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...

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...