This book was motivated by the desire we and others have had to further the evolution of the core course in computer science. Many departments across the country have revised their curriculum in response to the introductory course in the science of computing discussed in the “Denning Report,” (Denning, P. J., D. E. Comer, D. Gries, M. C. Mulder, A. Tucker, J. Turner, and P. R. Young, “Computing as a Dis-
cipline,” Comm. ACM 32:1, pp. 9–23, January 1989.). That report draws attention
to three working methodologies or processes — theory, abstraction, and design —
as fundamental to all undergraduate programs in the discipline. More recently,
the Computing Curricula 1991 report of the joint ACM/IEEE-CS Curriculum Task Force echoes the Denning Report in identifying key recurring concepts which are fundamental to computing, especially: conceptual and formal models, efficiency,and levels of abstraction. The themes of these two reports summarize what we have tried to offer the student in this book.