Reflexive Structures : An Introduction to Computability Theory

<b>Reflexive Structures: An Introduction to Computability </b> <b>Theory</b> is concerned with the foundations of the theory of recursive functions. The approach taken presents the fundamental structures in a fairly general setting, but avoiding the introduction of abstract axiomatic domains. Natural numbers and numerical functions are considered exclusively, which results in a concrete theory conceptually organized around Churchs thesis. The book develops the important structures in recursive function theory: closure properties, reflexivity, enumeration, and hyperenumeration. Of particular interest is the treatment of recursion, which is considered from two different points of view: via the minimal fixed point theory of continuous transformations, and via the well known stack algorithm. <b>Reflexive Structures</b> <b>is intended as an introduction to the general theory of </b> <b>computability. It can be used as a text or reference in </b> <b>senior undergraduate and first year graduate level classes </b> <b>in computer science or mathematics. </b>