Beginner's Guide to Code Algorithms


Book Description

Do you have creative ideas that you wish you could transform into code? Do you want to boost your problem solving and logic skills? Do you want to enhance your career by adopting an algorithmic mindset? In our increasingly digital world, coding is an essential skill. Communicating an algorithm to a machine to perform a set of tasks is vital. Beginner’s Guide to Code Algorithms: Experiments to Enhance Productivity and Solve Problems written by Deepankar Maitra teaches you how to think like a programmer. The author unravels the secret behind writing code – building a good algorithm. Algorithmic thinking leads to asking the right question and enables a shift from issue resolution to value creation. Having this mindset will make you more marketable to employers. This book takes you on a problem-solving journey to expand your mind and increase your willingness to experiment with code. You will: Learn the art of building an algorithm through hands-on exercises Understand how to develop code for inspiring productivity concepts Build a mentality of developing algorithms to solve problems Develop, test, review, and improve code through guided experimentation This book is designed to develop a culture of logical thinking through intellectual stimulation. It will benefit students and teachers of programming, business professionals, as well as experienced users of Microsoft Excel who wish to become proficient with macros.




Real-World Algorithms


Book Description

An introduction to algorithms for readers with no background in advanced mathematics or computer science, emphasizing examples and real-world problems. Algorithms are what we do in order not to have to do something. Algorithms consist of instructions to carry out tasks—usually dull, repetitive ones. Starting from simple building blocks, computer algorithms enable machines to recognize and produce speech, translate texts, categorize and summarize documents, describe images, and predict the weather. A task that would take hours can be completed in virtually no time by using a few lines of code in a modern scripting program. This book offers an introduction to algorithms through the real-world problems they solve. The algorithms are presented in pseudocode and can readily be implemented in a computer language. The book presents algorithms simply and accessibly, without overwhelming readers or insulting their intelligence. Readers should be comfortable with mathematical fundamentals and have a basic understanding of how computers work; all other necessary concepts are explained in the text. After presenting background in pseudocode conventions, basic terminology, and data structures, chapters cover compression, cryptography, graphs, searching and sorting, hashing, classification, strings, and chance. Each chapter describes real problems and then presents algorithms to solve them. Examples illustrate the wide range of applications, including shortest paths as a solution to paragraph line breaks, strongest paths in elections systems, hashes for song recognition, voting power Monte Carlo methods, and entropy for machine learning. Real-World Algorithms can be used by students in disciplines from economics to applied sciences. Computer science majors can read it before using a more technical text.




Introduction to Algorithms, third edition


Book Description

The latest edition of the essential text and professional reference, with substantial new material on such topics as vEB trees, multithreaded algorithms, dynamic programming, and edge-based flow. Some books on algorithms are rigorous but incomplete; others cover masses of material but lack rigor. Introduction to Algorithms uniquely combines rigor and comprehensiveness. The book covers a broad range of algorithms in depth, yet makes their design and analysis accessible to all levels of readers. Each chapter is relatively self-contained and can be used as a unit of study. The algorithms are described in English and in a pseudocode designed to be readable by anyone who has done a little programming. The explanations have been kept elementary without sacrificing depth of coverage or mathematical rigor. The first edition became a widely used text in universities worldwide as well as the standard reference for professionals. The second edition featured new chapters on the role of algorithms, probabilistic analysis and randomized algorithms, and linear programming. The third edition has been revised and updated throughout. It includes two completely new chapters, on van Emde Boas trees and multithreaded algorithms, substantial additions to the chapter on recurrence (now called “Divide-and-Conquer”), and an appendix on matrices. It features improved treatment of dynamic programming and greedy algorithms and a new notion of edge-based flow in the material on flow networks. Many exercises and problems have been added for this edition. The international paperback edition is no longer available; the hardcover is available worldwide.




