Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Slack editing makes this an ineffectual resource for the targeted audience of ``students and other nonspecialists.'' The articles, written by different authors, display inconsistent quality and difficulty levels. Important topics such as ``UNIX'' and ``programming'' do not have their own entries. In fact, there is no general description of UNIX at all, with the articles referenced in the keyword index mentioning UNIX just in passing. The only broad definition of ``Programs'' consists of three sentences in the article ``Hardware.'' The index has page number errors and sloppy entries (``Mainframe computer'' and ``Mainframe computers''). A preferable reference is The Prentice Hall Encyclopedia of Information Technology (1987), which, although narrower in scope, targets a similar audience and is far better organized and well written. (Compare its ``Workstations'' article with Macmillan's.) Libraries are advised to wait until a computer reference of Macmillan's scope is published with Prentice-Hall's quality. Not recommended.-- Linda Knaack, Univ. of Lowell Lib., Mass. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
CHOICE Review
In this 2-volume set of 200-plus articles, a broad range of subjects is covered. Although the users targeted are students and nonspecialists, computer specialists may get some use out of it for general survey. This encyclopedia has a strong emphasis on the practical, containing numerous articles on computer applications in areas including farming, religion, astronomy, hazardous waste management, and the arts. A large number of handy biographical entries cover computer gurus from Bill Gates and Steve Jobs through Seymour Cray. Additionally, there are many articles on computer languages ranging from APL to Prolog. The lack of an article on C is a prominent omission; however, C and C++ appear in the index for some subject access. Each article includes references for further reading. Although figures and illustrations are sparse, those that do appear are highly legible and used appropriately. In terms of currency, many popular topics are covered in articles on hypertext, local area networks, and multimedia. Alternately, other current interest topics such as the Internet, virtual reality, reduced instruction set computers, and neural networks can be accessed only via the index as there are no separate articles. The appearance of these subjects in the index does, however, attest to the encyclopedia's currency. The set also includes a very useful appendix listing profiles and addresses of the larger computing associations and of computer component and computer manufacturers of all types. Since there are few advanced topics and the coverage of most subjects is general in nature, this reviewer would highly recommend this encyclopedia for purchase for all public, community college, and undergraduate libraries. C. Shaffer; Illinois State University
Booklist Review
The purpose of this well-written and interesting encyclopedia is to "provide an authoritative comprehensive work on all aspects of computers." The more than 200 articles range in length from biographies of 500 words to broad topics like Ethics and Computers and Education, Computers in with over 5,000 words. Volume 1 opens with an alphabetical list of the articles; a detailed index concludes volume 2. Adequate see and see also references aid access. The topics covered can be classified as biographical, technical, historical, or pertaining to applications of computers in various areas. Biographical entries include current people such as Dan Bricklin, Bill Gates, and Steven Jobs as well as historical figures like George Boole and Herman Hollerith. Examples of technical topics covered include Binary Numbers, Data Compression and Fractuals, Hypertext, Robotics, and Supercomputers. Important programming languages are covered in entries like COBOL and Pascal. There are no entries for specific software packages, but they are discussed in general articles like Spreadsheets, Word Processing, and Games, Computer. Among the historical topics are Cards, Jacquard and Hollerith, and History of Computing. Articles can be found on the use of computers in such fields as banking, insurance, politics, religion, retailing, the arts, and sports. Entries are provided on applications of current interest, such as Desktop Publishing, Multimedia, and Voice Mail. There is even the entry Careers in Computing. Liberal use is made of charts, graphs, photographs, and diagrams to assist in understanding entries. All of the articles are signed by the academicians or professionals in the computer field who wrote them; their credentials are listed in volume 1. Entries are written in nontechnical language that most laypeople will be able to comprehend with a little effort. The entry Decision Making is a good example of the coverage of this encyclopedia. It begins with a general introductory section that gives a conceptual framework for the topic. Four categories of decision making--rule based, model based, classical, and decision processes--are then described in several paragraphs each. Drawings of a decision table and decision tree illustrate the concepts. The article concludes with a discussion of the importance of decision making and the place of computing and artificial intelligence in this process. A list of nine references is provided for additional information. Every article concludes with a list of references or a list for further reading, and some contain both. Volume 2 concludes with 32 pages of appendixes listing computing associations and manufacturers of peripherals, mainframes, computer components, personal computers, and supercomputers. Short company descriptions and addresses are given for most of the manufacturers. This encyclopedia offers the reader an excellent introduction to the world of computers, and the brief bibliographies at the ends of entries will lead to more detailed information. Good current dictionaries briefly define computer terms (Spencer's Computer Dictionary and Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary are two examples). The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Electronics and Computers [RBB O 1 88] is a spin-off of the previous edition of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology and is written at a more technical level than the set under review. Even in a rapidly changing field like computing, the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Computers will be a standard work for some time to come. Academic and large public libraries should consider purchase; high schools will find it useful too. (Reviewed Sept. 1, 1992)
