Looking for an Algorithms and Data Structures Book

[John McCabe]

Hi

I'm looking for something equivalent to the Data Structures and
Algorithms in Ada 95 books by Biedler and Feldman etc, but based
towards efficient C++ implementations.

Does anyone know of such a thing and could recommend one?

I'm particularly interested in coverage of binary search trees,
especially Red-Black, Splay and AVL, as well as hashing tables and
graphs.

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.

John

 

[mlimber]

Hi

I'm looking for something equivalent to the Data Structures and
Algorithms in Ada 95 books by Biedler and Feldman etc, but based
towards efficient C++ implementations.

Does anyone know of such a thing and could recommend one?

I'm particularly interested in coverage of binary search trees,
especially Red-Black, Splay and AVL, as well as hashing tables and
graphs.

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.

John

I have a slightly dated book called _Data Structures, Algorithms, and
Object-oriented Programming_ by Heileman that covers those topics in
C++. There may be a new edition for all I know.

Cheers! --M

 

[n2xssvv g02gfr12930]

Hi

I'm looking for something equivalent to the Data Structures and
Algorithms in Ada 95 books by Biedler and Feldman etc, but based
towards efficient C++ implementations.

Does anyone know of such a thing and could recommend one?

I'm particularly interested in coverage of binary search trees,
especially Red-Black, Splay and AVL, as well as hashing tables and
graphs.

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.

John

John

Most STL Map implementations are done using Red-Black trees.
Unfortunately, the C++ code is for a template version, which
only adds to the difficulty in understanding the code. But as
the STL code is robust, this should be a good start. Perhaps
stepping into some code that uses STL Map will help to highlight
the relevant sections of code. Hope this helps.

STL = Standard Template Library

JFJB

 

[John McCabe]

John McCabe wrote:

I have a slightly dated book called _Data Structures, Algorithms, and
Object-oriented Programming_ by Heileman that covers those topics in
C++. There may be a new edition for all I know.

thanks for that suggestion. I can't find much detail on that book, but
I've emailed the author to see if he can let me know more about it.
Things like the link to ToC on his web page don't work, and Amazon
hasn't got much info.

It sounds interesting, but obviously I'd still appreciate any other
suggestions.

 

[John McCabe]

Most STL Map implementations are done using Red-Black trees.
Unfortunately, the C++ code is for a template version, which
only adds to the difficulty in understanding the code. But as
the STL code is robust, this should be a good start. Perhaps
stepping into some code that uses STL Map will help to highlight
the relevant sections of code. Hope this helps.

Thanks for that suggestion. I guess I'm more interested in the theory
behind them all at the moment, and I'm particularly interested in
applicability for particular problems. I read an article on
performance of BSTs recently which was very good and useful
information, but didn't address any of the other techniques in enough
detail.

Thanks again though.

 

[red floyd]

Thanks for that suggestion. I guess I'm more interested in the theory
behind them all at the moment, and I'm particularly interested in
applicability for particular problems.

Good for you. The stock answer around here is "use
std::whatever_container<>". G-d knows, I've said that enough myself.
But rolling your own is a wonderful way to understand the theory behind
those std::containers, as well as understanding the pitfalls, and
exactly *why* you want to use the std:: versions (so you don't have to
debug them ).

I applaud you for wanting to learn the theory, as well as the
implementation. With that kind of attitude, you'll go far...

 

[n2xssvv g02gfr12930]

Thanks for that suggestion. I guess I'm more interested in the theory
behind them all at the moment, and I'm particularly interested in
applicability for particular problems. I read an article on
performance of BSTs recently which was very good and useful
information, but didn't address any of the other techniques in enough
detail.

Thanks again though.

This link gives an animated demonstration as well as some theory.

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Network/1854/Rbt.html

I've actually got the "Introduction to Algorithms" book referenced
and I'd recommend it if you're interested in the often unseen
algorithms used to solve a variety of problems.
It's heart warming to know that I'm not the only one interested in
understanding what's really going on and why, and it was from
looking at the STL code that I became interested in Red Black
trees. More to the point I decided to develop my own C++ code
to implement a Red Black tree, both for hard coded data and as
a template version. I found it satisfying, but it hasn't helped
career wise yet as far as I can tell.

