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Rating: 
Summary: A good readable survey of CS theory
Review: Although I'm not a maven of CS theory, Sudkamp's book makes the subject comprehensible and approachable. It spans the range of the subject and does a good job of preparing the reader for further readings in automata, computability, and decidability.
Rating: 
Summary: Difficult stuff, but not in the way you might think
Review: First of all, let me assure you that books of this kind are rare. They're simply a pain to write, and few have the expertise in the area to write them. It's just a fact that discrete math isn't the most popular topic of study. That said, this isn't too bad a textbook. It does a pretty decent job explaining the subject matter, which isn't very hard to pick up... IF you can stay awake! I get the feeling Dr. Sudkamp was falling asleep as he finished off each paragraph, and he sure managed to do the same to me when reading it. Though the chapters seem short, you'll find it takes you up to an hour to read through them. Why? Because you'll read the first part, go on to the next... realize you've forgotten everything in the first part, and have to re-read it. Repeat as necessary, ad infinitum. The exercises have no solutions whatsoever, which can be a pain for this sort of material. Examples don't really help you do them because only the very general solving method is similar, and each problem really is a completely new thing. The bottom line is, if you have to learn this material, then you're probably going to have to read it. But I wouldn't advise getting this book for some light reading at night.
Rating:
Summary: Taught by the author!
Review: Hey,
I was fortunate enough to learn this course from the author of the book. The book by itself might seem tough. The fault lies in the fact that subject matter is not altogether too simple to understand without someone teaching it to you!
With the help of the instructor, we did learn a lot about formal languages, finite automaton, regular grammer, etc.
The key to understanding this material (and using this book effectively) is solving as many problems as possible, preferably in a group setting so that solutions can be discussed.
Note: For most problems, there exists multiple solutions, and the approach is what needs to be learned and discussed.
Recommended, with some reservations...Good luck!
Rating:
Summary: A good introduction, bent towards formal languages
Review: I have a mathematical background and wished to acquaint myself with the basics of theoretical computer science. This book didn't disappoint me. The book stresses formal languages and parsing, and is therefore best suited for persons interested in creating languages, compiler technology and parsing. However, it covers also Turing machines, computability and complexity issues, among others, and is therefore reasonably comprehensive. Exercises range from easy to moderate, and many of them are stimulating. Another reviewer complained about the lack of drill exercises (see below). I can understand the anguish of students; some of the exercises, as well as parts of the text, may be difficult if one doesn't have much experience in formal reasoning and abstract problem solving. However, all exercises I have taken a look at are solvable with the knowledge provided in the text, and are therefore suitable for readers with at least a fair mathematical background. My main complaint is the small number of applications. In chapter 3, there is a nice example: the arithmetic expressions of Pascal; in chapter 15, good examples of NP-complete problems. However, these are exceptions. In my opinion the text would greatly benefit from e.g. end-of-chapter exercises related to programming mini-languages which could be defined on the spot. Also examples of finite state machines (copier machines, services in a mobile phone etc.) would add flesh to exercises. All in all, this is a good entry point to theoretical computer science for a person trained in mathematics or a related field, but may partly be too challenging to a first-year student.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read (For those of us with IQs higher than 180)
Review: If you find yourself alone on a Friday night this may be the book for you. You'll learn plenty of notation with which to impress your friends. Learn new tricks, such as depth first parsing, construction if context free grammars, and even the highly controversial Greibach Normal Form (GNF).
Rating:
Summary: Automata and Languages Designed to Confuse Aliens.
Review: Languages and Machines has all the definitions of other automata theory texts, however the examples and problem sets leave something to be desired. My students could not solve the problems because the examples in no way relate to the problem sets. In fact, the examples are just statements designed to help with the understanding of definitions. Students like to see how problems are solved. My stundents screamed for the form Question-Answer in the text. This book does not deliver. I spent the majority of my lectures doing examples instead of lecturing on theory. Also with notation differences from traditional Discrete Mathematics texts and errata in a few key definitions, my students were glad to be seniors...as they probably will never have to see this text again. In short, a very disappointing second edition. I expected better.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book for those who have had discrete math
Review: Some chapters of the book seem to be out of logical order for easy learning of automata. Overall a well written book, with good examples and organization. A fundamental understanding of discrete mathematics is a must to understand all of this book. enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Good Book for those who have had discrete math
Review: Some chapters of the book seem to be out of logical order for easy learning of automata. Overall a well written book, with good examples and organization. A fundamental understanding of discrete mathematics is a must to understand all of this book. enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Book, A Must have.
Review: This is one of the better books that I read on languages and machines. This book is great for someone who is interested in parsing, compilers or pattern matching. The book covers a lot of theory on computation and is not for a beginner. I would recommend that one be well grounded in set theory, recursion and mathematical induction before attempting to read this book. I did not read all the chapters; I only read those that were relevant to my project and I had not seen before in other texts. The 1st chapter get you upto speed with a good review of set theory followed by a quick review of induction and recursion. The 2nd chapter gives an excellent introduction to strings, languages and regular expressions along with relations on regular expressions. Chapter 3 is where the rubber hits the road. It covers context-free and regular grammars. I feel this chapter covers the subjects very well. Chapter 4 gives a good description of parsing and methods of parsing. Chapter 6 covers Finite Automata. This chapter describes deterministic finite state machines, nondeterministic finite state matchines and nondeterministic finite state matchines with lambda transitions. The presentation of the subject in this chapter was excellent. Chapter 7 presents Regular Languages and Sets. This chapter gives a good presentation of how to put together different types of machines from different languages and build languages from machines. I found it best not to read the chapters in orders, instead I read them in the following order which helped to understand the material better; 1,2,6,7,3,4,11,12 My only complaint: It would have helped if the author could have gave answers to some of the problems at the end of the chapters.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book, A Must have.
Review: This is one of the better books that I read on languages and machines. This book is great for someone who is interested in parsing, compilers or pattern matching. The book covers a lot of theory on computation and is not for a beginner. I would recommend that one be well grounded in set theory, recursion and mathematical induction before attempting to read this book. I did not read all the chapters; I only read those that were relevant to my project and I had not seen before in other texts. The 1st chapter get you upto speed with a good review of set theory followed by a quick review of induction and recursion. The 2nd chapter gives an excellent introduction to strings, languages and regular expressions along with relations on regular expressions. Chapter 3 is where the rubber hits the road. It covers context-free and regular grammars. I feel this chapter covers the subjects very well. Chapter 4 gives a good description of parsing and methods of parsing. Chapter 6 covers Finite Automata. This chapter describes deterministic finite state machines, nondeterministic finite state matchines and nondeterministic finite state matchines with lambda transitions. The presentation of the subject in this chapter was excellent. Chapter 7 presents Regular Languages and Sets. This chapter gives a good presentation of how to put together different types of machines from different languages and build languages from machines. I found it best not to read the chapters in orders, instead I read them in the following order which helped to understand the material better; 1,2,6,7,3,4,11,12 My only complaint: It would have helped if the author could have gave answers to some of the problems at the end of the chapters.
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