Computer Algorithms by Ellis Horowitz

by Ellis Horowitz

Brand new edition of the programming language-independent text that helped establish computer algorithms as discipline of computer science -- a thoroughly revised and updated edition. The text incorporates the latest research and state-of-the-art applications, bringing this classic to the forefront of modern computer science education. A major strength of this text is its focus on design techniques rather than on individual algorithms.

Genres: Science

Paperback

First published August 15, 1997

Reviews

[Qubitng · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prose is too abstract for a first course algorithms book. Consider the hideous abstract description of the binary search algorithm in Chpt 3 as the normal approach for the book. As a student I generally prefer concrete motivations, idea or examples followed by abstraction and algorithm. Also this book strangely doesn't bother talking about Turing machines though it talks about P/NP problems. It also omits red-black trees, B-trees, and other balancing algorithms. Instead it has 3 chapters on inter-processor algorithms. On a positive side, it generously covers dynamic programming in multiple chapters with many examples and exercises.

Fortunately I'm only using this book as a refresher for which it actually works well. A very nice plus is that it contains a large number of exercises. But to future teachers, please don't torture your poor undergrad students with such text; it turns them off to an otherwise interesting and important subject matter.