Best of
Technology

1986

Programming Pearls


Jon L. Bentley - 1986
    Jon has done a wonderful job of updating the material. I am very impressed at how fresh the new examples seem." - Steve McConnell, author, Code CompleteWhen programmers list their favorite books, Jon Bentley's collection of programming pearls is commonly included among the classics. Just as natural pearls grow from grains of sand that irritate oysters, programming pearls have grown from real problems that have irritated real programmers. With origins beyond solid engineering, in the realm of insight and creativity, Bentley's pearls offer unique and clever solutions to those nagging problems. Illustrated by programs designed as much for fun as for instruction, the book is filled with lucid and witty descriptions of practical programming techniques and fundamental design principles. It is not at all surprising that Programming Pearls has been so highly valued by programmers at every level of experience. In this revision, the first in 14 years, Bentley has substantially updated his essays to reflect current programming methods and environments. In addition, there are three new essays on (1) testing, debugging, and timing; (2) set representations; and (3) string problems. All the original programs have been rewritten, and an equal amount of new code has been generated. Implementations of all the programs, in C or C++, are now available on the Web.What remains the same in this new edition is Bentley's focus on the hard core of programming problems and his delivery of workable solutions to those problems. Whether you are new to Bentley's classic or are revisiting his work for some fresh insight, this book is sure to make your own list of favorites.

Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology


K. Eric Drexler - 1986
    This brilliant work heralds the new age of nanotechnology, which will give us thorough and inexpensive control of the structure of matter.  Drexler examines the enormous implications of these developments for medicine, the economy, and the environment, and makes astounding yet well-founded projections for the future.

Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design


Terry Winograd - 1986
    This volume is a theoretical and practical approach to the design of computer technology.

The Whale and the Reactor: A Search for Limits in an Age of High Technology


Langdon Winner - 1986
    In its pages an analytically trained mind confronts some of the most pressing political issues of our day."—Ruth Schwartz Cowan, Isis

Industrial Robotics: Technology, Programming, and Applications


Mikell P. Groover - 1986
    One of the first such volumes designed specifically as a textbook,it differs from the strictly professional robotics book in its use of learning aids. Example problems,case studies,and end-of-chapter exercises serve to reinforce important concepts.

Gramophone, Film, Typewriter


Friedrich A. Kittler - 1986
    Previously, writing had operated by way of symbolic mediation—all data had to pass through the needle's eye of the written signifier—but phonography, photography, and cinematography stored physical effects of the real in the shape of sound waves and light. The entire question of referentiality had to be recast in light of these new media technologies; in addition, the use of the typewriter changed the perception of writing from that of a unique expression of a literate individual to that of a sequence of naked material signifiers.Part technological history of the emergent new media in the late nineteenth century, part theoretical discussion of the responses to these media—including texts by Rilke, Kafka, and Heidegger, as well as elaborations by Edison, Bell, Turing, and other innovators—Gramophone, Film, Typewriter analyzes this momentous shift using insights from the work of Foucault, Lacan, and McLuhan. Fusing discourse analysis, structuralist psychoanalysis, and media theory, the author adds a vital historical dimension to the current debates over the relationship between electronic literacy and poststructuralism, and the extent to which we are constituted by our technologies. The book ties the establishment of new discursive practices to the introduction of new media technologies, and it shows how both determine the ways in which psychoanalysis conceives of the psychic apparatus in terms of information machines.Gramophone, Film, Typewriter is, among other things, a continuation as well as a detailed elaboration of the second part of the author's Discourse Networks, 1800/1900 (Stanford, 1990). As such, it bridges the gap between Kittler's discourse analysis of the 1980's and his increasingly computer-oriented work of the 1990's.

Baidarka


George Dyson - 1986
    This classic book tells of George Dyson's rediscovery of the Aleut baidarka (sea kayak) and his far-ranging travels with his boats.

