Algorithms in C, Part 5: Graph Algorithms

Just wanted to let everyone know that the reviews here (till 6th March 2002 at any rate) are not of the book 'Algorithms in C++ part 5 graph algorithms' by Robert Sedgewick, but of the earlier edition of his book on algorithms. To get an idea of the book it's supposed to be about, please refer to the review(s) on 'Algorithms in C part 5 graph algorithms', which i expect to identical but for the code. It'd be surprising indeed if the book isn't substantially better than the reviews for the earlier book indicate .......... The first volume, ie parts 1-4 are excellent - please refer to the reviews on that, they're for the current edition :-)

This is easily one of the leading texts on data structures and algorithms - a third edition has already been released (however, that is practically a new book ,so read on :-)...). Sedgewick is a student of the great Donald Knuth, and a leading researcher and authority in the field of Algorithmics.'Pound for pound', this might be as good as Cormen et al's classic, which is the undisputed leader among introductory books on algorithms. However, this has two advantages over that book : (1)Size : Weighing in at a lean 656 pages, this is almost 40% smaller than Cormen's classic, while providing approximately the same breadth. However, Cormen has the edge in depth, especially rigorous analysis of algorithms' performance. (2)'Real' code : This book has code snippets in C++, as opposed to Cormen which has it in pseudocode.However, the code is far from 'ready to run' - it's just enough to give you an idea how to go about building your own code.Another plus point is short and crisp chapters which can be easily 'digested' - average chapter size is only about 14 pages. This book really covers a lot of topics - sorting, searching, parsing, computational geometry, graphs, fast fourier transforms, mathematical algorithms and much,much more. It is written in a very readable style, and the illustrations are a big help, perhaps the best in a book of this kind. It would've benefitted from a few more exercises, brief solutions, and a little more rigour in performance analysis. The code is excellent at one level, but it's actually excellent C code masquerading as C++ code, i believe. If you have no problem with C, you should perhaps go for the C version of this book - the C code is reminiscent of Kernighan & Ritchie. Beautiful, elegant C code !! If it's good C++ code that you're after, perhaps Mark Allen Weiss's book or Heileman's book might be a better choice. Also, the new (3rd) edition of this book has much better C++ code. If you want more depth and rigour, and are willing to work a little harder, then Cormen's the way to go. However, if you want a bit of everything in one compact book, then this is the best choice. (Sedgewick's come up with a recent revision, but it's spread over several volumes - not sure whether that's a better choice, however the C++ code seems much better in that, with C++ consultancy by Chris Van Wyk, another student of the great Don Knuth)

The code isn't very easy to read (the only downfall), but it is efficient, and that's what I want.. Take the book Introduction to Algorithms, take out the math, squish it and you have Alg in C++. It's really C, not C++, code but `C++' isn't its real purpose, `Algorithms' is. If you want to learn a plethora of computer algorithms, this book will give it to you. Bottom line.

The source codes was written in a precise condense way and are intelligible. The content was well arranged.

Comes in handy for tests at school and great resource for programming issues concerning sorts and searches!