Customer Reviews

Data Structures for Game Programmers (Premier Press Game Development)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Publishing a book on data structures and algorithms isn't an easy task, because there's no computer science genre that's got as much of a pedigree. With titles ranging from a dozen good college textbooks to Sedgewick's five-volume _Algorithms_ series to Knuth's dense and eternally-unfinished _Art of Computer Programming_ series, any new book on data structures and algorithms is facing some serious competition. When I learned that Ron Penton, a newcomer to the programming book scene, was entering the foray with _Data Structures for Game Programmers_, I was skeptical. Could a book explaining the deep subject of data structures and algorithms written by someone with comparatively little experience in programming hold its own against books written by lifelong academics?

Unfortunately, that answer is "not really". While _Data Structures for Game Programmers_ does a reasonable job of explaining the data structures and algorithms that are necessary for games, the book suffers from serious organization problems and a lack of depth.

The book does cover the expected basics and follows the standard format, with a chapter on arrays, a chapter on linked lists, a chapter on binary trees, a chapter on stacks & queues, etc. These are covered reasonably well, showing how the structures are represented, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and how to code them. The book does try to distinguish itself from a standard college data structures textbook in two ways. First, each data structure and algorithm includes an interactive example program on the included CD. These examples are very well done and are an excellent way to see constructs "in action". Second, the example programs are all game-oriented, mostly involving a Zelda/Ultima style adventure game.

Around page 600, the book takes a turn into algorithm territory, and it does take a more game-oriented focus following the obligatory chapter on sorting. Chapters on data compression, random numbers, and path-finding are natural fits for all kinds of games.

Following the algorithms are a few short appendices covering the basics of C++ (or as much as can be covered in 30 pages, which isn't much), a few pages on how PC memory is organized, a quick overview of SDL (the graphics library used to make the example programs), and twenty pages on STL.

Unfortunately, the short shrift given to STL is one of the problems with the book. While the value of STL was once debated, it is now blessed by ISO as the C++ standard library and is now as much a part of C++ as the if( ) statement. About half of the data structures covered in the book are already implemented in STL, and the rest can be made out of combinations of STL containers and algorithms. The book, however, ignores STL in favor of building all data structures from the ground up. While I understand the need to show how data structures look and work internally, the chapters should at least mention that the structures are already part of C++ and don't need to be implemented directly.

Early on I mentioned the organizational problems with the book, and a couple of them are significant. The first is how, despite the fact that the book is aimed at C++ beginners, the book opens with a fairly advanced chapter on templates. The templates chapter is followed by a far-simpler chapter on arrays. Despite having not covered arrays yet, the chapter on templates implements an array container assuming that arrays are already understood. Even worse, chapter 9 is a tutorial on how to write classes in C++, even though C++ classes have been in heavy use since chapter two! I honestly don't know if this is a case of chicken-egg syndrome run amok or if it's a case of an author and editor not spending enough time organizing the layout of the book, but it does make for a confusing read.

My final complaint about the book is about the relative lack of depth given to the subjects. While simple structures like arrays are covered comprehensively, there is too much "this is too advanced a topic for this book" later on. For example, the chapter on binary trees shows how to build and climb a binary tree. The chapter does correctly state that binary trees suffer from a significant flaw, which is that the search efficiency is very dependent on the order of the data inserted. The chapter also states that there are ways around this flaw, namely AVL and red-black trees which re-balance themselves. That's where the book stops, though. Even though the book could cover balanced trees with a few more pages, the book just recommends you look elsewhere and leaves (no pun intended) binary trees with their flaws. This is later repeated in the chapter on minimax trees, mentioning that tree-searches can have their performance improved significantly, but not detailing those ways because, according to the author, the chapter was getting too big and most folks aren't interested in minimax trees anyway.

In conclusion, _Data Structures for Game Programmers_ tries to achieve a lofty goal, staking a space among books written by the top people in the field. Unfortunately, though, it only partially reached that goal, covering some topics well and gaining big points for the quality of the programs on the included CD, but falling well short of the mark in organization and depth of advanced coverage.

Let me be frank; I HATE DATA STRUCTURES. They are BORING. I'm a sophomore in a Computer Science program, and I've just finished taking a data structures course, and I barely passed it. All college Data Structure books are written for people who like to read extremely boring mathematical proofs, and I can't read that stuff. So, a friend of mine told me to get this book, so I got it on sale, and boy, I am glad.

I've bought Prima/Premier books before, and they are usually good, but also disappointing because the first 40% of the book is always an introduction on things like "a complete tutorial on direct3d" or something. Well this book is different: it gets RIGHT TO THE POINT, IMMEDIATELY. The first two chapters are ALL of the intro material (algorithm analysis and templates), then Chapter 3 jumps right into the data structures!

