An Introduction to Computational Combinatorics

By the time students have done some programming in one or two languages and have learnt the common ways of representing information in a computer, they will want to embark upon further study of theoretical or applied topics in computer science. Most will encounter problems that require for their solution one or more of the techniques described in this book: for example problems depending upon the formation and solution of different equations; the task of making lists of possible alternatives and of answering questions about them; or the search for discrete optima. Written by the same authors as the highly successful Information Representation and Manipulation in a Computer, this book describes algorithms of mathematical methods and illustrates their application with examples. The mathematical background needed is elementary algebra and calculus. Numerous exercises are provided, with hints to their solutions.