Practical Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms, Java Edition

Book Description

The author, Cliff Shaffer provides a superior learning tool for those who desire more rigorous data structures and an algorithm analysis book utilizing Java. While the author covers most of the standard data structures, he concentrates on teaching the principles required to select or design a data structure that will best solve a problem. The emphasis is on data structures, and algorithm analysis, not teaching Java. Java is utilized strictly as a tool to illustrate data structures concepts and only the minimal, useful subset of Java is included.

Customer Reviews:

Depressing.......2007-07-14

This book gave me no hope for Analysis of Algorithm and Data Structures class, i have yet to find another book to assist me in this area. the book was so-what easy to read, but the explanation of the concepts is really horrible, dont waste ur money

The gears on the cover dont even work!.......2006-03-21

I have Dr Shaffer as my professor and he is just as boring in real life as his book. He has told us that some of the code segements are broken to make his students figure them out. DONT buy this book... It's not worth the money.

Anonymous.......2006-02-15

I would not reccomend this book for learning about data structures. With incomplete code and scampy sections on core area material, it seems to serve more as a workbook than anything else. In addition to this I find it to be poorly worded which has often caused me to overlook important details or have to read a sentence multiple times to understand what the author is saying. What saves this from being a one star product is the fact that if you do know the material, it can help you review structures but even then, the ackward wording still can slow down a quick read.

Very unhelpful book.......2005-11-29

Dr. Shaffer attempts to address the difficult topic of data structures and fails. Consistently he glosses over important points, or does not describe the implementation of data structures (the buffer pool, for example, is especially poor) adequately and leaves the hapless student confused and frustrated. For a computer scientist who already understands the subject this book may contain a few good points. Indeed, I was able to follow the sections where I had previous training, but when I studied material new to me, I was out of luck.

If you are unlucky enough to have a university that uses this text, consider trying to find a better book to get yourself an adequate understanding of this important subject, because Dr. Shaffer's text won't do that for you.

I normally buy books because they contain information..........2004-11-05

...but this was a mandatory book for my university's two-course Data Structures & Algorithms sequence that all computer scientists and computer engineers must take.

Coming in with a good deal of programming experience, I find that this book is not as clear or as complete as it could be. The sample code snippets throughout tend to be awkwardly implmented with obscure variable names and obtuse datatyping, and more often than not represent 'a' way of accomplishing a task rather than 'the best' way. Finding better ways of doing things is normally left for exercises at the end of the chapter; the answers are not included with the book.

Also, many significant details or comments are skimmed over or are ommitted from the text. Many important (and complex) observations are left as exercises - but again, the answers are not included, so there is no way of validating your answers.

Further, this book is targeted at the C++ language. It is obscene to discuss data structures and algorithms without mentioning the free, prepackaged, and optimized code of the C++ Standard Template Library. Indeed, this book and the code it includes would have benefitted from the ingenious architecture and software engineering behind the STL.

I really hope the campus bookstore will buy this one back when I'm done with it.

Introduction to Algorithms: A Creative Approach

Average customer rating:

A great supplement and right sized for travel too!
thought that this book was wonderful, but...
Great on algorithm design, not that good on analysis
Not good for beginners
fantastic

Introduction to Algorithms: A Creative Approach
Udi Manber
Manufacturer: Addison Wesley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

A great supplement and right sized for travel too!.......2007-01-25

I really like this book as a supplement to the algorithm bible (Introduction to Algorithms, Thomas Cormen et al). This book is tiny and portable yet every major algorithm is covered. Basics, like mathematical induction are reviewed and illustrated with relevant examples.

One of the ways that Udi Manber packs so much information into such a small package is by keeping verbosity to a minimum. In his proofs, only the most complicated steps are justified or explained. As a result the reader may find herself spending time justifying steps in the proofs that are unrelated to the problem at hand. I did not mind doing this; others may. Regardless, the persistent reader will find that within the pages of this book lies all of the information required to understand all of the algorithms covered (and of course, it never hurts to keep a notebook, pencil and several erasers handy).

