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Computer science abounds with applications of discrete mathematics, yet students of computer science often study discrete mathematics in the context of purely mathematical applications. They have to figure out for themselves how to apply the ideas of discrete mathematics to computing problems. It is not easy. Most students fail to experience broad success in this enterprise, which is not surprising, since many of the most important advances in science and engineering have been, precisely, applications of mathematics to specific science and engineering problems.
To be sure, most discrete math textbooks incorporate some aspects applying discrete math to computing, but it usually takes the form of asking students to write programs to compute the number of three-ball combinations there are in a set of ten balls or, at best, to implement a graph algorithm. Few texts ask students to use mathematical logic to analyze properties of digital circuits or computer programs or to apply the set theoretic model of functions to understand higher-order operations. A major aim of this text is to integrate, tightly, the study of discrete mathematics with the study of central problems of computer science.
Concepts in discrete mathematics are illustrated through the solution of problems that arise in software development, hardware design, and other fundamental domains of computer science. The text introduces discrete math concepts and immediately applies them to computing problems. Applications of mathematical logic in design and analysis of hardware and software is an especially strong theme. The goal in this part of the material is to prepare students for a world that places a high value on the correct operation of computing systems in safety-critical, security-sensitive, and embedded systems and recognizes that formal methods based in mathematical logic are the primary tools for ensuring that computing systems function properly in such environments. The emphasis, here, is on preparation. In commercial applications, mechanized logic engines are essential to the enterprise of applying logic to the design and implementation of computing hardware and software. This text introduces students to mechanized logic in the form of propositional proof checking, and, through numerous paper-and-pencil exercises in applying logic to mathematical verification of hardware and software artifacts, gives students experience with the fundamental notions used by engineers who apply mechanized logic engines to the design of commercial computing systems. We believe these skills will be of increasing value in computer and software engineering, and our experience suggests that such skills contribute positively, even in the short run, to the ability of students to successfully design and implement software.
The text is organized in four parts: reasoning with equations, formal logic, set theory, and applications. The principle of induction is introduced early, for reasoning with equations, and applied to problems throughout the text. Reasoning with equations covers examples in several domains, including natural numbers of course, but also including sequences and sets. The logic portion of the text discusses two frameworks for formal reasoning: the natural deduction format of Gentzen and another syntax-based reasoning system based in Boolean algebra. Propositional logic is introduced first, then predicate logic, both in a natural deduction and Boolean algebra setting. Set theory discusses the usual basics, and illustrates many of the concepts by applying induction to define the integers. The set theoretic definitions of relations and functions are discussed, along with the usual properties that categorize them and allow them to be combined and manipulated. The applications portion of the text covers two extended examples, one concerning the design of a circuit for n-bit, ripple-carry addition, the other on the implementation of AVL tree operations. These augment the many, smaller examples that occur throughout the text and, together, help students understand how discrete mathematics contributes to the solution of difficult and important problems in computing.
A website for the text contains a collection of tools for experimenting with most of the concepts introduced. Included among these is a proof-checking system for propositional calculus. Students can use this system to make sure their proofs are correct and, more importantly, to experience the notion that proofs can be entirely formal and, therefore, useful in verifying the correctness of software and digital circuits. Other tools allow experimentation with set operations, Boolean formulas, and the notions of predicate calculus. These tools are expressed in Haskell, and the various operations for experimentation, including proofs, are expressed using Haskell syntax. In addition, Haskell is used to express the software and hardware designs that illustrate practical uses of logic and other aspects of discrete mathematics in computer science.
We feel that Haskell is an ideal notational choice for these examples because of its close affinity with customary algebraic notation. The compactness of software and hardware artifacts expressed in Haskell is another important advantage. Haskell serves both as a formal, mathematical notation, and as a practical and powerful programming language. This helps to strengthen the tight connection between mathematics and applications. Thus Haskell is used in the text on an equal footing with other mathematical notations. Students see Haskell in its role as a programming language, as well as a hardware description language, and the emphasis in this book is on reasoning about programs and circuits, not just programming.
We hope that students will find the experience of learning about logic, sets, mathematical induction, and other concepts of discrete mathematics and its applications to computing problems interesting and enjoyable, and that they will be able to use these ideas in subsequent studies and professional work in computer science.
Programming and Reasoning with Equations
Introduction to Haskell
Equational Reasoning
Recursion
Induction
Trees
Logic
Propositional Logic
Predicate Logic
Set Theory
Set Theory
Inductively Defined Sets
Relations
Functions
Applications
The AVL Tree Miracle
Discrete Mathematics in Circuit Design
A Software Tools
B Resources on the Web
C Solutions to Selected Exercises