Algorithms in a Nutshell

Contents of This Book

This book is divided into three parts. Part I (Chapters 1–3) provides the mathematical introduction to algorithms necessary to properly understand the descriptions used in this book. We also describe the pattern-based style used throughout in the presentation of each algorithm. This style is carefully designed to ensure consistency, as well as to highlight the essential aspects of each algorithm. Part II contains a series of chapters (4–9), each consisting of a set of related algorithms. The individual sections of these chapters are self-contained descriptions of the algorithms.

Part III (Chapters 10 and 11) provides resources that interested readers can use to pursue these topics further. A chapter on approaches to take when "all else fails" provides helpful hints on solving problems when there is (as yet) no immediate efficient solution. We close with a discussion of important areas of study that we omitted from Part II simply because they were too advanced, too niche-oriented, or too new to have proven themselves. In Part IV, we include a benchmarking appendix that describes the approach used throughout this book to generate empirical data that supports the mathematical analysis used in each chapter. Such benchmarking is standard in the industry yet has been noticeably lacking in textbooks describing algorithms.