Алгоритмы. Самый краткий и понятный курс

The MIT Press Essential Knowledge

by Panos Louridas, Панос Луридас

Вам требуется понять, что такое алгоритмы и графы, как они работают и изучить их? Эта книга для вас. Для ее чтения требуется лишь базовое школьное образование — здесь вы найдете все ответы на вопросы по этой теме, а также краткие и понятные объяснения даже сложных понятий и чуть-чуть математики. Автор, Панос Луридас, много лет занимается изучением и практическим применением алгоритмов в проектах, связанных с разработкой программного обеспечения, криптографией и машинным обучением, — он знает об алгоритмах буквально всё и заражает читателей своим энтузиазмом и интересом к этой теме с первых строк.

Genres: Computer Science, Technology, Nonfiction, Algorithms, Science, Programming, Mathematics

192 pages, Hardcover

Published April 25, 2022

About the author

Panos Louridas is Associate Professor in the Department of Management Science and Technology at the Athens University of Economics and Business. He is the author of Real World Algorithms: A Beginner's Guide (MIT Press).

Reviews

[Benjamin Uke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A clear, nontechnical tour of core concepts—graphs and networks, searching, sorting, PageRank, a primer on neural networks/deep learning, and the limits of computation—aimed at general readers. It emphasizes how algorithms work with pen-and-paper intuition rather than heavy math.

3/5
Accessible, focuses on breadth over depth and is more of a survey for layment than in depth on-ramp to the concept as a whole.

[Galatea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A relatively comprehensive overview of algorithms, what they are, and what they do.

I'd recommend this to anyone who's interested in the subject as it's really well-written (despite a few typos that made me stumble), and even goes into specific applications of algorithms like Google's Pagerank algorithm and Neural Networks.

That being said, my only significant gripe is that I wish it went more into detail with the maths and also that it'd tackle the graphical representation of algorithms using flowcharts and data visualisation. Kinda ironic that the cover has a flowchart but the pages themselves don't mention them at all, but that's relatively minor compared to what the book does well.

[JD · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! fun niche read

[Renee Lepine-Downing 🌙 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to algorithms with examples that show how they work.

[Jose Acevedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read something related to my field but text books are both expensive and dull. So I thought I would try a book like this that both tries to be a book that you read from start to finish and a book that can be used as reference. It succeeded in my opinion.

It was easy to get through since each algorithm mentioned is followed by a real world example. Though I will not be giving it a 5/5 since this is not something I would recommend to the average person. A small amount of prior knowledge is needed to fully grasp the book which I feel would be off putting to most people.

Still a great read.

[Nabeel · Rating 3 out of 5]

جميل لآخذ فكرة بسيطة عن هذا الموضوع ولكن اختيار الأفكار وطريقة الشرح غير موفقة، فيما يخص المواضيع البرمجية -حيث أغلب لغات البرمجة باللغة الإنكليزية - يتوقع من المترجم أن يحافظ على أسماء الخوارزميات بنفس اللغة لسهولة البحث والمراجعة فترجمة الكتاب لا تعني نقل كل شيء حرفياً للغة العربية.

[nathan delcid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shoutout Dr. Yeh, Professor Oscamou and Professor Nagesh for making this book easy for me to read and understand!

Honestly, if you’re educated in mathematics/CS, don’t bother reading this book, it’s a super basic review. I think this book is made for those with a curiousity to learn more about algorithms and math concepts coming from a novice understanding

[Sarah Paps · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an excellent primer to anyone interested in studying algorithms. It is by no means comprehensive nor detailed enough to call yourself an expert afterwards, but it gives you just enough information to tickle the imagination and spark a fire in you.

Panos Louridas begins at a very basic level and at every chapter, ramps up the complexity a little bit so that by the end, you are already discussing deep learning. Again, at a very high level, but I was engaged with his style of writing.

