Ready-to-Run Delphi(r) 3.0 Algorithms (Paperback)

~ (Author), Kenneth R. Stephens (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The first algorithm handbook designed specifically for Delphi programmers. More programmers are turning to Delphi because it's much easier to use than C and C++. Whether or not database developers already know Delphi and/or Visual Basic, this comprehensive handbook will be a salvation. Algorithms specialist Kenneth Stephens guides readers toward faster and more useable programs using Delphi algorithms. CD-ROM . . . *Includes source code for all algorithms explained in the book. *Features test programs and data for demonstrating the algorithms. *Provides databases for use with the network algorithms chapter. Delphi is a trademark of Borland.

From the Publisher

More programmers are turning to Delphi, an object-oriented version of Pascal, because it's much easier to use than C and C++. And because Delphi is visual, Visual Basic programmers are also making the painless transition and enjoying the benefits of Delphi's greater speed. Whether or not database developers already know Delphi and/or Visual Basic, this comprehensive handbook will be a salvation. In the book and on the accompanying CD-ROM, algorithms specialist Kenneth Stephens guides readers toward faster and more useable programs using Delphi algorithms.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (July 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471254002
• ISBN-13: 978-0471254003
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,017,018 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice try but sloppily tech edited, January 15, 1999

By A Customer

I really wanted to like this book mainly because there has been nothing like it for Delphi. The algorithms hare handled competently enough and the breadth is all one could ask for in an introductory book. The code however is pretty bad. It shows that Mr Stephens converted it from Visual Basic and that he doesn't have enough Delphi knowledge (eg using / instead of div, integers are NOT 2 bytes). It isn't Ready-To-Run by any stretch of the imagination. There are some annoying lapses in the text as well (a nice chapter on hash tables but nothing about hash functions?). As far as I can tell no tech editing was done and it shows. Nice try.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A very deceiving book, September 7, 2001

By	P. Bruno (Montréal, QC Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having read excellent John Wiley books in the past, I had great expectations from Ready-to-Run Delphi 3.0 Algorithms. Unfortunately, this book is far from being a good book. First of all, the author, Rod Stephens, is not a Delphi programmer. He merely ported, or more precisely attempted to port, one of his previous Visual Basic books to Delphi. Several Delphi code listings contain code that is... Visual Basic code!

Furthermore, the title is totally inappropriate: none of the supplied code is "ready-to-run." In part because it contains too many errors, but more importantly because the sample code is too academic to be really useful in a real life application.

Do not waste your money on this title.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book for everyone who appreciates CS, February 4, 1999

By A Customer

This book has an excellent collection of classic and modern computer science algorithms. Unlike many other similar books, Rod Stephens (the author) goes deep into every topic. For example, under "searching" most books write about why do we need searching, describe exhaustive searching, and then finish with binary search, saying "look: we can search among 16 items with only 4 comparisons, - is that cool or what?!" On the other hand, here is what "Ready to Run Delphi 3.0 algorithms" has under "searching": exhaustive search, searching sorted lists, searching linked lists, binary search, interpolation search, string data, hunting and searching, binary hunt and search, interpolative hunt and search. The chapters are Fundamental Concepts, Lists, Stacks and Queues, Arrays, Recursion, Trees, Balanced Trees, Decision Trees, Sorting, Searching, Hashing, Network Algorithms, and OO Techniques. I gave 4 out of 5 rating because although there is a lot of stuff in there, some important algorithms are missing. Minimax discussion is not followed by alpha-beta pruning. Heuristics, probably the most interesting part of decision trees (at least to me) is barely touched and no sample code is given. To summarize, this book' material is what I went to university for.