Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science [Hardcover]

Donald E. Knuthis known throughout the world for his pioneering work on algorithms and programming techniques, for his invention of the Tex and Metafont systems for computer typesetting, and for his prolific and influential writing. Professor Emeritus of The Art of Computer Programming at Stanford University, he currently devotes full time to the completion of these fascicles and the seven volumes to which they belong.

Concrete Mathematics is a blending of CONtinuous and disCRETE mathematics. More concretely, the authors explain, it is the controlled manipulation of mathematical formulas, using a collection of techniques for solving problems. The subject matter is primarily an expansion of the Mathematical Preliminaries section in Knuth's classic Art of Computer Programming, but the style of presentation is more leisurely, and individual topics are covered more deeply. Several new topics have been added, and the most significant ideas have been traced to their historical roots. The book includes more than 500 exercises, divided into six categories. Complete answers are provided for all exercises, except research problems, making the book particularly valuable for self-study.

Major topics include:

•   Sums

•   Recurrences

•   Integer functions

•   Elementary number theory

•   Binomial coefficients

•   Generating functions

•   Discrete probability

•   Asymptotic methods

This second edition includes important new material about mechanical summation. In response to the widespread ul“ä