I would not recommend this book as a reference; rather, it provides a refreshingly new perspective on algorithms that may seem old and dusty. I've spent more time and energy per page on this book than any other CS book I've had but the ROI has been well worth the effort.

thought that this book was wonderful, but..........2006-04-10

...I changed my mind after trying to use this book alone to implement FFT. Its description is quite clear and simple, much simpler than the Rivest et al book or wikipedia. Unfortunately, though clear, it is not complete and it is not possible to actually implement FFT using this book alone. I ended up having to use the Rivest et al book (which I had on CD via DDJ) along with this book to implement it. (Wikipedia was truly hopeless for trying to understand the FFT algorithm.) I was able to implement FFT in a single page of Python code because of Manber's description.

For giving very simple explanations of a number of algorithms, this book is fantastic. Just don't rely on it for the technical details.

Great on algorithm design, not that good on analysis.......2005-04-25

I like this book a lot. I think it's a good reference and introductory text, maybe as a supplement. It's much easier to read than Cormen's, but not half as deep.

Pros:
- Easy to read. You can understand an algorithm much faster if you go to this book first.
- Good examples and pictures.
- Explain the ideas that lead to efficient algorithmic designs.

Cons:
- Doesn't go into enough details about the proofs of correctness and complexity.
- The approach is different than most books and may take some time to get used to.

Not good for beginners.......2004-07-08

The book is complete and correct, no argument there. However, I had a lot of trouble learning from it. I had to re-read the same paragraph a number of times in order to derive comprehensive meaning from the author's scant explanations. The author usually walks through a sample problem, but then provides little or no guidance for solving an arbitrary problem of the same type. Likewise, although the book centers on induction, it was extremely difficult to follow with no prior induction education.

The author often presents the answer to some given problem with words like "obviously" or "clearly" without making things at all clear or obvious to the student. I kept wishing that the author wouldn't be so tight-lipped and would spend some extra time clarifying the issues at hand.

fantastic.......2003-10-25

It's a very perfect book to become familiar with main
methods of producing effective algorithms.

Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms With C++ (Prentice Hall Object-Oriented Series)

Average customer rating:

An excellent resource to learn Data Structures using C++

Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms With C++ (Prentice Hall Object-Oriented Series)
Glenn Rowe
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0135791782

Book Description

This is a complete introduction to the critical topic of data structures, written from the object-oriented perspective most students and practitioners are adopting.The book introduces data structures using C++, a language whose classes and object-oriented constructs are specifically designed to efficiently implement data structures. The opening chapters introduce the ideas behind object-oriented programming and C++; once these ideas are explained, the book introduces data structures and algorithms from an O-O point of view. All standard data structures are described, including stacks, queues, sets, linked lists, trees and graphs. Searching and sorting algorithms are also studied.This book is for students and others working with data structures, especially object-oriented developers interested in ways data structures can enhance their effectiveness.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent resource to learn Data Structures using C++.......1999-07-29

This book is a dream come true for people who want to improve their c++ skills and at the same time, learn data structures.

Introduction to Clustering Large and High-Dimensional Data

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Introduction to Clustering Large and High-Dimensional Data
Jacob Kogan
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521617936

Book Description

There is a growing need for a more automated system of partitioning data sets into groups, or clusters. For example, digital libraries and the World Wide Web continue to grow exponentially, the ability to find useful information increasingly depends on the indexing infrastructure or search engine. Clustering techniques can be used to discover natural groups in data sets and to identify abstract structures that might reside there, without having any background knowledge of the characteristics of the data. Clustering has been used in a variety of areas, including computer vision, VLSI design, data mining, bio-informatics (gene expression analysis), and information retrieval, to name just a few. This book focuses on a few of the most important clustering algorithms, providing a detailed account of these major models in an information retrieval context. The beginning chapters introduce the classic algorithms in detail, while the later chapters describe clustering through divergences and show recent research for more advanced audiences.

