MIT Press eBooks Page 9

Hundreds of programming languages are in use today--scripting languages for Internet commerce, user interface programming tools, spreadsheet macros, page format specification languages, and many others. Designing a programming language is a metaprogramming activity that bears certain similarities to programming in a regular language, with clarity and simplicity even more important than in ordinary programming. This comprehensive text uses a simple and concise framework to teach key ideas in programming language design and implementation. The book's unique approach is based on a family of syntactically simple pedagogical languages that allow students to explore programming language concepts systematically. It takes as premise and starting point the id...

C# is an object-oriented programming language that is similar to the Java programming language in many respects but more comprehensive and different in most details. This book gives a concise description of C#. It is intended as a guide for readers who know Java and want to learn C# and as a quick reference for anyone who wants to know C# in more detail than that provided by a standard textbook. The final chapter of C# Precisely summarizes the differences between C# and Java.C# Precisely is one of the first books on C# to cover version 2.0. It presents the entire C# 2.0 programming language, including generics, iterators, and anonymous methods. It excludes most of the extensive Microsoft.NET framework class libraries except threads, input/output, and...

Genetic algorithms have been used in science and engineering as adaptive algorithms for solving practical problems and as computational models of natural evolutionary systems. This brief, accessible introduction describes some of the most interesting research in the field and also enables readers to implement and experiment with genetic algorithms on their own. It focuses in depth on a small set of important and interesting topics- particularly in machine learning, scientific modeling, and artificial life-and reviews a broad span of research, including the work of Mitchell and her colleagues. The descriptions of applications and modeling projects stretch beyond the strict boundaries of computer science to include dynamical systems theory, game theor...

Many countries around the world block or filter Internet content, denying access to information that they deem too sensitive for ordinary citizens--most often about politics, but sometimes relating to sexuality, culture, or religion. Access Denied documents and analyzes Internet filtering practices in more than three dozen countries, offering the first rigorously conducted study of an accelerating trend. Internet filtering takes place in more than three dozen states worldwide, including many countries in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Related Internet content-control mechanisms are also in place in Canada, the United States and a cluster of countries in Europe. Drawing on a just-completed survey of global Internet filtering undertaken by th...