Algorithms (4th Edition)

The book is about algorithms and data structures in Java, and not about learning to program. My review will contrast this book with Sedgewick's 25+year old "Algorithms in C++" in my shelf. The new algorithms book is such a vast improvement over the old C++ book that I hardly recognize it any more. The new Algorithms has two authors. The authors are using a sub-set of the Java OO features (unlike the C++ version, which used none). While I may not agree in detail with some choices, I can understand, because they explained their coding standards well, and why they limit features. The algorithms are updated to the basic algorithms a student these days needs to have heard of, which includes new material like tries. I was fascinated to see a regular expression evaluation automaton in code, with explanations. Some more esoteric material from the C++ book (for instance, Voronoi diagrams) is left for specialized books. At a few places in the book, the impact of algorithms and data structures is illustrated giving real-world examples. And I have yet to read chapter 6.But what really impressed me was the code. This book shows the fundamental data structures and algorithms in just a few lines of beautiful and well-thought code. Sure, any nit-picker may find quibbles, but most choices are understandable from a didactic and printing perspective. This code is so much better than any in the old C++ book. The authors preferred clarity, yet the code is still concise. The authors are clear about feature creep, and limit their code to what is needed and no more, though some extensions are part of the exercises. I am reminded of the Einstein paraphrase "As simple as possible, but no simpler".More complex data structures and algorithms need multiple code boxes, which are all explained in detail, with the box appearing close to the explanation. Some readers may take issue with the density of information in examples, but I find it advantageous to have all information close-by rather than spread out. I prefer to pore over their dense examples than having to flip pages.

The authors provide an clear and concise set of criterion for the use of algorithms in general, and then go about developing the basic set to use in daily development of your own. I got this book as a reference to assist newcomers and interns in their progress, but find myself referring to its contents frequently to remind myself of some foundational elements that have floated merrily away over the years.I would heartily recommend this book to everyone. For the student to learn the basic set of algorithms, for the entry and mid level software engineers (or programmers) to inspire new ideas from a solid foundation, and for us veterans as a reminder to a solid way for development of our own algorithms.It is well written, and easy to understand (even for the interns I've had read through it). The examples are developed around Java, and so the book starts with a section on Java and basic programming techniques. It contains a large set of the basic algorithms that are frequently necessary on a day to day basis, but also shows HOW and WHY they were developed. It also provides a section on several advanced topics, again with an eye to the HOWs and WHYs. All along the way, there are references to "Good" development foundations, and reminders the development philosophies.

Short and simple this book WALKS you through what data structures are, their purpose and use. It teaches you not only the concepts but provides complete code examples. What I particularly liked is how the book teaches you to systematically test and measure the performance of the data structures and points out why it performs as measured using both mathematical theory as well as data driven analysis. The content of the book is presented in an order which allows you to learn gradually and use what was learned in earlier chapters to develop more complex ideas in later chapters. This book can be read by absolute beginners, meaning you don't need a prior exposure to data structures to grasp the content as it progresses from simple to advanced. Another great point is this book goes out of its way to give real world applications and uses of the data structures and their associated algorithms; giving the reader a real grasp on the usefulness of the content, making it real, not just an academic pursuit. There is no shortage of material, a very good balance of breath and depth.

I started reading "Algorithms" after Sedgewick and Wayne' s "Computer Science: An Interdisciplinary Approach," which I think is a great place to start for those who are new to (object-oriented) programming. This book, Algorithms, (and the Coursera course or the COS 226 at Princeton) builds your knowledge further by fleshing out the theory behind the data structures. I only made it through the first 3 chapters so far, but I think I became better at writing cleaner, concise, and correct code by reading this book and doing some coding assignments (of the Coursera course, which is based on this book and/or the course COS 226 at Princeton which uses this book). I like this book and the exercises because they provide a good mix of theory and practice. I feel like this book is great preparation for interviews, as well as for further study from books which use pseudo-code.The content itself is great, but I am deducting a point because of the print quality of the textbook. For some reason, a lot of the pages in my copy look grayer than they should. I'm not sure if it's a book formatting issue where the font color was set to gray accidentally or if it is a publisher issue, but for some pages the black text just doesn't appear as crisp and dark. I attached some pictures but my phone seems to color correct things and the difference in the photos doesn't seem big. In person, the variation in the black text throughout the book is definitely noticeable, though.