C programming

[mbhavya_]

Hello everyone! I'm Bhavya. I'm a newbie. I have recently learned C programming and currently I'm reading and solving questions from 'c: from theory to practice" by Tselikis and Tselikas'. What should I do next? I want to start DSA. Plz someone tell me how to start with that and all the prerequisites.

 

[John Joe]

Maybe start to build some small projects?

 

[VBService]

IMHO, if you are looking to get started with DSA, you should consider reviewing some (or all) of the topics outlined below.

1. Learn Fundamental Data Structures

• Arrays: Understand basic operations like insertion, deletion, and traversal.
• Linked Lists: Learn about singly linked lists, doubly linked lists, and circular linked lists.
• Stacks and Queues: Understand how they work and their applications.
• Trees: Learn about binary trees, binary search trees, AVL trees, and heap.
• Graphs: Understand graph representation, traversal algorithms (BFS, DFS).
• Hashing: Learn about hash tables and hashing techniques.

2. Master Key Algorithms

• Sorting: Study various sorting algorithms like bubble sort, selection sort, insertion sort, merge sort, quick sort, and heap sort.
• Searching: Learn linear search, binary search, and their applications.
• Recursion: Understand the concept and practice problems involving recursion.
• Dynamic Programming: Learn the fundamentals and solve problems to get a good grasp.
• Greedy Algorithms: Understand the greedy method and its applications.

To dive deeper into Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA), you may want to consider reading some of these books:

• "Introduction to Algorithms, fourth edition 4th Edition" by Thomas H. Cormen, Charles E. Leiserson, Ronald L. Rivest, and Clifford Stein (CLRS)
• "Data Structures and Algorithms" by Adam Drozdek
• "Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in C" by Mark Allen Weiss
• "Data Structures and Algorithms Made Easy" by Narasimha Karumanchi

or some of the online courses such as:

• Coursera: Data Structures and Algorithms Specialization
• Mastering Data Structures & Algorithms using C and C++

 

[WhiteCube]

Searching "list of algorithms" on wikipedia gets a page with more algorithms than I could read and understand in several lifetimes.

Kind of takes the fun out of it, in my opinion. Studying an algorithm that a million other people are already experts at, doesn't appeal to me.

Its like everyone learning to play the guitar.

Just my opinion.

 

[VBService]

Kind of takes the fun out of it, in my opinion. Studying an algorithm that a million other people are already experts at, doesn't appeal to me.

Its like everyone learning to play the guitar.

IMHO,
"To begin running, you first need to learn to walk, to take the first step".
The same applies here - mastering the basics of a widely-studied algorithm is a fundamental step before moving on to more advanced and unique challenges, just like learning basic chords on a guitar before playing complex pieces.
Even though many people might already be experts, mastering the basics is essential for making progress and eventually finding your own way.

 

[WhiteCube]

Good point.