[Solved]: Theory of computation introductory curriculum

Problem Detail: 

I want to study theory of computation on my own, so I am looking for books.

What set of books would you recommend for the equivalent of a one-semester course that introduces theory of computation?

Please post answers that describe a complete curriculum, explaining which chapters of each book are relevant at which stage of the course or self-study.

Asked By : Am_I_Helpful

Answered By : gardenhead

Introduction to the Theory of Computation by Michael Sipser is a relatively recent entry into this field. It was the required book for a class my friend was taking, and I asked him for the PDF so I could browse through at my leisure. I ended up reading almost the whole book, even the chapters on topics I was already very familiar with, just because the book is such a joy to read. It's written at an introductory level, which means less notation, more exposition, and more intuition. The motivation behind every idea and theorem is crystal clear. He precedes every proof with a "proof idea" section that lays out the path the proof is going to take without getting into the gory details. The book covers Automata Theory, Computability Theory, and Complexity Theory to a satisfactory depth for an undergraduate level. I've read many textbooks in computer science and math, and this is probably my favorite.

Best Answer from StackOverflow

Question Source : http://cs.stackexchange.com/questions/27510