Java Collections: An Introduction to Abstract Data Types, Data Structures and Algorithms

Average customer rating:

Does not reinvent the wheel
Very misleading title
Interesting approach to ADTs
I only tolerate tutorial books that are clear
Very good book for CS1 and CS2.....

Java Collections: An Introduction to Abstract Data Types, Data Structures and Algorithms
David A. Watt , Deryck F. Brown , and Dave Watt
Manufacturer: Wiley
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Java Collections

ASIN: 047189978X

Book Description

A unique, practical approach to working with collection classes in Java 2
Software developers new to Java will find the practical, software-engineering based approach taken by this book extremely refreshing. With an emphasis more on software design and less on theory, Java Collections explores in detail Java 2 collection classes, helping programmers choose the best collection classes for each application they work on. Watt and Brown explore abstract data types (ADTs) that turn up again and again in software design, using them to provide context for the data structures required for their implementation and the algorithms associated with the data structures. Numerous worked examples, several large case studies, and end-of-chapter exercises are also provided.

Customer Reviews:

Does not reinvent the wheel.......2002-11-26

I've been teaching data structures and algorithms for over 25 years,
and the fundamentals--which every computer science student should
know--haven't changed very much. However, it doesn't follow that
everyone needs to write their own linked lists or hash tables from
scratch, when Java already supplies so much of that. I have looked for
a textbook that balances explanation of the basics with exploration of
the Java Collections Interface, and this is by far the best book to date.
(The similarly-named book by Zukowski has too many errors of fact
in it for my taste.)

Another reviewer said that this book does not cover the Java Collections
API. This is incorrect. The authors develop the ideas behind each data
structure as a suitably abstract data type, and then go on with "...and
here's how the Java Collections API does it." I think the previous
reviewer simply didn't read far enough to get to those parts.

For a tutorial on just the Java Collections API, Sun's online "Trail" is
the best single source, and has the advantage that it is not intermixed
with implementation details. If that were enough, no data structures
textbook would be necessary. However, in real problems, any
predefined generic data structure is likely to be inadequate and will
need to be extended; this is why a good programmer needs to know
the Collections API (so as to avoid reinventing the wheel), but in
addition a good computer scientist needs to know how these data

structures are implemented, so that he/she can go beyond them when
necessary.

The book is somewhat weak on algorithms and would not serve as a
reference on this topic; however, there is plenty of meat here for a first
course on data structures and algorithms.

Very misleading title.......2001-12-13

If you step into the Java universe bubble, then "Java Collections" means the standard core API with the same name. This book does not cover the standard classes and interfaces that form the Java Collections API, and this is a real shame. I don't like books that feature highly misleading titles, because it hints at a lack of accuracy of the book's content.

Interesting approach to ADTs.......2001-11-20

I've been reading through a copy of this book, and comparing it to another notable book on the same subject, mainly "Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in Java" (DSAAJ) by Mark Allen Weiss. Something very noticeable is that Java Collections is a much simpler book to tackle, though I feel that this detracts slightly from its use as a textbook. As a PhD student in Computer Science, I prefer the mathematical detail I found in DSAAJ than the lesser amount of math that Watt and Brown provide in Java Collections. Yet, at the same time, the case studies in Java Collections are a tremendous help in understanding what a given ADT is useful for, which DSAAJ doesn't go into at all. And the detail on what a specific ADT is supposed to do is much better detailed in Java Collections than in DSAAJ. As a TA, I taught a course in Data Structures and Algorithms for Computer Engineering students. The textbook we used for that was Weiss' DSAA book directed towards C++ instead of Java, but for those who know both versions of the book, the two are very similar. If instead of C++ the course was oriented towards Java, I would have chosen this book as a textbook for that course; these students weren't needing the math focus, and they (and I) would have preferred the practical programming knowledge in here.