Algorithmic Puzzles


Book Description

Algorithmic puzzles are puzzles involving well-defined procedures for solving problems. This book will provide an enjoyable and accessible introduction to algorithmic puzzles that will develop the reader's algorithmic thinking. The first part of this book is a tutorial on algorithm design strategies and analysis techniques. Algorithm design strategies — exhaustive search, backtracking, divide-and-conquer and a few others — are general approaches to designing step-by-step instructions for solving problems. Analysis techniques are methods for investigating such procedures to answer questions about the ultimate result of the procedure or how many steps are executed before the procedure stops. The discussion is an elementary level, with puzzle examples, and requires neither programming nor mathematics beyond a secondary school level. Thus, the tutorial provides a gentle and entertaining introduction to main ideas in high-level algorithmic problem solving. The second and main part of the book contains 150 puzzles, from centuries-old classics to newcomers often asked during job interviews at computing, engineering, and financial companies. The puzzles are divided into three groups by their difficulty levels. The first fifty puzzles in the Easier Puzzles section require only middle school mathematics. The sixty puzzle of average difficulty and forty harder puzzles require just high school mathematics plus a few topics such as binary numbers and simple recurrences, which are reviewed in the tutorial. All the puzzles are provided with hints, detailed solutions, and brief comments. The comments deal with the puzzle origins and design or analysis techniques used in the solution. The book should be of interest to puzzle lovers, students and teachers of algorithm courses, and persons expecting to be given puzzles during job interviews.




A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms, Second Edition


Book Description

Algorithms and data structures are much more than abstract concepts. Mastering them enables you to write code that runs faster and more efficiently, which is particularly important for today’s web and mobile apps. Take a practical approach to data structures and algorithms, with techniques and real-world scenarios that you can use in your daily production code, with examples in JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. This new and revised second edition features new chapters on recursion, dynamic programming, and using Big O in your daily work. Use Big O notation to measure and articulate the efficiency of your code, and modify your algorithm to make it faster. Find out how your choice of arrays, linked lists, and hash tables can dramatically affect the code you write. Use recursion to solve tricky problems and create algorithms that run exponentially faster than the alternatives. Dig into advanced data structures such as binary trees and graphs to help scale specialized applications such as social networks and mapping software. You’ll even encounter a single keyword that can give your code a turbo boost. Practice your new skills with exercises in every chapter, along with detailed solutions. Use these techniques today to make your code faster and more scalable.




Guide to Competitive Programming


Book Description

This invaluable textbook presents a comprehensive introduction to modern competitive programming. The text highlights how competitive programming has proven to be an excellent way to learn algorithms, by encouraging the design of algorithms that actually work, stimulating the improvement of programming and debugging skills, and reinforcing the type of thinking required to solve problems in a competitive setting. The book contains many “folklore” algorithm design tricks that are known by experienced competitive programmers, yet which have previously only been formally discussed in online forums and blog posts. Topics and features: reviews the features of the C++ programming language, and describes how to create efficient algorithms that can quickly process large data sets; discusses sorting algorithms and binary search, and examines a selection of data structures of the C++ standard library; introduces the algorithm design technique of dynamic programming, and investigates elementary graph algorithms; covers such advanced algorithm design topics as bit-parallelism and amortized analysis, and presents a focus on efficiently processing array range queries; surveys specialized algorithms for trees, and discusses the mathematical topics that are relevant in competitive programming; examines advanced graph techniques, geometric algorithms, and string techniques; describes a selection of more advanced topics, including square root algorithms and dynamic programming optimization. This easy-to-follow guide is an ideal reference for all students wishing to learn algorithms, and practice for programming contests. Knowledge of the basics of programming is assumed, but previous background in algorithm design or programming contests is not necessary. Due to the broad range of topics covered at various levels of difficulty, this book is suitable for both beginners and more experienced readers.




JavaScript Absolute Beginner's Guide


Book Description

Who knew how simple using JavaScript could be? Make the most of JavaScript—even if you've never programmed anything before. JavaScript Absolute Beginner's Guide is the fastest way to learn JavaScript and use it together with CSS3 and HTML5 to create powerful web and mobile experiences. Learn how to do what you want, the way you want, one incredibly easy step at a time. JavaScript has never been this simple! Here's a small sample of what you'll learn: • Organize your code with variables • Understand how functions make your code reusable • Use the popular if/else statement to help make a decision in code • Learn about switch statements and when to use them • Work with for, while, and do...while loops • Learn how to use global and local scope • Understand what closures are • Learn about the various places your code can live • Understand how to write comments and use good commenting practices • Learn about the basic types of objects you'll run into in JavaScript • Find out that pizza has an educational value beyond just being deliciously awesome • Learn how to perform common string operations • Use arrays to handle lists of data • Learn to create custom objects • Get up to speed on some of the big ES6 changes




