Another look at the discrete structures course

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Abstract
Over the last several years since the introduction of B3 (Discrete Structures) into the undergraduate computer science curriculum, the course has been the subject of continuing controversy. The major difficulties later found in implementing the course were easy to foresee from the most casual reading of its original description in Curriculum '68 [1]. The necessary placement of the course in the sophomore year, the relative sophistication of the intended subject matter, and the lack of sufficient preparation of most beginning students in these areas and in appropriate computer science areas of application, all have contributed to problems in the implementation of the ACM Curriculum Committee recommendations. We will discuss each of these problems in turn, and hope to provide new insights toward achieving a satisfactory solution.