JFJB

 

[n2xssvv g02gfr12930]

This link gives an animated demonstration as well as some theory.

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Network/1854/Rbt.html

I've actually got the "Introduction to Algorithms" book referenced
and I'd recommend it if you're interested in the often unseen
algorithms used to solve a variety of problems.
It's heart warming to know that I'm not the only one interested in
understanding what's really going on and why, and it was from
looking at the STL code that I became interested in Red Black
trees. More to the point I decided to develop my own C++ code
to implement a Red Black tree, both for hard coded data and as
a template version. I found it satisfying, but it hasn't helped
career wise yet as far as I can tell.

JFJB

You could also try this link to see the steps involved for adding
and deleting nodes from a Red Black tree.

http://www.ece.uc.edu/~franco/C321/html/RedBlack/redblack.html

JFJB

 

[John McCabe]

This link gives an animated demonstration as well as some theory.

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Network/1854/Rbt.html

I've actually got the "Introduction to Algorithms" book referenced
and I'd recommend it if you're interested in the often unseen
algorithms used to solve a variety of problems.
It's heart warming to know that I'm not the only one interested in
understanding what's really going on and why, and it was from
looking at the STL code that I became interested in Red Black
trees. More to the point I decided to develop my own C++ code
to implement a Red Black tree, both for hard coded data and as
a template version. I found it satisfying, but it hasn't helped
career wise yet as far as I can tell.

Thanks for that information, and the information on the book.

I've checked it out on Amazon and it looks very interesting, however
it doesn't list AVL trees in the table of contents.

I think I may be looking for something I can't afford Probably
Knuth's multi-volume epic!

I read the article "Performance Analysis of BSTs in System Software"
and based on that it looks like, for our application, an AVL tree
would be best, closely followed by a Splay tree so whatever book I go
for needs to at least cover those. Red Black trees would also be a
bonus really. Also the hash table stuff needs to be there as well, and
I spotted something about (I think) directed graphs that I'd like to
read more on.

But thanks again for taking the time to provide me with those links
and info.

Does anyone know anything about this book:

Algorithms in C++: Fundamentals, Data Structures, Sorting, Searching
Pts. 1-4 by Robert Sedgewick

 

[John McCabe]

I spotted something about (I think) directed graphs that I'd like to
read more on.

Actually, that might be skip lists I was talking about!

Does anyone have experience of:

Data Structures and Algorithms in C++

by either...

Goodrich, Tamassia and Mount (http://cpp.datastructures.net/)

or

Drozdek

 

[red floyd]

I've checked it out on Amazon and it looks very interesting, however
it doesn't list AVL trees in the table of contents.

Not C++ specific, but Aho,Hopcroft,Ullman "The Design and Analysis of
Computer Algorithms" has a section on AVL trees.

 

[Mark P]

Hi

I'm looking for something equivalent to the Data Structures and
Algorithms in Ada 95 books by Biedler and Feldman etc, but based
towards efficient C++ implementations.

Does anyone know of such a thing and could recommend one?

I'm particularly interested in coverage of binary search trees,
especially Red-Black, Splay and AVL, as well as hashing tables and
graphs.

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.

John

CLR, aka "Introduction to Algorithms" by Cormen, Leiserson, and Rivest,
is a very good book on algorithms and data structures. They opt for
pseudocode rather than C++ so you won't find any drop in components, but
they're very thorough and rigorous.

 

[Manfred]

Hi

I'm looking for something equivalent to the Data Structures and
Algorithms in Ada 95 books by Biedler and Feldman etc, but based
towards efficient C++ implementations.

Does anyone know of such a thing and could recommend one?

I'm particularly interested in coverage of binary search trees,
especially Red-Black, Splay and AVL, as well as hashing tables and
graphs.

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.

John

I know of 'Algorithms in C++' by Robert Sedgewick.
There is a hardcover edition and a Paperback
edition which includes:
"Parts 1-5: Fundamentals, Data Structures,
Sorting, Searching, and Graph Algorithms"
You'll find it on amazon if you search for the title.

Manfred

 

[mlimber]

Thanks for that information, and the information on the book.

I've checked it out on Amazon and it looks very interesting, however
it doesn't list AVL trees in the table of contents.

