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Learning Algorithms

paedubucher.ch

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Re: Learning Algorithms

#11

Post by eachro »

BossingAround wrote: post #4

I've recently been trying to learn algorithms as a self-taught software engineer. I've made it quite far without much deeper knowledge of the area (I do have some basic overview of course), but it has always been on my mind that I should to study up. I've tried CLRS, but oh boy it's a) a slog to go through, b) very sparse with explanations. You might say that the whole book is one explanation after another, and you'd…

Leetcode is actually quite good for this. You can find problems to do by topic and the process of doing the easy -> medium problems will get you pretty far in the way of the standard topics (greedy, dynamic programming, divide/conquery, graph search, fundamental data structures and so on).

Re: Learning Algorithms

#12

Post by zelphirkalt »

Can anyone recommend a book, that deals with purely functional algorithms? I already have "Purely Functional Data Structures" by Okasaki, which I began working through, but still have a long way to go. However, it is about data structures, not about algorithms, strictly speaking.

Perhaps there is a book for algorithms that does it the functional way? Probably a lot of it comes down to naive versions of algorithms using functional data structures and then some changes in the algorithms due to optimizing for functional data structures?

Re: Learning Algorithms

#13

Post by stathibus »

zelphirkalt wrote: post #12

Can anyone recommend a book, that deals with purely functional algorithms? I already have "Purely Functional Data Structures" by Okasaki, which I began working through, but still have a long way to go. However, it is about data structures, not about algorithms, strictly speaking. Perhaps there is a book for algorithms that does it the functional way? Probably a lot of it comes down to naive versions of algorithms usi…

There is a good reason this book doesn't exist.

Re: Learning Algorithms

#14

Post by the_sleaze9 »

stathibus wrote: post #13
zelphirkalt wrote: post #12

Can anyone recommend a book, that deals with purely functional algorithms? I already have "Purely Functional Data Structures" by Okasaki, which I began working through, but still have a long way to go. However, it is about data structures, not about algorithms, strictly speaking. Perhaps there is a book for algorithms that does it the functional way? Probably a lot of it comes down to naive versions of algorithms usi…

There is a good reason this book doesn't exist.

Do tell

Re: Learning Algorithms

#15

Post by trealira »

trealira wrote: post #9
BossingAround wrote: post #4

I've recently been trying to learn algorithms as a self-taught software engineer. I've made it quite far without much deeper knowledge of the area (I do have some basic overview of course), but it has always been on my mind that I should to study up. I've tried CLRS, but oh boy it's a) a slog to go through, b) very sparse with explanations. You might say that the whole book is one explanation after another, and you'd…

I'm still in university, but I took discrete math at my university last semester and took data structures over the summer between semesters. My data structures course mainly was graded from Zybooks assignments. I think it's actually a pretty good and understandable resource. It was this: https://www.zybooks.com/catalog/data-structures-essentials/ Anyway, maybe after you study discrete math from Coursera, that Zybook…

I got home. The book is Handbook of Algorithms and Data Structures in Pascal and C by G.H. Gonnet and R. Baeza Yates.

Re: Learning Algorithms

#16

Post by mekoka »

goodbyesf wrote: post #10
BossingAround wrote: post #4

I've recently been trying to learn algorithms as a self-taught software engineer. I've made it quite far without much deeper knowledge of the area (I do have some basic overview of course), but it has always been on my mind that I should to study up. I've tried CLRS, but oh boy it's a) a slog to go through, b) very sparse with explanations. You might say that the whole book is one explanation after another, and you'd…

> I'm just trying to be a better engineer Your time would be better spent on accumulating domain knowledge in whatever industry you are working in - finance, healthcare, government, etc. Especially if you want career advancement or make yourself look more attractive to prospective employers. Unless you are directly involved in writing algorithms or academic research, you really won't be proving time and space complex…

What a strange advice. So much to disagree with, but I'll just stick with algorithms specifically. Only once I went through ds & algo, after a relatively long career, that I understood what Linus Torvalds meant by "bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships."

Re: Learning Algorithms

#18

Post by deprecative »

eachro wrote: post #11
BossingAround wrote: post #4

I've recently been trying to learn algorithms as a self-taught software engineer. I've made it quite far without much deeper knowledge of the area (I do have some basic overview of course), but it has always been on my mind that I should to study up. I've tried CLRS, but oh boy it's a) a slog to go through, b) very sparse with explanations. You might say that the whole book is one explanation after another, and you'd…

Leetcode is actually quite good for this. You can find problems to do by topic and the process of doing the easy -> medium problems will get you pretty far in the way of the standard topics (greedy, dynamic programming, divide/conquery, graph search, fundamental data structures and so on).

Anecdotal in the other way, Leetcode didn't help me at all trying to learn anything. If I knew algorithms and all that went with it/them I'd probably be able to get something out of those exercises.

Re: Learning Algorithms

#19

Post by paedubucher »

zelphirkalt wrote: post #12

Can anyone recommend a book, that deals with purely functional algorithms? I already have "Purely Functional Data Structures" by Okasaki, which I began working through, but still have a long way to go. However, it is about data structures, not about algorithms, strictly speaking. Perhaps there is a book for algorithms that does it the functional way? Probably a lot of it comes down to naive versions of algorithms usi…

I haven't read it, nor do I own it, but "Algorithm Design with Haskell" might fit: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/algorithm-design-with-h...

Re: Learning Algorithms

#20

Post by PartiallyTyped »

rg111 wrote: post #2

The author would do himself a great service if he chooses some other resource for learning algorithms. CLRS isn't bad. It is meant for a reference, and it also assumes that you are taking the course in college with an instructor teaching you. There are other great resources out there. Two I recommend are: - Algorithms, Coursera (Sedgewick, Wayne) - The Algorithm Design Manual (Skiena) I have recommended self-taught p…

CLRS and Tardos && Kleinberg are great if you spend a whole year on the book and have mathematical background.

The latter is great for algorithms because it groups everything by concepts, ie greedy, DP and then network flows.

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