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Title: The Algorithm Design Manual by Steven S. Skiena, Steve Skiena ISBN: 0-387-94860-0 Publisher: Telos Pr Pub. Date: 14 November, 1997 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $69.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (22 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Interesting but sloppily written
Comment: This is a good attempt at an algorithm design manual, but from my perspective (as a professor of mathematics working in combinatorics and combinatorial optimization) the writing is simply not precise enough. I'm not saying the book is too "chatty" or "informal". A technical book can be either or both while imparting its content in a clear and unambiguous fashion. I compliment the author on the idea for this book, which I think fills a gap and is at about the right level. However, if a second edition is printed (and I hope it will be), the author should read every (technical) sentence of his text and ask the question "Am I saying exactly what I mean to say?". Unfortunately, despite knowing more often than not what the author _intends_ to say, often I have trouble convincing myself that this is what is actually said.
That having been said: this is a good reference and provides a good "meta-overview" of the basics of algorithms. The Catalog of Algorithmic Problems is a particularly useful tool for quickly locating problems that might be similar to one under consideration and determining (as of 5 years ago, anyway) the approximate state of the art.
I recommend this book, but not unreservedly.
Rating: 5
Summary: Covers an Important Middle Ground
Comment: This book fills a nice niche -- it is practical enough to be useful and accesible to professional programmers (rather than algorithms researchers or academics) but is build on solid theory as well.
Aside from this, the book has several features to recommend it:
(1) There are "war stories" scattered throughout the text. These are special sections that describe the author's experience working with algorithmic problems "in the field". These are particularly interesting because the present false starts and failures along the way to the final solution. This is a nice change from the standard model of simply presenting algorithms and proving them correct.
(2) Unlike others, such as the popular Cormen, Lieserson, Rivest and Stein text -- which is a bit advanced for beginning study -- this really is an introduction to algorithms. It is quite suitable for, say, undergradutes who have taken a couple of basic CS courses.
(3) Chapter 8 is a 250-page "Catalog of Algorithmic Problems". Here, you will find descriptions of hundreds of standard formulations for algorithmic problems along with the basic solution approaches, and -- this is what really sets it apart -- pointers to implementations of these algorithms. This is part of the overall emphasis of the book: that of understanding standard algorithms in order to avoid "reinventing the wheel".
Overall, I recommend this book for people with some programming experience that would like to take their work to the next level. Hardcore computer scientists (especially those with a more theoretical bent) may also benefit from this book, but should consider it a supplement to one of the more advanced texts, such as the above-mentioned CLRS.
Rating: 3
Summary: Amazing Book But Very Theoretical
Comment: I hate to give this book only 3 stars, since it is obviously so well done. But it is not a book for everyone. If you are at the advanced level, you will treasure this one.
But if you want to learn practical algorithms at a more basic level, I recommend:
Algorithms in C++, Parts 1-4: Fundamentals,
Data Structure, Sorting, Searching (3rd Edition)
by Robert Sedgewick
or
Data Structures & Algorithms in Java (Mitchell Waite Signature Series)
by Mitchell Waite, Robert Lafore
or
Data Abstraction and Problem Solving With
Java: Walls and Mirrors
by Frank M. Carrano, Janet L. Prichard
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Title: Programming Challenges by Steven S. Skiena, Miguel Revilla ISBN: 0387001638 Publisher: Springer Verlag Pub. Date: 28 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $32.95 |
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Title: Introduction to Algorithms, Second Edition by Thomas H. Cormen, Charles E. Leiserson, Ronald L. Rivest, Clifford Stein ISBN: 0262032937 Publisher: MIT Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $79.95 |
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Title: Algorithms on Strings, Trees, and Sequences: Computer Science and Computational Biology by Dan Gusfield ISBN: 0521585198 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 15 January, 1997 List Price(USD): $75.00 |
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Title: Combinatorial Optimization : Algorithms and Complexity by Christos H. Papadimitriou, Kenneth Steiglitz ISBN: 0486402584 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 07 July, 1998 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms by Alfred V. Aho, John E. Hopcroft, Jeffrey D. Ullman ISBN: 0201000296 Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub Co Pub. Date: 01 January, 1974 List Price(USD): $54.38 |
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