I think I may be looking for something I can't afford Probably
Knuth's multi-volume epic!

I read the article "Performance Analysis of BSTs in System Software"
and based on that it looks like, for our application, an AVL tree
would be best, closely followed by a Splay tree so whatever book I go
for needs to at least cover those. Red Black trees would also be a
bonus really. Also the hash table stuff needs to be there as well, and
I spotted something about (I think) directed graphs that I'd like to
read more on.

The book I previously mentioned (_Data Structures, Algorithms, and
Object-oriented Programming_ by Heileman) has chapters on lists, stacks
& queues, binary search trees, hashing, priority queues, balanced
search trees (namely, AVL, red-black, and splay trees), heaps, etc.

But thanks again for taking the time to provide me with those links
and info.

Does anyone know anything about this book:

Algorithms in C++: Fundamentals, Data Structures, Sorting, Searching
Pts. 1-4 by Robert Sedgewick

Not I.

Cheers! --M

 

[John McCabe]

I know of 'Algorithms in C++' by Robert Sedgewick.
There is a hardcover edition and a Paperback
edition which includes:
"Parts 1-5: Fundamentals, Data Structures,
Sorting, Searching, and Graph Algorithms"
You'll find it on amazon if you search for the title.

I found that one on Amazon. Do you have an opinion on it? From what
I've seen there appears to be significant differences in the Amazon
reviews which worry me a bit, especially as the book is going on
£60.00 on amazon.co.uk.

 

[John McCabe]

The book I previously mentioned (_Data Structures, Algorithms, and
Object-oriented Programming_ by Heileman) has chapters on lists, stacks
& queues, binary search trees, hashing, priority queues, balanced
search trees (namely, AVL, red-black, and splay trees), heaps, etc.

Thanks for that. I've emailed Greg Heileman to ask if he can give me
more details on the table of contents as I can't find much on the net.
He has replied to my initial message, but not my follow-up, and not
with the details I need (yet) :-(

From what you've said, and what I *have* found on the net about it, it
sounds like it could be as close a match as it may be possible to get
to what I'm looking for.

 

[Manfred]

I found that one on Amazon. Do you have an opinion on it? From what
I've seen there appears to be significant differences in the Amazon
reviews which worry me a bit, especially as the book is going on
£60.00 on amazon.co.uk.

A friend of mine told me about it and he was very
fond of it. But I just had a short look at it in a
bookstore and it seemed to be comprehensable with
good C++ code.
But you could perhaps have a look for it in your
local book store.

Manfred

 

[John McCabe]

A friend of mine told me about it and he was very
fond of it. But I just had a short look at it in a
bookstore and it seemed to be comprehensable with
good C++ code.
But you could perhaps have a look for it in your
local book store.

Thanks for that suggestion, but it's easier said than done. We have
two bookstores in the town I live in, both of which have around 10-15
books on computing in them! Even the bigger nearby towns don't have
bookstores that have anything except the most popular books, i.e. Java
and Web development stuff, with a bit of ASP.NET thrown in.

I guess some of the local university townsmight have something, so the
next time I'm near one of those I'll look.

Thanks again.

 

[John Harrison]

Thanks for that suggestion, but it's easier said than done. We have
two bookstores in the town I live in, both of which have around 10-15
books on computing in them! Even the bigger nearby towns don't have
bookstores that have anything except the most popular books, i.e. Java
and Web development stuff, with a bit of ASP.NET thrown in.

I guess some of the local university townsmight have something, so the
next time I'm near one of those I'll look.

Thanks again.

I'd disagree about the good C++ code. In fact as C++ code goes it's
poor. But clearly that isn't the point of the book and the main thing is
that Sedgewick does explain the algorithms very well. It is a beginning
book and it isn't particularly formal, for most people those are advantages.

john

 

[Manfred]

I'd disagree about the good C++ code. In fact as C++ code goes it's
poor. But clearly that isn't the point of the book and the main thing is
that Sedgewick does explain the algorithms very well. It is a beginning
book and it isn't particularly formal, for most people those are
advantages.

john

Thanks for clearing this up John. As I said
before, i didn't have time to have a closer look
at the book.

Manfred