Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Self-Taught Computer Scientist: The Beginner's Guide to Data Structures & Algorithms

Rate this book
Get a head start in a rapidly growing industry with help from a Silicon Valley insider

Computer science is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and shows no signs of slowing down. In The Self-Taught Computer Scientist: The Beginner's Guide to Computer Science, expert programmer and author Cory Althoff shows you the hands-on exercises, stories, and examples, you need to help you become a successful computer scientist.

You'll discover how to:

Understand computer science fundamentals, including how memory and compilers work, how the TCP/IP stack works, and how to pass a technical job interview Use data structures and algorithms, both of which are essential to a successful programming career Write your first programs in Python, an easy-to-use programming language ideal for beginners Perfect for self-taught programmers everywhere, The Self-Taught Computer Scientist will help you get up to speed and ready for a job in computer science whether you're brand new to coding or you've already learned a language or two.

300 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2021

67 people are currently reading
315 people want to read

About the author

Cory Althoff

2 books58 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
20 (34%)
4 stars
22 (37%)
3 stars
11 (18%)
2 stars
1 (1%)
1 star
4 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Dany Vicente.
43 reviews3 followers
July 26, 2023
As a self-taught programmer, I have dedicated a significant amount of time to studying courses, tutorials, and learning new languages and frameworks that proved beneficial for my projects. Initially, I felt competent as I was able to complete relevant projects. I also delved into computer science books, believing that I had a strong grasp of fundamental computer science skills and concepts. However, reading this book exposed the gaps in my knowledge, making me realize my weaknesses and motivating me to address them.
Now, after gaining a much clearer understanding of algorithms and data structures, I feel significantly more confident in coding my projects. I can quickly assess the efficiency of the programs I write and identify areas for improvement. For self-taught programmers, this book is highly valuable as it imparts crucial concepts and brings structure to the otherwise unstructured material you might have learned in the past.
Profile Image for William Yip.
401 reviews5 followers
November 13, 2022
While there were a couple of typos that made some code snippets harder to understand, overall, the book was very informative. Python is used throughout the book but it did not overshadow the main theme like it did in the author's previous book "The Self-Taught Programmer". The author discussed big O notation, fundamental search and sort algorithms and data structures up to trees and graphs in a clear and concise manner. Many code snippets were provided along with explanations. I liked the recommendations for studying more advanced computer science topics. The book is useful for beginner programmers and as a refresher for those who haven't studied the topics in a while.
14 reviews3 followers
April 8, 2023
So much hype, so little value.

The book seems to be over-hyped by so many self-taught Python coders who think they learned computer science by reading it. Surprise, they learned almost nothing. The definitions in the book are vague, most algorithms are simply mentioned with little or no explanation and their implementations rely on many high-level features of Python programming language. As a result, a way more fitting title for the book would be "The Basics of CS for the Self-Taught Python coder". It won't teach you computer science, but rather just create an illusion that you've learned something.
88 reviews1 follower
August 25, 2022
Huhu mình ước gì mình biết quyển này trước khi học Algorithms, viết hay với dễ hiểu dã man.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.