Introduction to Algorithms, Second Edition

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Summary: The definitive reference for data structures and algorithms
Review: While working as a software engineer, my supervisor, who also wrote programs for a living, had a book on his shelf, "Data Structures and Algorithms", written by Horowitz and Sahni. It was one of the most tattered-looking hardback books I had ever seen! (a true indicator of the worth of a book). Moreover, I view the Cormer, Leiserson, Rivest book as an updated version of this book, in that it has the same core content of data structures and algorithms, and presents the algorithms in psuedocode instead of a GPL like C++. I find this book, however, not only better written than its predecessor, but also containing a number of advanced chapters (e.g. computational geometry and parallel computation) that reflects the explosion of the study of algorithms over the past 20 years. If I had to choose one book on data structures and algorithms to have on my shelf it would be this one, as no other modern text compares with it in terms of its breadth and depth of the subject material. However, for those students or practitioners who prefer to learn about data structures and algorithms within the context of a progromming language, I recommend Mark Weiss's book on data structures and algorithms, both in Java and in C++. His book seems less developed and rigorous, but he gives good examples, explanations, and more practical insights.

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Summary: remember, this is a TEXTbook...
Review: and as such, it isn't a good place to look to if you're not taking a class concurrently. This is not an introduction to computer science or to what an algorithm is or basic computing as all of the bad reviews claim it to be deficient in. It was never intended to be those things. Yes it may be a bit hard to follow; Yes, it may be a bit more than you can handle; Yes, that is what analysis of algorithms is. If you don't already understand most of the stuff in the first two chapters before you start, you're not going to get much from this book. It is not by any means for beginners of any type and is instead intended to give an overview of how to analyze algoritms for computer science problems. As for the one reviewer who complained that this book focuses too much on the "useless" basics of computer science and not enough on modern applications of computer science like AI, of course it does...what the hell do you think INTRODUCTION is supposed to mean. You can't expect to dive headlong into more advanced and complicated stuff until you understand the basics.
And yes, the psuedo-code kinda [bad]. The book isn't perfect but it does what it's intended to and doesn't do what some people expect from the title. If you bought this and don't understand a word of it, keep it around and try something else first, or take classes on programming and data structures...then come back and it will make more sense.

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Summary: Pseudocode in it is bad brain-cell algorithmic caloric usage
Review: The problem with this book from a beginner's perspective is the horrible pseudocode. It is *ambiguous* in some parts. For instance, right at the start, in insertion sort, it divides an array of length[A]=n in two parts, one being A[1..j-1] (sorted) and the other (unsorted) being A[j + 1..n].OK. However, the for loop starts with for j:= 2 to length[A]. So, they're being pedantic: mixing mathematical rigorousness with ambiguous pseudocode. Slot-value is confounded with array indexes (position), too. Maybe the problem stems from the bias of the pseudocode towards Pascal and C-like languages, which must be the reason why people excuse the confusion, since they're prone to it anyhow, programming in primitive languages such as those two. For example, references to how pointers relate to its pseudocode would have no place in the book , had they really given more thought to the way they write that pseudocode. Write the damn thing in C, already (*not* Pascal - that's for kids)!
It does not make good algorithmic use of brain-cell caloric use, sometimes.
There's a (quite) extensive list of errors on the on-line page. Please check it before going mad.
So while it seems to be a very complete book, it doesn't get the message accross with even some simple algorithms. We are all suppose to love it because it is from M.I.T., but the fact of the matter is that you'll need books more student-oriented.
Buy it for reference, anyhow. It's worth the money.

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Summary: Valuable reference, but not an introduction.
Review: This book claims to be an "introduction" to the study of algorithms, but for comparision, it's used at my university as the textbook for a course for senior undergraduates and beginning graduate students. It's a decent reference book for answering questions like "What's the best algorithm for..." but not for basic questions like "What is an algorithm?"

If you're interested in algorithms but think you're not ready for this book, I'd recommend Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming" for readers that aren't afraid of math and
Sedgewick's "Algorithms in C++" for queasier types.

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Summary: Crystal clear and down-to-earth, a must-have classic
Review: Maybe the biggest difficulty to a student who is taking courses on algorithms is to do the mathematical proof - the homework assignments hog students' time, and it's very common to have no idea in front of proof questions in an exam. This great text book from MIT does its best to minimize the pain all along the road, well designed illustrations are widely applied on the proofs in this book, and the ideas behind the mathematic equations are crystal clearly explained in a very accessible way. It is the best text book I have read among a long list Of algorithms books suggested by my professor. Of course it is not to say that learning algorithms is dirt easy with this book, "Nothing worthwile is achieved without effort. You'll need to put in the work and have the ambition to succeed when the going gets tough." -as Ivor Horton said in a book.

