Fundamentals of Algorithmics

This is an introductory-level algorithm book. It includes worked-out examples and detailed proofs. Presents Algorithms by type rather than application. Includes structured material by techniques employed, not by the application area, so readers can progress from the underlying abstract concepts to the concrete application essentials. It begins with a compact, but complete introduction to some necessary math. And it approaches the analysis and design of algorithms by type rather than by application.

The book is self-contained, plainly written, so that an undergraduate can read it after taking a prerequisite course on programming.

It's also mathematically rigorous, while mantaining simplicity. This allows analysis of algorithms to be really "analytic" (no more guessing the solution to a recurrence relation).

One main drawback (certainly usual) is the lack of excercise solutions.


It's a very good book for Algorithmic Techniques   January 27, 2000
Oscar Meza (Simon Bolivar University, Venezuela)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I don't agree with the other reviews. This book is a serious one and it is a "smooth" version of "Algorithms: Theory and Practice" from the same authors, which has a 5 stars rate. The book don't teach how to program, but the main kind of techniques in algorithm design (Greedy, Divide and Conquer and Dynamic Programing techniques, and others like Backtracking, Probabilistic Algorithms, etc.). I teach a course of Algorithm Design with this book (having the Sedgewick and Cormen books like additional very good references) and I think that it is a very instructive course on algorithmics (but NOT in programming, of course).


Great as a supplement or reference, not as an introduction   June 4, 2002
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is a good book - far better than an average rating of 2 stars
would suggest. However, i think a big reason for such a rating is
that it's supposed to be an introductory textbook (as claimed by the
authors in the preface), and from that point of view, it leaves much
to be desired.

The presentation is such that it can be difficult for first-timers to
follow, and many topics are simply absent, e.g. network flows.

On the other hand, those already familiar with the material will find
it quite readable and handy as a reference or for brushing up.

The authors choose to present algorithms from a design point of view,
ie greedy approach, divide-and-conquer, bactracking, dynamic programming
etc instead of the traditional way of presenting algorithms for solving
a class of problems, e.g searching, sorting, graph algorithms and so on.

While this is good for those who're already familiar with the traditional
approach and also offers a unified view of problem-solving strategies in
Algorithmics, it is decidedly easier for the beginning student to have (e.g)
all sorting algorithms in one place than to discover that they're scattered
across different chapters.

All algorithms are presented in pseudocode, and are thus have no
programming language dependencies. A healthy number of solved examples
have been provided, and unsolved problems are numerous.

In summary, i think this is quite a good book for practitioners, researchers
and those doing an advanced course in Algorithms, whereas it may not be
suitable for an introductory course (except, perhaps, as a supplement).