For the programmer out of college, or the college student that wants an alternate view on ADTs than what DSAAJ provides, this is an excellent book.

Member of the Columbia Java User Group (www.colajug.org)

I only tolerate tutorial books that are clear.......2001-09-09

When you're a beginner, and obviously one usually is when reading this type of material, you can't afford to waste time and energy reading 3 or 4 books to compensate for their flaws. You want one solid one that can quickly get you up to speed without tripping you up. I found the writing style to be awkward and perhaps it is the more formal British writing style. The material seems to be comprehensive but unfortunately the explanations are too brief. I found that I understood some stuff only because I have read other OOP and algorithm texts, and for a newbie without that background this book would be rather confusing. I might give it 3 stars but someone gave it 5 so I want to even it out immediately.

Very good book for CS1 and CS2............2001-08-02

This book is one of the best books out there for Java Algorithms and Data-Structures. It helped me a lot through CS180 (Purdue University). Very easy to understand definitions and code give you the essence of the topic.

Book Description

Data structures and algorithms are presented at the college level in a highly accessible format that presents material with one-page displays in a way that will appeal to both teachers and students. The thirteen chapters cover: Models of Computation, Lists, Induction and Recursion, Trees, Algorithm Design, Hashing, Heaps, Balanced Trees, Sets Over a Small Universe, Graphs, Strings, Discrete Fourier Transform, Parallel Computation.

Key features:

* Complicated concepts are expressed clearly in a single page with minimal notation and without the "clutter" of the syntax of a particular programming language; algorithms are presented with self-explanatory "pseudo-code."

* Chapters 1-4 focus on elementary concepts, the exposition unfolding at a slower pace. Sample exercises with solutions are provided. Sections that may be skipped for an introductory course are starred. Requires only some basic mathematics background and some computer programming experience.

* Chapters 5-13 progress at a faster pace. The material is suitable for undergraduates or first-year graduates who need only review Chapters 1-4.

* Chapters 1-4. This book may be used for a one-semester introductory course (based on Chapters 1-4 and portions of the chapters on algorithm design, hashing, and graph algorithms) and for a one-semester advanced course that starts at Chapter 5. A yearlong course may be based on the entire book.

* Sorting, often perceived as rather technical, is not treated as a separate chapter, but is used in many examples (including bubble sort, merge sort, tree sort, heap sort, quick sort, and several parallel algorithms). Also, lower bounds on sorting by comparisons are included with the presentation of heaps in the context of lower bounds for comparison-based structures.

* Chapter 13 on parallel models of computation is something of a mini-book itself, and a good way to end a course. Although it is not clear what parallel architectures will prevail in the future, the idea is to further teach fundamental concepts in the design of algorithms by exploring classic models of parallel computation, including the PRAM, generic PRAM simulation, HC/CCC/Butterfly, the mesh, and parallel hardware area-time tradeoffs (with many examples).

Apart from classroom use, this book serves as a good reference on the subject of data structures and algorithms. Its page-at-a-time format makes it easy to review material that the reader has studied in the past.

Customer Reviews:

For Serious Developers.......2003-11-29

If you have cut your teeth on Donald Knuth's classic three volumes, "The Art of Computer Programming", and you want more detail, at a similar level of complexity, then consider Storer's book.

It delves into lists, recursion, trees, graphs, heaps and sets. Like Knuth, Storer thoughtfully supplies an extensive list of questions at the end of each chapter that will greatly deepen your appreciation of the field if you tackle them. Ok, he doesn't give answers, but think of that as greater incentive on your part to solve them. There are almost 400 questions in the book.

The teaching style is similar to Knuth, in that it has all the rigour needed by an algorithm designer like yourself, without drowning you in epsilon-delta ultra rigour like a pure maths text.

Note that the only code fragments are in pseudocode. This should not be a problem for you. I am assuming you are experienced enough that what you need is understanding of an algorithm, and that manually converting it to code is straightforward and a purely secondary issue.