I’m at the end of my software engineering degree in university, so this book wouldn’t be enough to get me through my algorithm courses since it lacks the mathematics and only showcases the most popular algorithms, but it was an enjoyable theoretical refresher. It would also act as a great overview, and put you into context before beginning your studies. It gives you a great appreciation for what you already learned or are about to learn. In any case, I’m not the exact target audience. This book is supposed to be accessible to anyone interested in the topic despite their background.

My favorite sections were the last ones about deep learning and the Turing machine. When discussing how the mystique of computers can be unveiled only to reveal very simple operations, akin to the first principles of nature, it really put me in awe. Computers can appear as magic to anyone outside the field of study, but they are really the product of human ingenuity and cleverness. I felt proud to be entering the field of computer science and software engineering, and I suddenly have a newfound love for algorithms I never experienced in my university courses. Professors rarely put you into context like this, and I wish I had read this sooner.

[Sean Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides an excellent birds-eye view of the topic of algorithms. I was familiar with most of the content already, yet reading this I was able to refresh my understanding of the topics on a general level. I welcomed the generality since I’m often examining these topics on a more minute level. It was nice to have a break and regain perspective.

The author starts by explaining what an algorithm is. He starts out by giving several examples of algorithms that can be worked out on paper, a point he is keen to reinforce - algorithms are not beholden to the computer. I enjoyed reading about how the algorithm to find the greatest common divisor of two numbers can be used to create various traditional rhythms of communities around the world.

He jumps into graphs next, examining topics such as the Konigsberg Bridge Problem, the Hierholzer Algorithm, edge-coloring problems, and Dijkstra’s Algorithm.

Searching and Sorting are the next two chapters. They are quite straightforward as far as those topics go, yet I want to emphasize that the algorithms covered are presented in a logical and helpful order.

The final two chapters deal with more specific subjects, Google’s original PageRank algorithm and an introduction to the foundations of Deep Learning. I thought these were great real-world examples of the use cases of algorithms.

All in all, it’s a great, quick read whether you’re brand new to the topic or looking to remind yourself of some of the basics.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

great book at explaining the idea of algorithms and some explains with little to no technical jargon or formulas.

unfortunately, the final two chapters go over some really high level stuff that was kind of lost on me (e.g. how google search sorts pages, how neural networks decide if an image is a dress or a shoe) but i'm excited to come across these topics in more detail as my data science master's program continues ~

[Kieran Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good intro to algorithms, however the last 2 chapters ramp up massively compared to the rest of the book. If it were not for the last two chapters how they are this would likely be a 4 or 5 star, but with how they are I'm going to have to give it more of a tepid 3. Still well worth it, especially if you don't have a compsci background.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent introduction to algorithms, from simple to more complicated. Algorithms get a bad rap in today's culture, not due to what they are, but due to how they are applied and blinding speed today's computing environment that can run thousands of iterations in less than a second.

A fundamental takeaway was that all algorithms can be done by hand as it is nothing more than an instructional framework to solve a particular problem. The chapters on search and on sort were well done. The last chapter on Deep Learning and neuron networks was really well done in my opinion and explained the concept in a way that was simple to understand. Hopefully all the books in the MIT series are as well done.

[Galina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise and neat introduction to algorithms and their uses in real world. Will do nicely for readers with no experience in the subject (or math) at all. Written very engaging, the author draws parallels with daily life to explain more complex algorithms, which is quite helpful, as it is both helping the understanding of the subject and relieving the concentration after an abundance of technical details.

I found this book while roaming in NYC bookstore, and what draw my attention was the size of this book (usually books on algorithms are quite big). After some research, I realized MIT published a whole lot of such books on a variety of subjects: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/se.... Looking forward to reading more of these!

[Daniel Durantes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha sido una pasada recorrer todas y cada una de las páginas de este libro. No ha sido fácil digerir algunos capítulos por su complejidad, pero habla de grafos, de cómo se conectan datos entre ellos, de cómo funcionan los algoritmos para hacer búsquedas y ordenar información, incluso de aprendizaje automático y aprendizaje profundo, haciendo la comparativa de neuronas biológicas con artificiales. Ha sido un viaje acompañado de lápiz para ir tomando notas y subrayando ideas. Y una traducción de 10.