The Control Revolution: Technological and Economic Origins of the Information Society


James R. Beniger - 1986
    In the USA, applications of steam power in the early 1800s brought a dramatic rise in the speed, volume and complexity of industrial processes, making them difficult to control. Many problems arose: train wrecks, misplacement of freight cars, loss of shipments, inability to maintain high rates of inventory turnover. Inevitably the Industrial Revolution, with its ballooning use of energy to drive material processes, required a corresponding growth in the exploitation of information: "the Control Revolution." Between the 1840s and the 1920s came most of the important information-processing and communication technologies still in use: telegraphy, modern bureaucracy, rotary power printing, postage stamps, paper money, typewriter, telephone, punchcard processing, motion pictures, radio and TV. Beniger shows that more recent developments in microprocessors, computers and telecommunications are only a smooth continuation of this Control Revolution. Along the way he touches on many fascinating topics: why breakfast was invented, how trademarks came to be worth more than the companies that own them, why some employees wear uniforms and whether time zones will always be necessary. The book is impressive not only for the breadth of its scholarship but also for the subtle force of its argument. It will be welcomed by sociologists, economists and historians of science and technology.

Programmers at Work: Interviews With 19 Programmers Who Shaped the Computer Industry (Tempus)


Susan Lammers - 1986
    A classic title on the PC revolution originally published in 1986. Featuring Bill Gates, Andy Hertzfeld, Charles Simonyi, Ray Ozzie, Michael Hawley and many more.

Challenger : A Major Malfunction : A True Story of Politics, Greed, and the Wrong Stuff


Malcolm McConnell - 1986
    

Adaptive Filter Theory


Simon Haykin - 1986
    The fourth edition of this book has been updated and refined to stay current with the field.

Innovation: The Attacker's Advantage


Richard N. Foster - 1986
    

Out of the Fiery Furnace: The Impact of Metals on the History of Mankind


Robert Raymond - 1986
    

Lasers (Revised)


Anthony E. Siegman - 1986
    The book gives a detailed accurate treatment of laser physics which does not require a background in quantum mechanics.

Gem Elixirs and Vibrational Healing


Gurudas - 1986
    

Computers & Typesetting, Volume B: Tex: The Program


Donald Ervin Knuth - 1986
    We now believe that every i has been properly dotted, every t has been properly crossed, and every bug has been properly exterminated.Donald E. Knuth, creator of the exciting TeX computer typesetting system, has made available in this volume the fully documented program listing for TeX.Readers who are already familiar with TeX and with its user's guide, The TeXbook, will find much of interest in the source code. Other readers interested in software development and in Knuth's programming style will find this a fascinating and instructive case study. Never before has a computer program of this size been spelled out so clearly and completely. Knuth presents all the algorithms and explains every detail of the TeX program, utilizing the WEB system of structured documentation that he developed as part of his TeX research project.TeX: The Program is the second in a five-volume series on Computers and Typesetting, all authored by Knuth. This series presents the results of nearly a decade of innovative research on the problems of preparing publications of high quality.

The Athenian Trireme: The History and Reconstruction of an Ancient Greek Warship


J.S. Morrison - 1986
    Since then, five seasons of experimental trials have been conducted on the ship under oar and sail, and the lessons learned have been supplemented by new archaeological discoveries and by historical, scientific and physiological research over the past fifteen years. For this second edition, the text has been recast and a number of substantive changes have been made. In addition, there is an entirely new chapter that describes the trials of Olympias in detail, reports the performance figures, and outlines the changes desirable in any second reconstruction. There are nineteen new illustrations, including eleven photographs of Olympias at sea demonstrating features of the design that could be represented only by drawings in the first edition.

