Algorithms in C, Parts 1-4: Fundamentals, Data Structures, Sorting, Searching

by Robert Sedgewick

Robert Sedgewick has thoroughly rewritten and substantially expanded his popular work to provide current and comprehensive coverage of important algorithms and data structures. Many new algorithms are presented, and the explanations of each algorithm are much more detailed than in previous editions. A new text design and detailed, innovative figures, with accompanying commentary, greatly enhance the presentation. The third edition retains the successful blend of theory and practice that has made Sedgewick's work an invaluable resource for more than 250,000 programmers! Whether you are a student learning the algorithms for the first time or a professional interested in having up-to-date reference material, you will find a wealth of useful information in this book.

Genres: Computer Science, Programming, Algorithms, Technical, Reference, Nonfiction, Textbooks

720 pages, Paperback

First published August 22, 1997

Reviews

[caisah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best practical book on algorithms I have stumbled upon.

Unlike CLRS this book comes with code written in C and also with a basic explanation for data structures.

The first 2 chapters are an introduction into the world of algorithms, building a perspective onto what will follow, explaining the principles governing algorithm analysis.

Next there are a few chapters on data structures, including ADTs(abstract data types) - arrays, linked lists, strings, stacks, queues, trees, graphs - and the procedures used to manipulate them. Some methods like recursion, divide and conquer and dynamic programming (memoization) are also discussed in detail.

All popular sorting methods are covered next: selection sort, insertion sort, bubble sort, shellsort, quick sort, mergesort, heapsort (with an in detailed explanation of the heap data structure), radix sort, and also some other special types of sort.

Searching is the main interest of the last half of the book. Symbol tables data structures and algorithms(most of which are tree algos) are covered in depth.

Every chapter contains a basic mathematical analysis mentioning the people that are experts in a specific domain. So if someone is interested in getting a more detailed version/explanation/analysis can easily follow the references.

Every chapter ends with a list of exercises most of which are not quite trivial. I solved only about half of them because otherwise it would take me forever to finish the book. But for a pedantic type this is a great way to improve thinking and coding skills. If someone would solve all the exercises, this will almost guarantee that the person could tackle any programming challenge with regards to algorithmic solving or choosing the right data structure for a task.

All in all, reading this book and solving the exercises, will make anybody a better programmer, no matter the skills.

[DoomGuy · Rating 5 out of 5]

S & Algorithm implemented in C. No other book I could find has this depth & code

[Mehmet Davut · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the initial part of a plan about studying algorithms. The goal is learning them from different sources sequentially and having ability to apply different languages effectively. So, I'd like to read initial part in C language, it was about fundamentals, algorithm analysis and basic data structures. I think C language is good for this because the book tells how the memory works in detail.

I've read this kind of book before but the authors choose languages such as Ruby and Javascript and those communities doesn't care so much about the memory. But the "Algorithms in C" book have to manage memory and this is why it is great for the fundamentals and algorithm analysis. The next part of the plan is reading more Data Structures and Algorithms in C++.

[Shiva]

i didnt read the book

[Arundhati]

nice