[Amanda Doucette · Rating 3 out of 5]

AUDIO It was dense, but definitely not as dense as I thought. I was drawn to this book because of how “algorithm” is thrown around with social media, and I was curious to know what an algorithm actually was. Didn’t realize this was literally a math textbook (LOL) but I really enjoyed the way it was written; broken up in a way that was very easy to follow/understand - for the most part. I really liked the end and how it connected algorithms to “deep learning” and real world stuff, I wish it talked more about that and social media. Still good stuff to know!!

[Johannes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

It's not a bad book, it's just that it could have been even better. It could have pushed even more on the importance of (effective) algorithms, and focused a bit more on "algorithmic thinking". Even if I liked the PageRank walkthrough, it felt like that chapter could have been used for something better.

Still, searching, sorting and deep learning was a very good read. Those chapters are more 4,5*.

I would recommend it to anyone interested in algorithms, since it's a relative short but good book.

[Arturo Martín · Rating 4 out of 5]

Español: Libro divulgativo sobre algorítmica; realmente se centra en presentar una visión de pájaro del tema. No obstante, el libro se lee bien, es interesante y el algoritmo del PageRank, por ejemplo, se describe con más detalle que en otros libros divulgativos.

English: An informative book on algorithmics; it really focuses on presenting a bird's eye view of the subject. Nevertheless, the book reads well, is interesting and the PageRank algorithm, for example, is described in more detail than in other informative books.

[Kerry Pickens · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interest perspective on math that provides a simple introduction to algorithms as a series of precise steps with the first practical application being drumming. If you are a software developer or perform data analysis, then this book would be easy to understand. Otherwise it will probably get to involved in mathematics for you.

[meowdeleine · Rating 4 out of 5]

really adorable book that you can read on a sunday afternoon when you feel your brain sagging a little bit in its seat and you want a little rigor. and then the afternoon is over, and you finish the book and leave it in a little free library somewhere in philly with your annotations and your name and your phone number, because you are still, and fundamentally, an idiot, after all.

[Samuel Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great introduction to a few key areas in maths and computer science. Very well communicated and informative. Personally I enjoyed the first five chapters the most, the deep learning chapter felt quite separate from the rest of the book, perhaps added particularly because of recent advances in ML and AI.

[أحمد · Rating 4 out of 5]

لمحة عامة ومبسطة قدر الإمكان حول الخوارزميات بداية من تعريفها والتمثيل البياني ثم طرق البحث والترتيب عن طريق الخوارزميات وصولاً إلى خوارزمية بيج رانك ومن ثم التعلم العميق.
محاولة لتبسيط الخوارزميات التي تلعب دورًا مهما في العصر الحديث و بالإضافة إلى الإجمال حول تاريخ تطور الخوارزميات بصورة جيدة جداً لتعطي فكرة عامة جيدة حول هذا الموضوع وبتسلسل سلس

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book.

I enjoyed learning more about the behind-the-scenes details about algorithms, having written quite a few myself.

Would recommend to programmers looking to get theory.

4.2/5

[Joseph Matuch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book 19 months ago and haven't picked it up in about 18 months. It was a little interesting, but not a book I would ever pick up to do some light reading...

Maybe now that my work involves computers, I would come at this from a different angle, but for now it is abandoned.

[Joe Neidig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as interesting as I had hoped. One of those books that claims to simplify a complex subject but then proceeds to ramp up quickly.

[Harry Harman]

Algorithms that apply to the real world. Like Decoding the human genome.

[Mills College Library]

005.13 L892 2020

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid intro to algorithms. Some topics were a little shallow.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, especially the last chapter about deep learning.

[Luis Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it alot i put it down for a month or so and when i picked it back up i finished it in one night definitely a good introduction to algorithms

[Connor Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple but not *too* simple intro to algorithmic logic using graph theory, sorting, searching, pagerank, and machine learning as examples. Well designed book