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Shriram Krishnamurthi
There's a highly undersung, underrated book that I regard as one of the very best computer science texts, not just algorithms texts: Udi Manber's Introduction to Algorithms. It is not a reference book: it's a pedagogic book that helps you understand where algorithms come from and how to design your own when you need them.
It is a rare book that contains my favorite pedagogic technique, which is showing mistakes and false paths, not just correct, final answers. Manber is a master of both algorithmic theory and implementation (he has built several widely-used software systems) so his take on algorithm design is especially worthy of respect. It has certainly inspired my own take on teaching algorithms, and one that I'd like to adopt more than I have so far.
The book even contains working code; its only shortcoming is that the code is in Pascal (unsurprising, given its age). This is a problem not because Pascal is an "old" language so much as a language that is just not very good for expressing dynamic data structures, making everything far more verbose and confusing than needed, especially since he wants to show working code.
The book is out of print and probably hard to get. But if you ever find an affordable copy, grab it.
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There's a highly undersung, underrated book that I regard as one of the very best computer science texts, not just algorithms texts: Udi Manber's Introduction to Algorithms. It is not a reference book: it's a pedagogic book that helps you understand where algorithms come from and how to design your own when you need them.
It is a rare book that contains my favorite pedagogic technique, which is showing mistakes and false paths, not just correct, final answers. Manber is a master of both algorithmic theory and implementation (he has built several widely-used software systems) so his take on algorithm design is especially worthy of respect. It has certainly inspired my own take on teaching algorithms, and one that I'd like to adopt more than I have so far.
The book even contains working code; its only shortcoming is that the code is in Pascal (unsurprising, given its age). This is a problem not because Pascal is an "old" language so much as a language that is just not very good for expressing dynamic data structures, making everything far more verbose and confusing than needed, especially since he wants to show working code.
The book is out of print and probably hard to get. But if you ever find an affordable copy, grab it.
See Questions On Quora
Continue reading...
