Review of "Probability and Statistics with Reliability Queueing and Computer Science Application by K. S. Trivedi", Prentice-Hall, 1982

Abstract

Probability and Statistical techniques are of significant importance in many fields and are taught to the students with varying backgrounds and interest. An instructor can provide strong motivation by selecting relevant examples suitable for the students. In most of the traditional fields such as electrical engineering, physics, and economics a number of texts are available at nearly all levels of undergraduate/graduate programs. As the use of probability and stochastic processes is relatively new in computer science, the book "Probability and Statistics with Reliability, Queueing and Computer Science Application", Prentice-Hall 1982, by Professor K.S. Trivedi seems to meet a strong need. The book is organized in 11 chapters. The first five chapters provide the introduction to the probability theory. With this background the reader is well prepared to tackle the subsequent topics. These chapters are followed by four chapters on stochastic processes. The stochastic process chapters include topics such as discrete and continuous parameter Markov chains, birth-death processes and network of queues. These chapters are well suited for a student of computer system modeling. Data analysis plays a major role in many system studies. The last two chapters provide a coverage of statistical inference and regression and analysis of variance. The material in the book has been introduced with a significant number of worked out examples. These examples are drawn from computer science and reliability theory. In addition, there are many problems at the end of each chapter. Both these features enhance the usefulness of this book as a text. The thickness of the book may scare a few students; the book has 624 pages. The author suggests that this book be used as a text for a 2 semester course. At present the'trend is to offer a one semester course on the topics covered in the book. At the introductory level the book provides a good coverage. At an advanced level, a course on system modeling will require supplementary material on applications and case studies. However, using this book as a text at the advanced level is still an excellent choice.