Rating: 
Summary: Very useful book for GRE CS Subject preparation (part III)
Review: I needed a book which would speed me up with my GRE computer science subject test (part III: Theory). Having non US and non english language based Bachelor Degrees in CS and Math, I needed something to both learn the more precise terminology and at the same time to gather my prevous knoweldge of the subject. After little bit of browsing and examining of reviews, book contents and browsing pages in bookstores, I decided to buy this one.
I admit that I had a solid knowledge of almost all chapters of the book and that the book might be hard to swallow for someone who is not a little bit familiar in mathematical logic and elementary math but otherwise, the book is excellent. Even authors admit that previous editions were more demanding and in this one they introduced many easier examples and appropriate pictures and diagrams so I really did not have any problems understanding every concept.
After each chapter exercises are given and while they are useful, I would prefer solutions embedded into the book (as in Knuth's Art of Programming). Rather that doing that, authors put solutions (to selected exercises) on their web page which is not bad but the book would be more complete (and probably more expensive) with solutions inside. I would pay $20 more for that version though...
I also must say that I really appreciate hard cover and excellent quality paper (these unfortunately raised the price)
Overall, this is an excellent book and if you are in a similar situation as me, I would recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: A serious book for serious programmer
Review: I owned the 1st edition while I was
studying the first year of computer science at the University of London in 1983. I always come back to this book looking for theories like LALR(1), RE, 2-way PDA and etc... when needed for writing my parser programs in VC++ or java without any debugging tools.
This book really gives programmer a deep thought to understand the theories completely before coding.
Besides, dragon book is also helpful for writing parser programs.
Rating:
Summary: Need some challenge? Come here!
Review: I started to learn this course at the beginning of this semester and I just brought this book from Amazon in August.
I had no introductory course before but I was so curious about this subject so I am taking this graduate level course.
Now, I am in chapter 10, and I would like to give a review of this book.
This book is well organized, from the beginning to the end.
I have read almost each word in this book(including the extra ones in the box), and I would like to say: It is worth to do that.
Although sometimes the sentences are not very clear(maybe because I am an international student), but almost all the ideas are precious. So, please be patient when you are reading.
Trust me, if you do not have any related course before, you need time for it. but if you can understand all the contents in this book, and if you are more energetic, finishing most of the exercise with excalmatory marks, you will find your mind becomes so clear that is beyond your imagination.
For the tests, if there are some in your class, is only a half piece of cake. you will feel 100 points is just for the left hand(given the condition that you are a right-hander). :)
If you buy an international version, prepare to visit the book's website. and I will say this second edition seems to me the -1th edition because it contains all the errors listed on the website. Prepare you pen and become a co-auther of the book.
If you feel you need to improve your mathematics, take it, because reading this book can improve your mathematical thinking and proof ability tremendously.
If you feel all the course in your university is too easy and can not match your intelligence, take it, then you will find something interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I think this is a great book. I'm starting to use it now and by now it suits all my needs perfectly. I'm studying in Oviedo, Spain and I think this book will help everyone on this subject, with its examples and theoretical part. I know it's a bit dense, but when you know what you're looking for, it's not a problem at all.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Text By Classic Authors
Review: I used the first edition, actually, but I expect the basic text is the same. I notice one reviewer laments a few of the changes. This text and the course that generally accompanies it are often derided as overly difficult. This text will certainly only appeal to those who love mathematical theory and challenges. I took the class (using this text) and struggled, but I received a high grade because I spent a lot of time on it and it was exciting to work throught the exercises. Work through. Those who want to be spoon fed need pablum and should move into other realms. For those who enjoy explorations in mathematics and computation, as well as challenging problems, this is the text for you.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughts on this second edition
Review: I've just passed my exam on Theory of Computation, and I've used both editions of this text. Frankly speaking, I couldn't choose one of the two should I keep only one of them.
Whereas the first was full of strict formalism, the second has traded this for a more discursive approach. Whereas the first reported theorems name (of their authors), the second has traded this for a richer bibliography at the end of the chapters. And more objectively, the first edition covered more "classical" topics with shorter treatments than the second, but this last treats survived topics with richer details (starting from the first chapter on mathematical basis for the course) and with updated examples of applications (XML and Markup Languages, e-commerce for DFA, etc).
This said, you know why I can't decide. A discursive approach is of course always desiderable, especially if you're completely new to a subject, but a strong notation is helpful in my mind because it improves communication and removes ambiguities. Hence, the best approach would probably have been a mix of the two, or halfway the two.
As a second matter, having a rich bibliography is surely helpful both for further studies and as a reference, but it's quite tedious to look at the index and be unable to find something like "Kleene theorem": you've to dive into bibligraphy to discover that "L is an L(DFA) if and only if it also is L(REG)" is something that has been studied by Kleene.
Finally, I surely can't question the removal of the complexity theory part since it is in the right of the authors to remove "optional topics" (if you use the book for a course on Theory of Computation only) and give a more focused target to the book, but removing stuff like the Myhill-Nerode theorem make things annoying since virtually every course on Automata theory and Computation includes it (like my one did, as well as the course on Languages and Compilers), so you have to look for it elsewhere if your only one book is this second edition.I would give four stars, should I keep in heavy account the radical changes they made over the first edition and that includes the removal of some stuff, important on my opinion. But ... this is just my opinion, and since it is a very well written and informative book (rich of many details that other texts lack of) and surely one of the bests in the area (I've had 4-5 books in my hands for this course), that's why I gave it 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is a waste of time and money
Review: It is unfortunate that Hopcraft and Ullman have been referred to as authors. Not only is the text indecipherable to anyone without a Ph.D., but the examples do not apply to the exercises and the exercises are not conducive to learning the material.
Rating: 
Summary: Second edition impressions
Review: Like other reviewers, I find that the first ("classic") edition of H&U is an excellent reference when one is already familiar with some Theory of Compuation material. It was indispensible in at least the first half of the graduate Theory of Computation course that I took. H&U1 featured more detailed descriptions of automata construction than any other text. It did, however show its age. In the second edition, the authors have added a few chapters near then end of the book on topics that simply did not exist twenty years ago (eg, there is a treatment of randomization). At the same time, I find that the new edition is more readable for an undergrad. The introductory chapters expect less from students coming into contact with CS Theory for the first time. There are far more diagrams and sidebars and the overall tone of the book is far less formal. On the one hand, this book has the potential to become the canonical undergrad text on Theory of Computation, I find that it has the feeling of a book that would appeal to undergrads much more readily than Kozen (which tends to intimidate students by the density of the material it manages to pack per page). On the other hand, somehow I still prefer H&U1. One gets the feeling from H&U2 that it tries to hide something from students, whereas H&U1 pulled no punches. And the cover art on H&U1 made it really distinctive (ala the cover of the Dragon Book), whereas H&U2 looks pretty much like any other modern textbook. It's sad that H&U2 is a second edition of the book, rather than an entirely new book. It would have been wonderful to have both books in print as they serve somewhat orthogonal roles.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Computer Theory Book
Review: Machine Theory, Formal Languages and Computational Complexity. If are there your interest, or are you a Computer
Science student, this is a obrigatory book.
The author was wrote in a simple and direct language, and globe many aspects of Computer Theory.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: The book is a great book if you are a beginner in automata theory. The exercises are also very good and the book makes your fundamentals very strong. It is a must for any student of theoretical computer science.
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