Okay, so arrays may seem to be a bit simplistic, so I skipped that chapter at first. The later chapters in the book are more interesting, but then I noticed in a later chapter, a reference to a complex issue in the array chapter (processor caching). So I went back and and re-read that chapter, and WHOA! He literally shows you EVERYTHING there is to know about arrays, even complex stuff like caching that a normal data structures book would never even touch!

This book is amazing; and covers TONS of topics. There's no TOC listed at this site yet, so here's a list of what it's got: Arrays, 2D Arrays, 3D Arrays, Bitvectors, Linked Lists, Hash Tables, Stacks, Queues, Recursion, Trees, Binary Trees, Heaps, Minimax trees, Graphs, AI Machines, Data Sorts, Compression Algorithms, Pathfinding (BEST CHAPTER!), and he even goes over the creation of a simple 2D game and complete map editor for it.

Every chapter is packed full of diagrams and figures, notes, and demo's. For every major concept, there is a "Graphical Demonstration" on the CD, that shows you how it works! And, for every chapter, there's also one or more "Game Demonstration"s. These show you how to integrate the data structurs into a game! The CD is so awesome that it could practically sell on its own!

The bottom line is: this book takes the boring and difficult subject of data structures, and turns them into something anyone can understand, in a fun and exciting way. 5 stars!

The title is scary. Really scary. Data structures ... *shudder* ... it brings up nightmare images of professors who droned for hours while the class snored ... it sounds like one of those books that is so dry you have to soak it in water before you read it. It isn't.

This book is excellent. My husband thinks I'm nuts because it kept me up late reading in bed, but it's that good. The author explains complex concepts very clearly, with some humor to keep it entertaining. He's a game programmer writing for other game programmers, which is a refreshing change from the myriad books that seem to be by academics writing for review committees.

It explains all of the many ways data can be handled, from simple arrays to recursive structures, hashing, and other complex forms. Ok, any good advanced programming book would tell you this -- but they rarely if ever bring up considerations like how memory caching should influence your choice of data structures, or the impact of those choices on game design.

In addition to data structures, the author covers what you can do with them, and why. Topics such as pathfinding are covered and demonstrated. SDL, a cross-platform graphics library, is used for the demos and the coverage of that is almost worth the price of admission. (though I recommend Focus on SDL in addition)

If you're writing a game you need to know this stuff. Read this book.

Ron Penton, Data Structures for Game Programmers (Premier, 2003)

I don't normally get all googly-moogly over programming books. In fact, I just took a quick look back at my reading log since 1999, and a select few have gotten four stars, but nothing above that. But I picked up Penton's nine-hundred-page tome on Thursday and I finished it on Sunday. Nine hundred pages in four days. I've only been keeping track of page counts over the past year, but the books I've read that have come closest, page-wise, have been Robin Hobb's lovely novels, three of which I read earlier this year hovered around eight hundred pages. I read the shortest of them in eight days. And I love Robin Hobb.

Data Structures for Game Programmers is a wonderful book in no small part because Ron Penton was still an undergrad while writing it. Which is, of course, also the book's main problem, because someone like me who last saw ivy-covered halls well over a decade ago is likely to be sick with envy that some little greenhorn has already found his way into the world of professional computer-book publishing (and by "professional" here I don't mean "published by recognizable press," I mean "the kid's already published three books in three years, and they're ALL monstrous tomes, when does he have time to program?"). But let's face it, you expect something different when you read a book by a young writer, be it the hot new novelist or the new kid on the programming block. And Penton delivers it; Data Structures for Game Programmers is, if you're a programmer, the most readable computer book you've ever come across. Penton seems to have a healthy disrespect for textbooks, which he alludes to a few times in the course of the book, and it shows in his writing; he wants to write something that will teach you more than a textbook by being more accessible. And in this goal, he succeeds. Brilliantly. I learned more about C templates from reading this book than I have in any other three books devoted to nothing but templates, and here they're just referred to a few times in passing. How is this possible? Because Penton explains things in language far easier to understand than that of most programming books; simply put, he hasn't yet been so overwhelmed by jargon that he can't see when he's written something the layperson might not be able to understand, which is a common ailment among programming authors.

Also, there's been some minor grumbling from some critics about the book's insistence on reinventing the wheel. Of course it does. That's how you learn to program-- you bang away at it, doing something that's already been done, until you figure out why it's done that way. There may be five or six people on the planet who can read it in a textbook and immediately figure out why it's the case (and, one assumes, they are the same people as those critics), but the rest of us are much happier seeing it this way.

