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What is concrete mathematics?
Concrete mathematics is a blend of CONtinous and
disCRETE. More concretely, it is the controlled manipulation
of mathematical formulas using a collection of techniques
for solving problems
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The major topics
- Sums
- Recurrences
- Elementary number theory
- Binomial coefficients
- Generating functions
- Discrete probability
- Asymtotic mathods
The main goal
The goal is for each student to become as familiar with
discrete operations(like the greatest-integer function and
finite summation) as a student of calculus is familiar with
continous operations(like the absolute-value function and
infinite integration)
Bibliography
- R.L.GRAHAM, D.E.
KNUTH and O.PATASHNIK
Concrete Mathematics : A Foundation for Computer
Science
Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley,1989.
- D.E.
KNUTH
The The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 1,
Fundamental Algorithm
Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley,1997.
- C. L. Liu
Elements of Discrete Mathematics
New York : McGraw-Hill , c1985
Course Index
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