Thread: Data Structures and Analysis in C - Mark Allen Weiss

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    Data Structures and Analysis in C - Mark Allen Weiss

    Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in C.

    Just picked up a copy of this!

    Anyone else been through it?

    I'm wondering whether I should wait until after I finish K&R or use both simultaneously?

    Cheers

    BIOS

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    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    You could try simultaneous, since if there is anything you don't understand in the new book you will probably be able to figure it out by referring to K&R, right?

    The first three chapters of DS & AA look good. I'm guessing there might be overlap with some K&R material.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

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    Sweet. I was hoping this would be the case. Can't wait to start reading it. Also on the topic of books like this, they don't give the solutions manuals to anyone but certified course instructors. What advice would you give to the auto-didact? I suppose I could always consult folk here

    Although I did manage to track down the source solutions for this book, I plan to get the weiss' books on java and c++ too!

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    Registered User TheBigH's Avatar
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    I've got a copy of this book on my shelf. It's not bad at all. It can get a bit dense in places, but the code examples he gives are generally fairly lucid. That's important; a lot of other authors explain things better in words but provide code that's absolutely dismal.

    If you study this book for the algorithms and their implementation, and use K&R to clarify the mechanics of the code, you won't go far wrong.
    Code:
    while(!asleep) {
       sheep++;
    }

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    The Weiss book I had was well done imo.

    The Segewick book on the other hand, although the content was OK, the printing for it was crap - low contrast faded print, although it was a new book.

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    His books seem to have a good reputation. I'm just wondering how redundant a move it would be to get say Data Structures and Analysis in Java? Hmmm....

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    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BIOS View Post
    His books seem to have a good reputation. I'm just wondering how redundant a move it would be to get say Data Structures and Analysis in Java? Hmmm....
    Probably very redundant, taking a look at the table of contents will confirm that. It could easily be as redundant as reading "Data Structures and Analysis in French" and "Data Structures and Analysis in Italian".

    This is why lists, queues, trees, tables, stacks, graphs, etc, are considered abstract data types -- they, and the algorithms for implementing them, are language independent. Of course, most programmers actually do know one language or another and so will be more interested in seeing these things done concretely in a language they understand. Hence, no "Data Structures and Analysis in Pseudo-code" tho that would be possible too.

    Abstract data type - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    I think it is also not unusual to find books on complex topics where the real examples are in several different languages, but using the same paradigm (procedural, object oriented), eg, C, C++ and Java. A lot of people will be fine reading examples in any of the above, and if not, at least no one is completely excluded and there is no need for three different books or three different versions of each example. I've picked up (and forgotten) some Java OO because of this. I bet as you go back in time, you will find more and more "Data Structures" books like that.

    So what you need is a good K&R style reference for each language you work in (how to use built-in types, keywords explained, etc). If you can write a graph in C and you know Java, you should be able to write an OO graph in Java without having to see an explicit example. If not, then you probably didn't understand the concept properly to start with.

    Of course, two takes on the same thing can be illuminating, but you are more likely to get that from two different authors than the same author explaining the same thing in two languages.
    Last edited by MK27; 09-17-2011 at 05:42 AM.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

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    That's a great point regarding abstract data types and also opting for a K&R style reference for each language. These books are expensive so making redundant purchases is not good! Thanks for the advice.

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