Ebook: Once upon an algorithm: how stories explain computing

Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Part I ALGORITHMS -- 1 A Path to Understanding Computation -- 2 Walk the Walk: When Computation Really Happens -- 3 The Mystery of Signs -- 4 Detective's Notebook: Accessory after the Fact -- 5 The Search for the Perfect Data Structure -- 6 Sorting out Sorting -- 7 Mission Intractable -- Part II LANGUAGES -- 8 The Prism of Language -- 9 Finding the Right Tone: Sound Meaning -- 10 Weather, Rinse, Repeat -- 11 Happy Ending Not Guaranteed -- 12 A Stitch in Time Computes Fine -- 13 A Matter of Interpretation -- 14 The Magical Type -- 15 A Bird's Eye View: Abstracting from Details -- Glossary -- Notes -- Index.;How Hansel and Gretel, Sherlock Holmes, the movie Groundhog Day, Harry Potter, and other familiar stories illustrate the concepts of computing.