Beginning Algorithms


Book Description

Beginning Algorithms A good understanding of algorithms, and the knowledge of when to apply them, is crucial to producing software that not only works correctly, but also performs efficiently. This is the only book to impart all this essential information-from the basics of algorithms, data structures, and performance characteristics to the specific algorithms used in development and programming tasks. Packed with detailed explanations and instructive examples, the book begins by offering you some fundamental data structures and then goes on to explain various sorting algorithms. You'll then learn efficient practices for storing and searching by way of hashing, trees, sets, and maps. The authors also share tips on optimization techniques and ways to avoid common performance pitfalls. In the end, you'll be prepared to build the algorithms and data structures most commonly encountered in day-to-day software development. What you will learn from this book The basics of algorithms, such as iteration and recursion Elementary data structures such as lists, stacks, and queues Basic and advanced sorting algorithms including insertion sort, quicksort, and shell sort Advanced data structures such as binary trees, ternary trees, and heaps Algorithms for string searching, string matching, hashing, and computational geometry How to use test-driven development techniques to ensure your code works as intended How to dramatically improve the performance of your code with hands-on techniques for profiling and optimization Who this book is for This book is for anyone who develops applications, or is just beginning to do so, and is looking to understand algorithms and data structures. An understanding of computer programming is beneficial. Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.




Grokking Algorithms


Book Description

"This book does the impossible: it makes math fun and easy!" - Sander Rossel, COAS Software Systems Grokking Algorithms is a fully illustrated, friendly guide that teaches you how to apply common algorithms to the practical problems you face every day as a programmer. You'll start with sorting and searching and, as you build up your skills in thinking algorithmically, you'll tackle more complex concerns such as data compression and artificial intelligence. Each carefully presented example includes helpful diagrams and fully annotated code samples in Python. Learning about algorithms doesn't have to be boring! Get a sneak peek at the fun, illustrated, and friendly examples you'll find in Grokking Algorithms on Manning Publications' YouTube channel. Continue your journey into the world of algorithms with Algorithms in Motion, a practical, hands-on video course available exclusively at Manning.com (www.manning.com/livevideo/algorithms-?in-motion). Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology An algorithm is nothing more than a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem. The algorithms you'll use most often as a programmer have already been discovered, tested, and proven. If you want to understand them but refuse to slog through dense multipage proofs, this is the book for you. This fully illustrated and engaging guide makes it easy to learn how to use the most important algorithms effectively in your own programs. About the Book Grokking Algorithms is a friendly take on this core computer science topic. In it, you'll learn how to apply common algorithms to the practical programming problems you face every day. You'll start with tasks like sorting and searching. As you build up your skills, you'll tackle more complex problems like data compression and artificial intelligence. Each carefully presented example includes helpful diagrams and fully annotated code samples in Python. By the end of this book, you will have mastered widely applicable algorithms as well as how and when to use them. What's Inside Covers search, sort, and graph algorithms Over 400 pictures with detailed walkthroughs Performance trade-offs between algorithms Python-based code samples About the Reader This easy-to-read, picture-heavy introduction is suitable for self-taught programmers, engineers, or anyone who wants to brush up on algorithms. About the Author Aditya Bhargava is a Software Engineer with a dual background in Computer Science and Fine Arts. He blogs on programming at adit.io. Table of Contents Introduction to algorithms Selection sort Recursion Quicksort Hash tables Breadth-first search Dijkstra's algorithm Greedy algorithms Dynamic programming K-nearest neighbors




Absolute Beginner's Guide to Algorithms


Book Description

A hands-on, easy-to-comprehend guide that is perfect for anyone who needs to understand algorithms. With the explosive growth in the amount of data and the diversity of computing applications, efficient algorithms are needed now more than ever. Programming languages come and go, but the core of programming--algorithms and data structures--remains the same. Absolute Beginner's Guide to Algorithms is the fastest way to learn algorithms and data structures. Using helpful diagrams and fully annotated code samples in Javascript, you will start with the basics and gradually go deeper and broader into all the techniques you need to organize your data. Start fast with data structures basics: arrays, stacks, queues, trees, heaps, and more Walk through popular search, sort, and graph algorithms Understand Big-O notation and why some algorithms are fast and why others are slow Balance theory with practice by playing with the fully functional JavaScript implementations of all covered data structures and algorithms Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.