Talking With Computers: Explorations in the Science and Technology of Computing

Thomas Dean explores a wide range of fundamental topics in computer science, from digital logic and machine language to artificial intelligence and the World Wide Web, explaining how computers and computer programs work and how the various subfields of computer science are interconnected. Dean touches on a number of questions including: How can a computer learn to recognize junk email? What happens when you click on a link in a browser? How can you program a robot to do two things at once? Are there limits to what computers can do? Dean encourages readers to experiment with short programs and fragments of code written in several languages to strip away the mystery and reveal the underlying computational ideas. The accompanying website (www.cs.brown.edu/tld/talk) provides access to code fragments, tips on finding and installing software, links to online resources, and exercises. Throughout Talking With Computers, Dean conveys his fascination with computers and enthusiasm for working in a field that has changed almost every aspect of our daily lives. Thomas Dean is Professor in the Computer Science Department at Brown University, where he served as Acting Vice President for Computing and Information Services from 2001-2002. He is co-author of Planning and Control (Morgan-Kaufman, 1991) and Artificial Intelligence: Theory and Practice (Addison-Wesley, 1995).