computing lives - FTP Directory Listing
computing lives - FTP Directory Listing
computing lives - FTP Directory Listing
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
A<br />
Computer Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page M S BE<br />
aG<br />
F<br />
BOOKSHELF<br />
Topology for Computing, Afra<br />
J. Zomorodian. This emerging<br />
field utilizes theory from<br />
topology and the power of <strong>computing</strong><br />
to solve problems in diverse fields.<br />
Recent applications include computer<br />
graphics, CAD, and structural<br />
biology, all of which involve understanding<br />
the intrinsic shape of some<br />
real or abstract space. The author<br />
strives to present basic concepts<br />
from topology and Morse theory so<br />
that nonspecialists can grasp and<br />
participate in current research in<br />
computational topology.<br />
This book’s self-contained presentation<br />
of mathematical concepts<br />
from a computer scientist’s viewpoint<br />
combines point set and algebraic<br />
topologies, group theory, differential<br />
manifolds, and Morse theory. The<br />
author also presents some recent<br />
advances in the area, including topological<br />
persistence and hierarchical<br />
Morse complexes. Throughout, the<br />
focus is on computational challenges<br />
and presenting algorithms and data<br />
structures when appropriate.<br />
Cambridge University Press; ____ www.<br />
cambridge.org; ISBN-978-0-521-<br />
13609-9, 258 pp.<br />
Symbolic Dynamics and Geometry<br />
Using D* in Graphics and Game<br />
Programming, Brian Guenter and<br />
Sung-Hee Lee. The authors explain<br />
how to use the D* symbolic-differentiation<br />
system for applications<br />
in computer games and engineering<br />
simulation. They describe how<br />
to create procedural 3D geometric<br />
models, link them together to form<br />
multibody physical systems, and<br />
simulate and display their physical<br />
behavior in real time.<br />
The symbolic-differentiation capabilities<br />
of D* can be used in a wide<br />
variety of technical applications,<br />
including computer graphics, engineering,<br />
and mechanical simulation.<br />
Many applications of D* are covered,<br />
but two—real time Lagrangianphysics<br />
simulation and procedural 3D<br />
0018-9162/10/$26.00 © 2010 IEEE<br />
geometric modeling—are developed<br />
in great detail.<br />
A K Peters, Ltd; www.akpeters.<br />
___ com; ISBN-978-1-56881-280-9,<br />
250 pp.<br />
Leading the Virtual Workforce:<br />
How Great Leaders Transform<br />
Organizations in the 21st Century,<br />
Karen Sobel Lojeski. Just 20 years<br />
ago, going to work meant driving<br />
to a physical location to interact<br />
face-to-face with a boss and coworkers.<br />
Today, this might only require<br />
stepping across the hall to a home<br />
office or joining a videoconference.<br />
According to the author, the implications<br />
of these changes are staggering<br />
and require a whole new leadership<br />
model. She asserts that the virtual<br />
workforce has exploded, with mobile<br />
workers set to become 73 percent of<br />
the US workforce by 2011.<br />
According to Lojeski, physical separation,<br />
technology mediation, and<br />
disconnected relationships characterize<br />
this new virtual distance. These<br />
dynamics lead to a psychological<br />
separation that negatively affects<br />
productivity, innovation, and trust.<br />
When virtual distance is relatively<br />
high, innovation falls by more than<br />
90 percent and project performance<br />
suffers. The author concludes that<br />
creating context, cultivating community,<br />
and co-activating new leaders<br />
builds greater trust, higher levels<br />
of satisfaction, and better behavior<br />
overall.<br />
Wiley; www.wiley.com; 978-0-470-<br />
42280-9; 512 pp.<br />
Touch of Class: Learning to Program<br />
Well with Objects and<br />
Contracts, Bertrand Meyer. The<br />
author provides an introductory<br />
programming text that can make<br />
learning to program fun and rewarding.<br />
Instead of traditional low-level<br />
examples, Meyer builds his presentation<br />
on a rich object-oriented<br />
software system supporting graphics<br />
and multimedia, which students can<br />
Published by the IEEE Computer Society<br />
use to produce applications from day<br />
one. They can then explore “from the<br />
outside in” as they learn new programming<br />
techniques.<br />
Coverage is notable in both its<br />
depth and breadth. In addition to<br />
core programming concepts such<br />
as control structures, algorithms,<br />
and fundamental data structures, it<br />
encompasses recursion, reference<br />
and pointer manipulation, and topological<br />
sort as examples of algorithm<br />
and API design, event-driven programming,<br />
and high-level function<br />
closures.<br />
Springer; www.springer.com; 978-<br />
3-540-92144-8; 876 pp.<br />
Inside Larry and Sergey’s Brain,<br />
Richard L. Brandt. This book<br />
focuses on what drives these two<br />
men and where they will take Google.<br />
Looking at this brainchild of two brilliant<br />
minds, the author examines<br />
Google’s business decisions in light<br />
of its founders’ ambitions and beliefs.<br />
Larry is the main strategist, while<br />
Sergey is the primary technologist<br />
and idealist. Through interviews with<br />
current and former employees, competitors,<br />
partners, and senior Google<br />
management, the author demystifies<br />
the secret society that is Google while<br />
clarifying several misconceptions.<br />
Viking Press; http://us.penguingroup.<br />
___ com/; 978-1-59184-276-7; 256 pp.<br />
Send book announcements to<br />
___<br />
newbooks@computer.org.<br />
APRIL 2010 93<br />
A<br />
Computer Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page M S BE<br />
aG<br />
F