Customer Reviews

Introduction to the Design and Analysis of Algorithms (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those of you who've always wanted to throw the Cormen text out the window rejoice you finally can! This book is an excellent introduction to algorithms. Though not as thorough as the Cormen text it's orders of magnitude more readable!

Even though this book is only a few years old, it seems like a well-worn classic. That is not to say that it is outdated and irrelevant; it is exactly the opposite! While my knowledge of algorithms textbooks isn't encyclopedic, I can say that this book was way ahead of the curve in it's layout. Before it, most books presented a bunch of algorithms with some loose affiliations such as being search algorithms or dealing with graphs. This book groups algorithms into major themes and makes it much easier to learn the fundamentals of algorithm design. There have been a new set of algorithms textbooks coming out as late (Kleinberg and Tardos, Dasgupta et al, etc) that have the same approach as this book because it works so well. Don't miss out!

I've read other algorithm books like Cormen's Introduction to Algorithm's, but The Design and Analysis of Algorithms is by far the best. The chapters are organized by concepts like Greedy and Divide-and-Conquer instead of by problem types like sorting or searching. It was also written using a more conversational tone than your average computer science text, so it was much easier and more interesting to read. Overall, it's a great book that I would definitely recommend for anyone looking to learn or brush up on algorithms!

I have a number of algorithm books. But this one taught me the most. Reading this book is just like listening to a good tireless teacher.

The examples in this books are not only very simple but also up to the point. By following the examples, you can mentally follow the algorithms step by step which leads to great understanding of the algorithms.

I wish my college used this book for the introductory course on algorithms. I have heard a lot about the Cormen/Knuth and other books which no doubt are exemplary in their coverage of algorithms but this one is made for people like me - people who want to be excited by reading a subject as comprehensive as Algorithms. Excellent introduction to numerous puzzlesand thought provoking questions. Reasonably descriptive coverage of each algorithm.

Highly recommended

I purchased this book through my college in order to take an on-line class. 3301 for HPU. The class is pretty good but wow, this book leaves so many things to "assumption". The author likes to use the would Obviously when ever he/she doesn't feel like explain something in detail or feels that it's beneath the scope of the material. If this book is being used as an educational resource I would expect them to explain in detail and not leave things up to the assumption that each student will understand. In fact, I have learned more from you tube videos than what I have read out of this book. This is not just a gripe session, I just feel like school books should explain things in detail. "Obviously" there are pre req's for any class, however that does not remove the duty of the publishers to provide a near complete source. There are some good things about the book, they have lots of examples. The hints in the back of the book are lame, but the diagrams are well done. I don't have that much of a problem picking up the material, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is a computer sci beginner. If you have been doing this for years and can work your way around a nested for loop with a bit of recursion than you may do fine. If you have a hard time understanding boolean logic and discrete math than you may want to look at another source as well.

This book is nearly exactly the same as the first edition except for a few changes to three chapters. It would be more cost effective just to buy the first edition.

This is an excellent book for learning these topics. It follows an unorthodox approach ordered by the technique, not the problem. The price was quite good - even when compared to an international edition. The condition was not great but paperbacks wear faster than hardback books, so this is to be expected for a used book. Definitely recommended.

I ordered this item and I received a different version of the book. The page numbers don't match which is annoying. Other than that the book was in decent condition.