A Concise and Practical Introduction to Programming Algorithms in Java (Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science) [Paperback]

Frank Nielsen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 184882338X | ISBN-13: 978-1848823389 | Publication Date: April 1, 2009 | Edition: 1st Edition.

A Concise and Practical Introduction to Programming Algorithms in Java has two main goals. The first is for novice programmers to learn progressively the basic concepts underlying most imperative programming languages using Java. The second goal is to introduce new programmers to the very basic principles of thinking the algorithmic way and turning the algorithms into programs using the programming concepts of Java. The book is divided into two parts and includes: The fundamental notions of variables, expressions and assignments with type checking - Conditional and loop statements - Explanation of the concepts of functions with pass-by-value arguments and recursion - Fundamental sequential and bisection search techniques - Basic iterative and recursive sorting algorithms. Each chapter of the book concludes with a set of exercises to enable students to practice concepts covered.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews: "This is an excellent book. … The author takes an interesting and entirely appropriate approach to Java … . the book is designed primarily as a textbook for class use, a programmer experienced in another procedural or object-oriented language, who would like to get started with Java, could also use it. The examples and exercises are definitely a lot more interesting than those found in most books aimed at professionals … . I like this book and I recommend it." (Edgar R. Chavez, ACM Computing Reviews, August, 2009)

From the Back Cover

This gentle introduction to programming and algorithms has been designed as a first course for undergraduates, and requires no prior knowledge. Divided into two parts the first covers programming basic tasks using Java. The fundamental notions of variables, expressions, assignments with type checking are looked at before moving on to cover the conditional and loop statements that allow programmers to control the instruction workflows. Functions with pass-by-value/pass-by-reference arguments and recursion are explained, followed by a discussion of arrays and data encapsulation using objects. The second part of the book focuses on data structures and algorithms, describing sequential and bisection search techniques and analysing their efficiency by using complexity analysis. Iterative and recursive sorting algorithms are discussed followed by linked lists and common insertion/deletion/merge operations that can be carried out on these. Abstract data structures are introduced along with how to program these in Java using object-orientation. The book closes with an introduction to more evolved algorithmic tasks that tackle combinatorial optimisation problems. Exercises are included at the end of each chapter in order for students to practice the concepts learned, and a final section contains an overall exam which allows them to evaluate how well they have assimilated the material covered in the book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1st Edition. edition (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184882338X
• ISBN-13: 978-1848823389
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,354,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good and practical intro to algorithms and computers science, September 2, 2010

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mgustav - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Concise and Practical Introduction to Programming Algorithms in Java (Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science) (Paperback)

I see that the author took a great effort to make the material accessible to Java programmers who did not have much exposure to the algorithms and CS.

I suggest it to everyone who want a gentle introduction to the subject and who does not have a strong mathematical or CS background.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars simple algorithms, July 30, 2009

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W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Concise and Practical Introduction to Programming Algorithms in Java (Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science) (Paperback)

Much of the book is simply about learning java. Mostly for writing procedural programs, as the book really doesn't go much into the ideas of object oriented code. Over half the book is essentially about the grammar of java.

The algorithms covered are elementary and far below the level of Knuth's Art of Computer Programming, The, Volumes 1-3 Boxed Set (2nd Edition) (The Art of Computer Programming Series) (Vol 1-3). They deal with simple structures like linked lists, stacks [first in, first out and first in, last out] and strings.

The book seems best for those students new to java and to computer science in general.