<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Good code, mediocre explanations, rampant typos
Review: I agree with the other reviewers concerning good code and rampant typos. However, the author seems to think the audience is captive, and is willing to put up with his idiosynchracies. [I for one am not.] As an example, much discussion is devoted to the comparison of the GCD algorithm variants, so much so that one of the variants, Left Shift Binary, is "name-dropped" in the middle of the text, leaving the reader wondering why it deserves mention. The Least Remainder variant is missing critical information on the modulo arithmetic operation - namely, that '%' gives the same result on argument pairs with differing signs, even though the quotient is not the same as with same sign pairs. '%' just works, and that's all we are expected to care about. Overall, the book appears more like a user manual: the code works, and is packaged for the user. Code applications are covered in the "manual".
Rating: 
Summary: A Framework for Number Theoretic Investigations
Review: It was my goal in writing this book to provide individuals with a basic set of tools for investigating a wide range of practical number theoretic problems. My approach is threefold: I describe the problem in a theoretic aspect, develop a program, and present applications. I devoted most of my efforts to the last two points, believing that the theory is well known and can be further researched from the references provided. Regardless of whether you are a professional programmer, mathematician, or simply enjoy this sort of intellectual recreation, I hope you will find my book serves you well.
Rating: 
Summary: Top-notch programs, but unforgivable text misprints.
Review: The misspelling on the cover (developement) is a portent of what lies within. This book covers a lot of good material, and the programs are well-written. If I could stop here the book would rate five stars. Unfortunately, the text is loaded with typographical errors, more than I have ever seen before in a hardback. If you are willing to decipher the text, you will find that Mr. Herkommer has put together a nice package of number-theoretic programs. I enjoyed the book despite its shortcomings.
Rating:
Summary: Good code, mediocre explanations, rampant typos
Review: This book is for anyone who is interested in reproducing or applying number-theoretic results in C. The central problem is that it appears that the book has not been copy-edited, nor is there any evidence that it has been proof-read. Indeed, this is easily the most typo-riddled book that I have ever encountered. Sometimes the typos are just annoying, at other times they create a real obstacle to understanding. For example, anyone wishing to learn about the four color theorem will have to look elsewhere--the short discussion is marred by a nonsensical sentence. The proof of the claim that there is no highest prime also contains a fatal misprint. And the discussion of the Greatest Common Divisor seems to distinguish between two functions, gcd and GCD. But, after much re-reading, it is clear that this is not the case. That McGraw Hill should charge $65 for this is obscene. The presence of misprints in a technical book is particularly unforgivable, for each newly-discovered misprint significantly undermines the reader's confidence in the accuracy of a given proof or claim. That said, two minor cavils: (1) The discussion of complexity theory easily assumes as much as it delivers. Anyone hoping to learn about measuring algorithmic complexity should go somewhere else. (2) The author cites a book published in 1971 as containing the first formal statement of the principle of mathematical induction; evidently he is not aware that Frege gave a formal proof of the principle in 1879. Finally: I would have given the book five stars if it had not been so badly produced (there really is a lot of good stuff here that can't be found anywhere else), but since McGraw-Hill did such a shoddy job, I can only give it three. NB: A previous reader complains that she cannot locate a header file (numtype.h) that is essential for running any of the programs in this book. Hello! It's on the cd that comes with the book--you can't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: A terrific book, if you can get over the misprints.
Review: This book is for anyone who is interested in reproducing or applying number-theoretic results in C. The central problem is that it appears that the book has not been copy-edited, nor is there any evidence that it has been proof-read. Indeed, this is easily the most typo-riddled book that I have ever encountered. Sometimes the typos are just annoying, at other times they create a real obstacle to understanding. For example, anyone wishing to learn about the four color theorem will have to look elsewhere--the short discussion is marred by a nonsensical sentence. The proof of the claim that there is no highest prime also contains a fatal misprint. And the discussion of the Greatest Common Divisor seems to distinguish between two functions, gcd and GCD. But, after much re-reading, it is clear that this is not the case. That McGraw Hill should charge $65 for this is obscene. The presence of misprints in a technical book is particularly unforgivable, for each newly-discovered misprint significantly undermines the reader's confidence in the accuracy of a given proof or claim. That said, two minor cavils: (1) The discussion of complexity theory easily assumes as much as it delivers. Anyone hoping to learn about measuring algorithmic complexity should go somewhere else. (2) The author cites a book published in 1971 as containing the first formal statement of the principle of mathematical induction; evidently he is not aware that Frege gave a formal proof of the principle in 1879. Finally: I would have given the book five stars if it had not been so badly produced (there really is a lot of good stuff here that can't be found anywhere else), but since McGraw-Hill did such a shoddy job, I can only give it three. NB: A previous reader complains that she cannot locate a header file (numtype.h) that is essential for running any of the programs in this book. Hello! It's on the cd that comes with the book--you can't miss it.
Rating: 
Summary: At Last ~ A Readable Math Book
Review: This is an interesting book about number theory and programming. There are numerous examples, many from the real world, showing how to apply number theoretic theorems to programming problems. Topics include congruence arithmetic, diophantine equations, continued fractions, and prime numbers and factorization (of course). Easy reading in a programmer-friendly style. CDROM included saves lots of typing too. A really good book for programmers interested in number theory.
Rating: 
Summary: numtype.h
Review: would anyone tell me were this header file is located? It's not in Borland's 3.1 C++ compiler or ANSI C interpreter or the VC++ 4.0 compiler.Have I missed something. I would really appreciate an answer so that I can justify buying this book for my international private school in Canada Thamks
<< 1 >>
| 