If any computer book publishers happen to be reading this, you, especially, should be reading Data Structures for Game Programmers. See what it's like. Try to get the rest of your authors to emulate it. You'll have much happier customers that way.

This is one of the handful of books I've read since getting a library card again (a total, in fact, of four since 2003) that, after returning it to the library, went back on my Amazon wish list, because I want a copy for myself.

This book actually teaches Data Structures!! Data Structures are the essence of programming. Ron manages to present all the basic Data Structures and the most famous algorithms in a clean and gentle way.

Many many thanks to Ron Penton for his help! Ron Penton really knows how to write a book! His way of writing shows that he knows the subject perfectly and presents it in a way that anyone understands what he is talking about. No matter how hard the topic is! By the way, Ron Penton has a great sense of humour!

If I could I would give one more star for the GREAT job he did with the CD. Although I intended initially to learn Data Structures, I also learned SDL. Perfect combination for someone who wants to start writing games!

A pre-requisite for any book on Data Stuctures is that the person should be comfortable with the syntax and semantics of programming in a high level language such as C++ or Java. Hence this book assumes that you are comfortable with C++ and OOP. There is no such thing as Data Structures for Absolute Beginners. So discard the review with 2 stars. Overall this is an excellent and interesting book on Data Structures.

Bottom line is this, you can find the information presented in DS4GP in any other good book on data structures but what sets this book apart is the presentation, organization, practical content and the writing style of the author.

It's definetly not for beginners or for a person looking for a very detailed book on data structures that covers AVL trees and red-black trees. But for the other 99% its a must buy.

i wanted a book to brush up on some data structures since i've been out of programming for a few months. plus, most of my learning of these has been self taught and from the internet where there is limited (good) writings on more complex subjects such as programming. so i wanted to have a fresh perspective. not only does the book contain very useful details in many areas and to the point information (gets to the first data structure by page 14!) but the author somehow makes this stuff fun to read.

the author doesn't go hugely in to depth in some areas but that's pretty much what i wanted since i am already familiar with how to use most of the stuff. very good book and i'd highly recommend it. hope this author continues with more books!

Data Structures... Those things of legend that, basically, totally suck. They're complicated, their use is cryptic at times, However, Ron Penton, the author of Data Structures for Game Programmers, makes these things of legend not only simple to understand, but also makes the entire learning process... *gasp... *FUN!*

The author goes through every data structure in the book with great detail. No two page explanations here, nor does he want you to just copy and paste the code into your project. No sir, Ron goes through EVERY data structure in the book with great detail, lots of figures and diagrams, and three demos. One demo showing the data structure in-action via a custom GUI, allowing you to play with and "tweak" various settings to see how the algorithm works. Then there's a console mode implementation that simply shows a basic implementation of the algorithm. And finally, there is a demo where the reader sees how the data structure can be applied to game development. It's definately obvious that the author knows his stuff inside and out.

So, if you're a game programmer, you definately owe it to yourself to pick up this book. No matter what. If you're a general programmer having a hard time with college data structure books that make no sense, you also owe it to yourself to pick this book up.

Premier Press and its fellow authors definately seems to be getting the hang of writing and publishing, as each book they put out seems to be getting better and better, let's just hope this trend continues.

Obviously a book on data structures isn't going to be the most mind-blowing read in the world, but this book is very solid, very practical to game programmers, and the demos and examples are interesting enough to keep your focus sharp. The sad thing is that most people aren't going to understand how much they need this book, so lemme just be blunt-- if you think you're too smart to need a book on game programming data structures, chances are you aren't. Most people are going to find plenty of "ah... I didn't know that"'s throughout this thing. Definately worth checking out.

Length:: 2:07 Mins


I do a video review of the book and point out a lot its weak spots.

Summary: Don't waste your time with this book.

Pros:
A big book you can impress your friends with.
About 100 pages of useful information (Its almost 1000 pages in size).

Cons:
Most of this data is for noobs to programming and you should know this stuff already.
The guy who wrote this talks a lot and its sometimes difficult to pick out the game specific data from the general every day programming data.

If you are an experienced programmer like myself there are better books on the market that will teach you more without wasting your time.

If you are new to programming and want to learn basic programming concepts like Arrays, this book is for you (An entire chapter is dedicated to Arrays, for example). However, only a very small part of the book is game specific and if you are unlucky like I was and got sold a copy with no CD, you are in a bad spot as most of the "good stuff" is on the CD , even if the version of libs used are out of date.