Algorithms [Paperback]

Sanjoy Dasgupta (Author), Christos Papadimitriou (Author), Umesh Vazirani (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0073523402 | ISBN-13: 978-0073523408 | Edition: 1

This text, extensively class-tested over a decade at UC Berkeley and UC San Diego, explains the fundamentals of algorithms in a story line that makes the material enjoyable and easy to digest. Emphasis is placed on understanding the crisp mathematical idea behind each algorithm, in a manner that is intuitive and rigorous without being unduly formal.

Features include: The use of boxes to strengthen the narrative: pieces that provide historical context, descriptions of how the algorithms are used in practice, and excursions for the mathematically sophisticated.

Carefully chosen advanced topics that can be skipped in a standard one-semester course, but can be covered in an advanced algorithms course or in a more leisurely two-semester sequence.

An accessible treatment of linear programming introduces students to one of the greatest achievements in algorithms. An optional chapter on the quantum algorithm for factoring provides a unique peephole into this exciting topic. In addition to the text, DasGupta also offers a Solutions Manual, which is available on the Online Learning Center.

"Algorithms is an outstanding undergraduate text, equally informed by the historical roots and contemporary applications of its subject. Like a captivating novel, it is a joy to read." Tim Roughgarden Stanford University

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 1 edition (September 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0073523402
• ISBN-13: 978-0073523408
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.5 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Available online for free; lacks some details and explanation December 19, 2008

By Kenyon Ralph

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The entire book is available in PDF on Vazirani's website here: [...]

The website says "draft" but it's the same or better (errata corrected) than the print version. (I accidentally bought the print version even though I knew about the PDF. At least I was able to resell it for [...])

I used this book for CSE 101 Design and Analysis of Algorithms at UCSD. It's OK, but the level of detail of algorithms was too low for me to use just this book. I sometimes had to reference Wikipedia and other publications to achieve complete understanding.

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a masterpiece March 13, 2007

By T. Liu

Format:Paperback

As a professor in a state university, I learn, teach, and research on computer algorithms. Not many computer books are a joy to read, but

this one is exceptional: It is concise, informative, and inspiring.

I don't know since when computer books are synonymous to boring, lengthy

piles of printed papers filled with screen dumps. Truely innovative

books are rare. Not only does this book explain algorithms clearly, it also tells the stories behind them.

I would consider this book a good complement rather than a substitution

to Corman et al's book Introduction to Algorithms (which is one of the

most widely used textbook for algorithm course). If you just want to

find a book where you can translate the suedo code into a program, this

is not for you. The focus of this book is to explain and to inspire (which is also what I believe the real "Education" should be) rather than

dumping the students' head with codes and rules.

I would also like to mention that the book "the design and analysis of

algorithms" is also a good one. It is good for most colleges at undergraduate level except for a few "top-level" universities.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My first choice as an instructor March 4, 2008

By John R. Black

Format:Paperback

I occasionally teach algorithms at CU Boulder to our undergraduates. This book accomplishes what it set out to do: provide a comprehensible (but not comprehensive) treatment of a core piece of Computer Science at an affordable cost.

That we get one of the greatest researchers in the area (Papadimitriou) alongside two other distinguished authors is just icing on the cake.

The first printing had numerous errors, though the online version of the book had already corrected many of them. I haven't used the book since then, but will in the Fall, and I'd expect with the vigor already invested by the authors, the book will be in even better shape.

I'm glad they wrote this thing.. it was long overdue.