Customer Reviews

Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in C (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Many people on here have complained that this book goes way over the head of students not already familiar with some C++ and data structures. To these comments, I refer you to the product description (or editorial review, whichever) that specifically says this is an advanced text. I apologize to those whose professors ordered this book for intro data structures--I can understand why this book would go past the scope of that class. However, if you know any Object Oriented programming (Java or C++ preferably) and know some basic algorithms and structures (matrices, sorts, recursion, trees, queues, etc.) this book will take you far. I don't even mean that you must be proficient in these structures, just have some basic understanding of how they work. For example, you should know what a tree is (root, leaves, implemented with pointers and nodes) and book will tell you how to use trees (B-Trees, Binary trees, etc.). By the point you are using this book, hopefully you'll have taken the math and programming classes needed to comprehend this text. Otherwise, do not blame the text for being targeted to an advanced audience.

Another drab computer science book written by someone who likes to complicate the obvious and oversimplify the complicated.
It is obviously geared toward dry mathematical types, and if you're one of those it might possibly be partially stimulating. The mathematical notation is unfortunately quite poor, many letters (which seem to represent constants and sometimes variables?) are ambiguously defined. Not to mention how half assed the "proofs" are. My linear algebra and differential equations teacher would roll over in her proverbial grave.

The code examples are halfway decent, however using one letter variable names is something a beginner quickly learns to stop doing. Why does this guy do it?
The one thing that I like is his use of line up curley braces.
Requiring readers to visit some website to obtain portions of missing code defeats the purpose of writing a book.
Why don't I just read a bunch of webpages instead of buying this flavorless thing. Code "snipits" are another big mistake, they're only understood if their context is explained well, which this shabby author cannot do. He seems to assume we have some clairvoyant abilities. A hint of color might at least keep me awake, but I guess that would have required putting some thought into the book's layout.

The hash table chapter is a wonderful example of how this author is a detached weirdo who can't put himself in the place of his readers. Saying "in the above example" in reference to an example that was FOUR pages ago is thoroughly idiotic and unnecessarily confusing. Several "examples" appeared after the one he referred to. Naming the page number would only take a few more letters i.e. "in the above example(p.54)"
And saying "using the same hash function" after showing us 3 different hash functions has the same perplexing effect. How about "again using h(x) = x%10," it would use less ink and make more sense.

The true reason I hate this book though, is that its exercises have no answers, not even to the odd questions or just some selected questions. Nothing.
Thus, the exercises are completely useless.
In order to prepare for my exam I've had to check out other books because this one doesn't cut it. I even found a much older edition of this book and by its similarity it's clear he's just recycling it for financial gain. Again Exercises and no solutions. How do I know if I'm doing them correctly?! As with physical exercise, exerting yourself the wrong way can be quite detrimental!
This author needs to take a communication 101 class or read some of Deitel & Deitel's books. Avoid purchasing this book unless you have to!

This is my second time taking this class. The only reason, and I do mean the only reason why I have to retake this class is because many of the examples in the book are confusing. It just dawned on me today when I couldn't understand the Shell sort on page 256 - this is a simple concept. I had to reference another book in order to understand it and as it turns out, it was a simple concept. A second example of the confusion is the Huffman coding sequence on page 398 - I am having to go onto the internet because I just plain don't understand the example. In my personal opinion I do not feel the book is thorough enough . . . it needs to be written more simply with better diagrams and examples.

This is the textbook for my undergraduate data structures class. In my opinion this book is more suited to graduate level study, or for very experienced C programmers. The author assumes that you have a very solid grounding in C language structure and discrete math, his examples are often cryptic and incomplete leaving it up to the reader to figure out what is meant. In my opinion this book is not well suited for learning the fundamentals of data structures, and I'm still looking for one that is.

This book is the text for the Data Structures course at my university. If your looking for a practical book on algorithms and data structures that you can put to immediate use... THIS IS NOT your book! Half written algorithms and critical parts of a program "left as an exercise" make this book a pain to read. This is clearly an academic book that is not suitable for self-study!

This book is excellent, I also own the C and Java versions and I love them all. For a long time I knew the basics of programmin, I knew Basic, VB, C, C++ and Java, but I really couldn't get anything advanced done, I simply got stuck and didn't know what to do and how.

This book changed it all. But make sure you are ready for this. Some have said that this is for academics only or that it is too difficult. You MUST know the basics first! Someone complained that the code is uncommented, Geez... The code fragments are quite short and very basic C++. If you don't know how to handle structs, templates, pointers and variable operations, then don't complain that this book is too difficult. You just haven't got the basics yet.

When you know the basics but need to know how to store data into the memory for the optimal use (instead of relying on arrays for everything), you must read a book on Data Structures and this book is among the best. Yes, it makes you work, yes you have to read carefully through the examples, but that is the nature of these things. You are no longer a beginner in first grade.

It is good to know some math, but if you don't need to learn the analysis (mostly for academic use) then you can skip the analysis stuff. Just learn to implement the structures and algorithms, the text will tell you which are the best ones.

It is clearly not a self-study material and one needs to refer to other books, for better understanding. On certain crucial topics, you are left in the dark, to solve the remainder of the problem as an exercise. It might be a great book in a class where the professor will provide you with the required examples and solutions, but I don't think one should take it up as a self-study book.

I had the luxury of having Dr. Weiss at Florida International University. He was a great professor and as a result I bought this book expecting a great book. The book turned out to be better than expected.

If you hate math and cannot program in C++, then this is not the book for you. However, if you desire to learn data structures effectively then you have found the book you have been looking for.

As a computer science student having this book for (dinner) my course in structures and algorithms, my comment will not be of the fool proof theoretical academical type.
I find this book very useful.
It has a lot of code examples, and in my oppinion it is perfect
for those who has some experience writing C++ code.
The implementations rely heavily on templates, which
(will effectively scare away the remaining students)
is actualy irrelevant when it comes to most of the algorithms.
I say this even if our course only covered 60-70 % of the book.
Luckily for me, I already loved templates when I started the course, but I dont think this was the case for most of my fellow students.
The book is vell organized, and it has a lot of "easy to understand" drawings all the way through.
It starts with a tutorial on advanced C++ topics for those who just finished their ABC book in C++ programming
(like Deitel&Deitel).
The code examples are very professional, tight and bug free.

If you are happy writing C code, this book is not for you.
There is some use of STL througout the book, but it does not require you to be an expert on the topic.
I think it has a deep and thorough examination of all the topics, and it covers more structures and algorithms I could dream of for at least the next 2 years.

I recommend this book to all C++ code writing engineer students
(who are not afraid of irrelevant templates)

The author writes, "...the [this] book usually provides about one-half to three-quarters of an implementation, and the student is encouraged to supply the rest." This means that you need to buy another, real, reference book (which this book is not).