Foundations of Discrete Mathematics by K.D. Joshi - 2009

New Age International (P) Limited, 2009. First edition. Softcover. New. This book is meant to be more than just a text in discrete mathematics. It is a forerunner of another book Applied Discrete Structures by the same author. The ultimate goal of the two books are to make a strong case for the inclusion of discrete mathematics in the undergraduate curricula of mathematics by creating a sequence of courses in discrete mathematics parallel to the traditional sequence of calculus-based courses. The present book covers the foundations of discrete mathematics in seven chapters. It lays a heavy emphasis on motivation and attempts clarity without sacrificing rigour. A list of typical problems is given in the first chapter. These problems are used throughout the book to motivate various concepts. A review of logic is included to gear the reader into a proper frame of mind. The basic counting techniques are covered in Chapters 2 and 7. Those in Chapter 2 are elementary. But they are intentionally covered in a formal manner so as to acquaint the reader with the traditional definition-theorem-proof pattern of mathematics. Chapters 3 introduces abstraction and shows how the focal point of todays mathematics is not numbers but sets carrying suitable structures. Chapter 4 deals with Boolean algebras and their applications. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with more traditional topics in algebra, viz., groups, rings, fields, vector spaces and matrices. The presentation is elementary and presupposes no mathematical maturity on the part of the reader. Instead, comments are inserted liberally to increase his maturity. Each chapter has four sections. Each section is followed by exercises (of various degrees of difficulty) and by Notes and Guide to Literature. Answers to the exercises are provided at the end of the book. Printed Pages: 764. NA