What books should I read to start learning computer science?

[Rahel]

TL;DR Summary

A great desire to learn computer science

Dear friends I am new for this forum. I have a plan to begin studying computer science very soon. My qualification at the this moment is MSC in Accounting and Finance. I want to study computer science! Here there is a university working in collaboration with one of universities in USA providing MSC in computer science for those who have no ground in the field by facilitating bridge courses. I would like to get your kind advise from those of you familiar to the discipline to tell me on what kinds of books should i begin reading to narrow the knowledge gap?

 

[sysprog]

Welcome aboard the Physics Forums, @Rahel $-$

Professor Marvin Minsky's Computation: Finite and Infinite Machines is a Computer Science classic: http://www.cba.mit.edu/events/03.11.ASE/docs/Minsky.pdf $-$

the magnum opus of Professor Donald Knuth, The Art of Computer Programming: https://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/taocp.html is incomparable $-$

Kenneth Rosen's Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications is good, and so is Alan Gibbons' Algorithmic Graph Theory (I found pdf links for them, but I don't post them here, because I'm not sure about the copyright permission).

 

[BvU]

Hello @Rahel , !

I am a bit surprised you don't mention previous relevant experience. Do you like math, numerical analysis, programming, specific tools you already worked with ?
What books, what about dealing with computers did you like in particular?

Nowadays CS is quite a broad field and some specialisation is called for.

If you already know a programming language, learn another and pay attention to differences and similarities.

I don't agree with sysprog that Knuth is a good intro; on the other hand: if you can chew through that, then you surely know you like the field

 

[Rahel]

Welcome aboard the Physics Forums, @Rahel $-$

Professor Marvin Minsky's Computation: Finite and Infinite Machines is a Computer Science classic: http://www.cba.mit.edu/events/03.11.ASE/docs/Minsky.pdf $-$

the magnum opus of Professor Donald Knuth, The Art of Computer Programming: https://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/taocp.html is incomparable $-$

Kenneth Rosen's Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications is good, and so is Alan Gibbons' Algorithmic Graph Theory (I found pdf links for them, but I don't post them here, because I'm not sure about the copyright permission).

Thank you so much sir.

 

[Rahel]

Hello @Rahel , !

I am a bit surprised you don't mention previous relevant experience. Do you like math, numerical analysis, programming, specific tools you already worked with ?
What books, what about dealing with computers did you like in particular?

Nowadays CS is quite a broad field and some specialisation is called for.

If you already know a programming language, learn another and pay attention to differences and similarities.

I don't agree with sysprog that Knuth is a good intro; on the other hand: if you can chew through that, then you surely know you like the field

Thank you so much for your inquiry to ask my experience. As i mentioned i have MSC in accounting and finance at this moment. I have had great interest in maths and physics while i was in high school. Advancing in computer technology is getting very popular in a country where i am living also its becoming my big desire to learn the field. That's why i am asking people experienced in the field to guide me my reading to narrow the knowledge gap

 

[BvU]

Do you like math (yes), numerical analysis, programming, specific tools you already worked with ?
What books, what about dealing with computers did you like in particular?

What experience do you have that you can build on ? Which language(s) ?

 

[sysprog]

I don't agree with sysprog that Knuth is a good intro; on the other hand: if you can chew through that, then you surely know you like the field

Please, @BvU, I didn't and wouldn't say that Professor Knuth's TAOCP is "a good intro". I used the term magnum opus (great work). I think that it's a good thing for anyone interested in CS to take a look at, with the proviso that the material is advanced as well as comprehensive.

 

[sysprog]

You can find a list of open access journals with computer science in their subject matter (e.g. https://ieeeaccess.ieee.org/) via this parameterized link: scopus open access computer science sources list.