Land Of Lost Content: The Luddite Revolt, 1812


Robert Reid - 1986
    

Computers & Typesetting, Volume C: The Metafont Book


Donald Ervin Knuth - 1986
    Knuth, is a computer language that allows you to produce professional quality typefaces using mathematical type design. The METAFONTbook, a users guide and reference manual, enables readers with only minimal computer science or word processing experience to master the basic as well as the more advanced areas of METAFONT programming.Readers will learn how to write a program for each letter or symbol of a typeface. Using METAFONT, it is possible to customize a type design that already exists, or even to create an entire alphabet from scratch. It is particularly easy to create logos or special symbols. Advanced users will enjoy the freedom and artistry that METAFONT allows in creating original typefaces.HIGHLIGHTS:Introduces concepts informally early in the text; in later chapters, these concepts are filled in with more detailed explanations.Program exercises are found throughout the text with answers in an appendix. Exercises and concepts of greater difficulty are marked with margin symbols. In this way, both beginning and experienced users of METAFONT can benefit.The book is a companion text to Knuth's The TeXbook, since TeX can be used to typeset with fonts created using METAFONT.Knuth's familiar wit, and illustrations specially drawn by Duane Bibby, add a light touch to an unusually readable software manual.The METAFONTbook is the third in a five-volume series on Computers and Typesetting, all authored by Knuth.

Dodge Caravan Plymouth Voyager & Chrysler Town & Country Mini-Vans 1984 Thru 1995 (Haynes Repair Manuals)


Curt Choate - 1986
    HAYNES ENGINE SERVICE MANUAL -- Using A Haynes Manual Is Like Having A Mechanic In Every Book, Each Manual Is Written And Photographed From The Hands-On Experience Gained By A Complete Teardown And Rebuild Of The Engine, Includes Procedures For Everything From Routine Maintenance To Complete Engine Overhaul

Marketing High Technology


William H. Davidow - 1986
    Gives practical advice on developing and marketing products in the technology industry, looks in detail at Intel's marketing campaign against Motorola, and stresses the importance of commitment to a successful campaign.

Advanced MS-DOS Programming


Ray Duncan - 1986
    The reference section details each MS-DOS function call and interrupt and the BIOS interrupts. This new edition includes both new and expanded material.

Inside Macintosh Overview (Inside Macintosh)


Apple Inc. - 1986
    Numerous examples, warnings, and hints throughout assure that developers can fully utilize these capabilities in their applications.

Kanban Just-in Time at Toyota: Management Begins at the Workplace


Japan Management Association - 1986
    This simple but powerful book is based on the seminars given by Taiichi Ohno and other senior production staff to introduce Toyota's own supplier companies to JIT. It teaches the philosophy and implementation of what many call the most efficient production system in the world.Provides a clear structure for an introductory JIT training program.Explains every aspect of the JIT system, including how to set it up and how to refine it once it's in place.Shows how to use a simple visual system to control the production process.Every day more American companies are learning that JIT works outside Japan. Now you can get started with this step-by-step book which guides you through the implementation process. Every engineer, manager, supervisor, and worker should read this book to get the clearest, simplest, and most complete introduction to JIT available in English.Results at American companies after reading this book: Lead-time on one product was reduced from 12 weeks to 4 days.Setup time on a large blanking press was reduced from eight hours to one minute and four seconds.Work-in-process has been reduced 50 percent plant-wide.Factory floor space was opened up 30 to 40 percent in every on of their plants.

Handbook of Recording Engineering


John M. Eargle - 1986
    It follows the broad outline of its predecessors, but has been completely recast for the benefit of today's training in recording and its allied arts and sciences.Digital recording and signal processing are covered in detail, as are actual studio miking and production techniques -- including the developing field of surround sound. As always, the traditional topics of basic stereo, studio acoustics, analog tape recording, and the stereo LP are covered in greater detail than you are likely to find anywhere except in archival references.This book has been completely updated with numerous new topics added and outdated material removed. Many technical descriptions are now presented in Sidebars, leaving the primary text for more general descriptions.Handbook of Recording Engineering, Fourth Edition is for students preparing for careers in audio, recording, broadcast, and motion picture sound work. It will also be useful as a handbook for professionals already in the audio workplace.

Megabrain


Michael Hutchison - 1986
    . ." The Psychiatric TimesA lucid and lively account of where the pioneers in brain research are headed -- and where they are taking us.

Responsible Technology: A Christian Perspective


Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship - 1986
    This book provides a multi-disciplinary Christian analysis of the forces shaping the operation of modern technology, and offers an alternative framework of biblically rooted normative principles. It argues that technology is a value- laden activity and presents principles for basing it on God's will.