBN13: 9781449672843
• Release Date: March 2012
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning
• Length: 672 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

The Love Of My Life

I only ordered this book because I needed it for class and I am in college so it was imperative that I have it in order to understand what the professor was speaking about. I also bought this book because I fascinated in Computer Science and I would like to pursue a career in this field. Everything from packaging to shipping speed exceeded expectations. Thank You Seller!!!!! I hope we can do business in the future!!!

fast service

Received book in excellent condition. The price was fair. It was cheaper than my college bookstore, but more expensive than purchasing it used at unknown websites. I prefered paying the extra amount for the piece of mind.

A great "CS 0" text

I am currently using this text for the fifth time in my survey course for non-majors. It does exactly what I want it to do: it gives the students a feel for each of the topics with just enough depth to be rigorous for non-majors without being overwhelming. It's not perfect for my tastes; I do less than a full chapter, for example, when talking about languages (only covering the introductions to Chapters 7 and 8), whereas I do a full week on an expanded coverage of databases (Chapter 12). But I have a hard time imagining a text with a better fit, and I have used this since its first edition.

Computer Science Illuminated

After using Computer Science Illuminated for my introductory computer science course, I found the book to be mostly helpful yet confusing at times. The begining of each chapter clearly states the lessons and objectives to be learned. The language is easy to understand for the most part, yet some of the paragraphs do have lengthy and confusing explanations. Often, a chapter will refer to information covered in a previous chapter, so it is adviseable to read the chapters in order. The book does make an attempt to explain the intricate and confusing details of computer science using simple metaphors (ie. elephants and goldfish to explain orders of magnitude), yet there were instances where such metaphors could be just as confusing. The book does include some helpful and colorful diagrams to aid in the student's understanding of the material. Overall, I found that the book was not the clearest explanation of computer science, but being that the subject is one that is mostly complicated and difficult to grasp, the book was helpful in providing a brief overview for an introductory student.

Overview

Computer Science Illuminated FROM THE PUBLISHER: Computer Science Illuminated is designed to present a breadth first coverage of the field of Computer Science. Readers are exposed to all areas of computer science, starting at the information layer then working outward through the hardware layer, programming layer, operating systems layer, application layer, communication layer, and finally ending with a discussion of the limitations of computing. This excellently crafted book draws upon the teaching experience of two of today's most respected Computer Science Educators: Nell Dale and John Lewis. Students who will continue studying computer science acquire a solid foundation from Computer Science Illuminated , and students for whom this is their only computer science course leave with a meaningful understanding of how computing systems work.