Besides, it's not only a rigour academic text book but also problem and engineering oriented, unlike some other books on algorithms you might throw away after the schooling.

The only problem is: I cannot find solutions of the exercises in the book. Since the exercises are very well conceived and worth working out, there should be something to let the readers check if they are doing right.

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Summary: Introduction to Algorithms, Second Edition
Review: Coinciding to a course i'm taking at University of Riverside I find this book to be include rigous reading. The word "Introduction" in the title is a misconception to the explantions and the wording within this book. The reading takes time to comprehend, and it seems to me there's more context than content. The "psuedo-code" provided is not desriptive as it should be. I find myself spending more time trying to understand the psuedocode rather than the concept itself. A great deal of explanations are expressed in mathmatics, and i've finished gone beyond the calculus series that are offered here and i find it hard to grasp certain concepts and i find myself using the calculator more than writing actual code. Another large drawback is the fact that the excercises at the end of the chapter do not have solutions... it's as bad as having a physics problem that blindly deals with the subjects within the chapter thwarted from and offer no solution. It's rediculous. For the other people say "yaye i tihnk this book is great," i find it hard to believe. The context is thick and clutter, the explantions are obscure and confusing, the math needs much understanding itself, and the exercises have no solutions. Terrible!

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Summary: An excellent introduction to Algorithms
Review: I've used this book for three of my classes now, and I find its treatment of the subject matter to be comprehensive and easy to read. Good examples, usually very readable prose, and a lot of useful problem formulations. Definitely recommend this; it's the defining work in this area.

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Summary: My only problem with this book is...
Review: My only problem with this book is that all the pages are dogeared, most are heavily marked up, the binding is broken and the cover bent back. But that's just my copy, in use every day for 13 years now. Enough detail to implement algorithms; enough theory to understand them; enough breadth to compare them to other algorithms. (this review obviously refers to the first edition).

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Summary: Very usable algorithm reference...
Review: Some may say the title is a bit misleading. Sure, you'd want to be very interested in the subject to use this as your first introduction to algorithms, and the analysis and design of them. On the other hand, the book isn't especially advanced. It just covers a lot!

As a textbook, or for self-study, the book excels in clarity, coverage, and precision. It never lets go of the big picture, but still has every bit of detail you would want in an introductory text, with mathematical proofs of interesting properties of the algorithms introduced (and the first 6 chapters explain any mathematics you need).

As a reference, the book is immensely useful. Because almost any other algorithm book has a reasonable size, they must make a choice of what to cover. This book avoids the choice, and is therefore much thicker.

Of course, one book can't cover everything, the authors limit themselves to fundamental algorithms, anything related to parsing, semantic analysis, rewrite-systems, theorem-proving, computational biology, numerical analysis, computer graphics, machine-learning, signal-processing, or a number of other topics is better dealt with in a more specialized book. Still the coverage is unusually broad, and you would be hard pressed to find a more complete reference.

If you only want one book on algorithms, this is the book you want. If one algorithm-book isn't enough, you would still want this one, because it would be hard to even find a collection of books covering the same material. Besides, it will give you more shelf-space for other more advanced texts :-)

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Summary: An Incredible Masterpiece (but NOT for the faint of heart)
Review: Introduction to Algorithms is, without a doubt, a "must have" for any student going into the fields of computer science, mathematics, or engineering.

At first glance, the book appears to be impossible, but as you begin to read, everything falls into place. This book provokes the mind into working over the various problems addressed in the books as well as the theory introduced. Not only is new theory introduced, but pre-requisite knowledge is also briefed over so the reader does not become lost in the incredible depth this book extends to.

For the computer science student, this book deals extensively with data structures (heaps, queues, trees...) as well as various methods of manipulating their contents. Also, this book takes into account many practical applications for many practical algorithms, such as sorting and searching algorithms. The math covered in this book goes beyond what the typical programmer requires and pushes into the realm of hardcore systems engineering, a rather large bonus that is rarely seen in computer science texts.

For the engineering and mathematics students, as previously stated, this book covers many practical problems and solutions to them via computational methods and formulae. That's all there is to it.

On the downside, there are minor mistakes in the book which take a little thought to get over, but are not too severe. I am a final year high school student and I am having no difficulty understanding the concepts, but I find it rather bothersome to sort through the "anti-Orwell" style of writing which makes one page seem like many. The only suggestion I can make is that you have a strong mathematical foundation before attempting this book (a basic knowledge of calculus is a must)

With all being said, this book is a definite "must-have". You can't go wrong in purchasing this veritable tome of knowledge.