Customer Reviews

Algorithms in C, Parts 1-5 (Bundle): Fundamentals, Data Structures, Sorting, Searching, and Graph Algorithms (3rd Edition)

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
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I have quite a few books on algorithms and C programming, and this probably takes the cake. Sedgewick writes clearer than perhaps anyone on the subject. The book is filled to the gills with tiny 20 line (complete) programs that do amazing things - such as the program to compute all the prime numbers less than N (provided as input). These examples are typically given to illustrate some point (such as using dynamic array allocation for storing which numbers are prime) - but the short, concise algorithms given in the examples are learning aids as well (i.e. - I didn't know you could calculate a list of primes so easily, and I can probably take this knowledge and use it somewhere else). The reader is challenged to alter the examples (instead of using an array to store which numbers are prime, use a bitmap). Because the examples are small, compact, and easy to read, this provokes one to actually sit down and try and play with them. In contrast, I also have the Algorithms In C O'Reilley book by Kyle Loudon and after reading the Sedgewick title, I'm throwing that away. That book spends 1/3 of the chapter describing the algorithms, and then spends the rest of it in user-interface code examples. Of course, all the user interfaces for all the examples in the book are pretty much the same, so the whole book is filled with redundant useless code. More analysis, less filler, please. As Sedgewick was a student of Knuth, I consider his books as the practical guide to Knuth's tomes (which seem out of date - do we really need algorithm analysis on external storage these days??), which are filled with rigorous mathematical analysis. I highly recommend this book(s) -- actually there are two, with the second volume covering graphs. I wish my University had used these texts in programming / algorithm analysis courses. I really don't have any negative commentary -- other than the nitpick that his coding style is very compact and skeletal --> main(){ for(...) do_something;} However, since the examples are so small, it hardly matters.

Sedgewick's 'Algorithms in C' is undeniably the best book for beginners studying about algorithms and data structures. The text is clear, lucid, and the programming examples are very well documented. The exercises and problems stimulate thoughts and help in developing a better understanding of the subject. All the key aspects of the subject are sufficiently addressed, and discussed in the best possible way. It's the code in the book that I love the most, it can be compiled on almost any compiler without almost any change being made to it. I would strongly recommend this book as a textbook to all beginners embarking on a study of data structures and algorithms.

I bought these two book for one reason: to get help implementing algorithms. Since there is lot of code in these books, I thought this would be a good pick. I was wrong. The author is consistently leaving out details vital to understanding the code. He also makes a big deal about abstract data types. This is gloriously of the case. If the readers are supposed to understand the code, transperency would be a more intelligent goal for the author. There are no comments in the code what so ever (yes, this is actually true, not even in the on-line code). The on-line code to this book is a total mess. You would be able to implement all the algorithms from scratch in less time than it would take you to try an piece together the code the author has left for you.
The pity is that there are very few other algorithm books that have real code. Demand a new edition from the author and don't by this one unless you can avoid it.

The second text (Part 5 - graph algorithms) was a real suprise. I bought the set for the first book, because I couldn't find the first text by it self. To my suprise, Part 5 was excellent and help me solve an issue I've been dealing with for weeks. The books not only give good analysis of the algorithms, but also provide sample source code.

Sedgewick's books are now an essential part of my C programming reference library. I've referred to his books many times since I bought them. Unlike most technical references, these books are excellent, even if you aren't interested in C. Excellent texts.

I had to teach this subject and this book seemed the best of the bunch though still not ideal. Why does the author have to use meaningless variable names (i,j,k), do comments make the code run more slowly. My main criticism is the examples and I would recommend the author use professional coding practices, comment the code, use meaningful variable names and structure it for readability. Else recommended for this subject