The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms [Paperback]

Alfred V. Aho (Author), John E. Hopcroft (Author), Jeffrey D. Ullman (Author)

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From the Back Cover

With this text, you gain an understanding of the fundamental concepts of algorithms, the very heart of computer science. It introduces the basic data structures and programming techniques often used in efficient algorithms. Covers use of lists, push-down stacks, queues, trees, and graphs. Later chapters go into sorting, searching and graphing algorithms, the string-matching algorithms, and the Schonhage-Strassen integer-multiplication algorithm. Provides numerous graded exercises at the end of each chapter.

0201000296B04062001

Product Details

• Paperback: 470 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley; 1ST edition (January 11, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201000296
• ISBN-13: 978-0201000290
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #313,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another CS classic, October 2, 2001

By 

Ganapathy Subramaniam (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms (Paperback)

This is yet another classic from the Aho Gang!

It sets up a very formal framework for discussing alorithms, beginning at the beginning..an abstract mathematical model of a computer. and builds up the rest of the book using the model for implementation as well as quantification.

A solid framework for the analysis of algorithms is setup. The necessary mathematics is covered, helping in measuring an algorithm's complexity..basically the time and space complexities.

Then it goes on to deal with designing algorithms. the design methodology, with elaborate examples and exercises.

It should be admitted however that this is a solid text for the mathematically oriented. Thats the reason for the 5 stars!

If you want to go a little easy on the formalisms try
"Computer Algorithms, Pseudocode" by Ellis Horowitz, Sartaj Sahni, Sanguthevar Rajasekaran. I found it more pragmatic.

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The very classic, July 16, 2002

By 

G. Avvinti (Sicily, Italy) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms (Paperback)

Excluding Knuth's opera (another dimension), this (AHU) is about the other and only renowned classic algorithms book, deseverdly I'd say, together with Cormen-Leiserson-Rivest's (CLR) "Introduction to Algorithms". With the difference that the first and only edition of AHU has been written 16 years before the first (of the two) editions of CLR.

The two books are quite different in the language and formalism used: more formal and mathematical inclined AHU with respect to CLR. I'd say, the very classic style of his authors who have made history in the CS literature with their books (particularly 2 on algorithms and data structures, 2 on Computer Theory, 2 on Compilers, 1 on CS foundations): as these books have been used in most universities around the world for decades, they've proved to be real milestones in the education of thousands of students.

The books differ also in scope, since AHU is certainly not an encyclopedic collection as CLR does, with his roughly 500 pages against 1000. In spite of this, I'd point out the following: my textbook on Algorithms was CLR, but when we got to Complexity Classes (P-NP and theory behind) we "had" to switch to AHU for the simple reason that CLR did not almost mention at all Turing Machines nor Space Complexity, without which is certainly possible to learn e.g. about NP-TIME completeness, but without which, such a path would equally certainly miss some foundamental topics of Complexity Theory.

All in all, then, imo the book truly deserves 5 stars (and perhaps it would deserve a second, updated, edition too ... possibly, imho, through a bit less revolutionary revision job than they did with "Introduction to Automata Theory, Language and Computation").

As a final note, those looking for a more applicative and self-reference than an educational introductory text, could have a look at the two-volumes opera by the former Knuth's pupil, Robert Sedgewick (possibly the more consolidated C or C++ versions).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent presentation of essential concepts, April 19, 2002

By 

Eugene Zaikonnikov (Bergen, Norway) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms (Paperback)

The book elaborates thoroughly on the basics every programmer should be familiar with. If you are into software development, and have found some unfamiliar concepts in the book description - that's a sure sign that you need this book on your desk.