Customer Reviews:

BEST C++ BOOK....EVER!!.......2007-09-26

This Is By Far, The Best C++ Book Ever Written! You Will Never Again Need To Buy Any Other Books On C++!!! I've Had This Book For Almost 8 Years And It Is A God Send!!! From Beginners To Experts, This Is The Ultimate Guide To C++!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great book for introducing Data Structures.......2004-09-19

I bought this book as additional reference for my Data Structures course.

Pros:

The book covers MANY topics.
Basic data structures such as stacks, queues, lists and trees (avl, binary, nary) are well developed.
ADTs have nice explanations that give a basic insight on designing and implementing them.
Great as an introduction to Data Structures with some depth.

Cons:

Very few code. Most examples don't include any code, which is a crucial part in understanding concepts at times.
Graphs seem to be unimportant to Nyhoff, since his coverage of the subject is scarce (or none?).
The complexities chapter and ADT analysis seemed too shallow. The examples are extremely simple and complexity analysis for recursive or more complex algorithms is not good.

Bottom line: as the title implies, an excellent book for introducing data structures. Lots of subjects are covered. If you need something more advanced, buy something else. Drozdek's Data Structures and Algorithms in C++ is worth checking out.

so far so good.......2003-06-30

Currently I am on chapter 9.

To be honest, this is my own first datastructure c++ book; I have read many books regarding the introduction of data structures....and they had failed to teach me.
I found this book really easy to read and understand, the important thing to remember before reading any c++ data structure book is to be able to convert the pseudocode and algorithm to c++ syntax.

The author has made life easier by writing the algorithms for you....and rest we do the job. + the usage of STL libraries...to good to use them when ur doing tedious and manipulating code i.e stack, queue, vectors, list, string..etc..

I also liked the fact he has given a section in templates, which is very important nowadays...most of the programs are templated and we should kn ow how to make them.

Every book has problems: so far I have found that his code lacks the declaration of some libraries, while he is using them in the code. Fix: just figure out what library is missing and tadaaaa ur code compiles.

Have fun reading.

Best Intro to ANSI C++ and Datastructures with STL so far.......2002-01-23

I am teaching the second programming / first data structure course in the department of electrical and computer engineering.

This book is very good for students who already know how to program in C or C++. My students learn C part of C++ in the first programming course. This book covers object oriented programming part of C++. Then it follows into data structures. It starts with its own definitions of stack and queue and then migrates to the standard template library (STL). Everything is kept on the undergraduate student level. All other STL books I know assume that you are already an expert in programming or at lest for students after two programming courses, and are too difficult for average non-CS students.

My only complain is that pointers are introduced very late in the text. Some students complain that there is not enough examples, while others complain that the book is overexplanatory. My solution to the first problem is providing a set of complete compilable examples on the course Web site. I refer the latter group of students to the programming encyclopedia books for more details.

Ordinarily I would rate this text as four star only. Since it is the only introductory text that both introduces OOP and covers STL, it gets five stars from me.

good lessons easy to follow.......2001-05-27

I am an independent software engineer; I got this book to help me in my development of software it is the best book I have on this subject. If I have a problem, this book gives me the information I need to solve the problem. Granted this is not a book for the person who wants Her/His hand held and this book does not spoon-feed you like the HOW TO books but that person who truly wants to learn and is willing to put in a little effort to learn, not much but a little C++ An Introduction To Data Structures is the book for you.

If you really want to learn Data Structures and how to correctly use them grab this book and you will learn more then you thought you would.

Book Description

This book, intended for a 1- or 2-semester introductory computer science course, teaches the principles of algorithm development and computer science. Problem solving and solution development are emphasized.

Customer Reviews:

Excelent introduction to computer programming.......2000-03-26

This is the book for anyone interested in learning the principles of computer programming. The authors use a clear language that even people that never programmed a single line can understand. The basic algorithms are explained in detail and the algorithmic language defined in the book is easily translated to any computer language.

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