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CHOICE Review

Many introductory computer science texts sidestep the issue of choosing a specific programming language by using a generic pseudocode language to work examples and illustrate concepts. The course instructor then must choose a programming language text and be forced to meld the two together. Programming in Ada solves this problem by designing the language text specifically to accompany Tremblay and R.B. Bunt's An Introduction to Computer Science: An Algorithmic Approach (2nd ed., 1989). The authors point out differences between ADA and the algorithmic language of their earlier text (ICS) as appropriate; the ADA code for applications introduced in ICS is given. Introductory books usually follow an expository rather than a reference style. Although this makes it easier for a novice to understand new concepts, it also makes it more difficult to locate specific topics than would a reference layout. This book offers the best of both worlds by supplementing the expository presentation with a detailed index to help the student locate topics. Every example procedure is indexed by name under the category "procedure." In addition to the standard material on programming, this book contains a chapter addressing larger issues of programming. Ada packages and generics, testing, and exception handling are some of the topics in the chapter "Engineering of Computer Software." The rest of the book discusses implementation of elementary data structures in Ada, and the presentation is tied to Tremblay and Bunt's companion text, ICS. For libraries serving two-year or four-year undergraduate institutions. -M. B. Gokhale, University of Delaware