self-taught dev seeks computer science
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Yesterday I got on the idea of learning basic Computer Science things (data structures, algorithms, etc) and I started looking for a book. I become afflicted with this idea every year or so. :rolleyes: I found all the normal ones like Introduction to Algorithms (The MIT Press) 3rd Edition, Kindle Edition by Thomas H. Cormen (Author), Charles E. Leiserson (Author), Ronald L. Rivest (Author), Clifford Stein [^] But that is way too mathy for me. I like math but I like it to be applied. Anyways, I wanted to really see Big O explained and tied to specific algorithms. I wanted to start out relative simply but not treat me like I'm totally ignorant. I stumbled upon this book from the Pragmatic Programmer publishers... A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills[^] I devoured the first 4 chapters and it is amazing. Definitely check this one out. I'm so excited about it. I feel like I'm really putting the concepts together. This one is going into the Top 5 All-time Best books on programming. Seriously up there with Petzold Windows programming. After reading those first 4 chapters I actually understand what O(1), O(N), O(log N) and O(N^2) mean. I even understand them in relation to algorithms. The author connects them to the algos and shows graphs of time / efficiency and it is absolutely clear and
This may be a bit dated as I got my Computer Science degree way back in 1983, but as far as I am concerned, Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming" series of books are Computer Science's bible.
- Dan Best It's a hard life, but somebody's got to live it if only to act as an inspiration to others.
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This may be a bit dated as I got my Computer Science degree way back in 1983, but as far as I am concerned, Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming" series of books are Computer Science's bible.
- Dan Best It's a hard life, but somebody's got to live it if only to act as an inspiration to others.
Member 8448622 wrote:
This may be a bit dated as I got my Computer Science degree way back in 1983, but as far as I am concerned, Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming" series of books are Computer Science's bible.
Those books are amazing tomes. I have seen those since I started back in '93 or so. Each year or two I pick up Volume 1 Fundamental Algorithms and read the first half page and get maybe two pages in and then I give up again. :rolleyes: Maybe after I complete this other book I'll go back and see if I can get thru 4 or 5 pages now. :laugh:
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Self-taught myself, I learned a lot from reading Joel Spolsky and Raymond Chen. They don't care all too much about theory of algorithms, but highlight the essentially same topics from a practical, pragmatical perspective which I personally find way easier to learn.
Same here... I am completely self-taught as a software engineer. However, the best technical manual I have ever read was Wrox's "Learning C#", by Simon back in the early 2000s. Never found a better manual since for easy reading and great learning outlines...
Steve Naidamast Sr. Software Engineer Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@outlook.com
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Member 8448622 wrote:
This may be a bit dated as I got my Computer Science degree way back in 1983, but as far as I am concerned, Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming" series of books are Computer Science's bible.
Those books are amazing tomes. I have seen those since I started back in '93 or so. Each year or two I pick up Volume 1 Fundamental Algorithms and read the first half page and get maybe two pages in and then I give up again. :rolleyes: Maybe after I complete this other book I'll go back and see if I can get thru 4 or 5 pages now. :laugh:
I hold an academic M.Comp.Sci. degree, yet I have no problem recognizing your situation. I've got another "Holy Scriptures" book: The Anatomy of Lisp. Procuced with an early pre-release version (1978) of the first TeX/Metafont typesetting system. Maybe the text content is good, but I have tried again and again to focus on thoose Metafont characters; it is impossible. I cannot keep my eyes fixed on the text for as much as a single line. I have made so many attempts, over many years, to read this book that now I have given up. Also, I have given up Lisp. Maybe, if the book had been reprinted in a readable typeface, I would have been a Lisp fan now (I did a little Lisp in the 1990s), but it was just too hard to learn its anatomy.
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I hold an academic M.Comp.Sci. degree, yet I have no problem recognizing your situation. I've got another "Holy Scriptures" book: The Anatomy of Lisp. Procuced with an early pre-release version (1978) of the first TeX/Metafont typesetting system. Maybe the text content is good, but I have tried again and again to focus on thoose Metafont characters; it is impossible. I cannot keep my eyes fixed on the text for as much as a single line. I have made so many attempts, over many years, to read this book that now I have given up. Also, I have given up Lisp. Maybe, if the book had been reprinted in a readable typeface, I would have been a Lisp fan now (I did a little Lisp in the 1990s), but it was just too hard to learn its anatomy.
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Yesterday I got on the idea of learning basic Computer Science things (data structures, algorithms, etc) and I started looking for a book. I become afflicted with this idea every year or so. :rolleyes: I found all the normal ones like Introduction to Algorithms (The MIT Press) 3rd Edition, Kindle Edition by Thomas H. Cormen (Author), Charles E. Leiserson (Author), Ronald L. Rivest (Author), Clifford Stein [^] But that is way too mathy for me. I like math but I like it to be applied. Anyways, I wanted to really see Big O explained and tied to specific algorithms. I wanted to start out relative simply but not treat me like I'm totally ignorant. I stumbled upon this book from the Pragmatic Programmer publishers... A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills[^] I devoured the first 4 chapters and it is amazing. Definitely check this one out. I'm so excited about it. I feel like I'm really putting the concepts together. This one is going into the Top 5 All-time Best books on programming. Seriously up there with Petzold Windows programming. After reading those first 4 chapters I actually understand what O(1), O(N), O(log N) and O(N^2) mean. I even understand them in relation to algorithms. The author connects them to the algos and shows graphs of time / efficiency and it is absolutely clear and
Before University, I found myself reading this... Still not knowing this Wirth fella. [Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs (Prentice-Hall Series in Automatic Computation): Niklaus Wirth: 9780130224187: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Structures-Prentice-Hall-Automatic-Computation/dp/0130224189) And I read much of Knuth while sitting inside of a Borders b/c I could not afford the books! LOL Later, in University, I can honestly say on more than ONE occasion, when the professor announced the book for the class, I laughed because I had already read it on my own! Any book by Sedgewick on Algorithms is great as well. I really learned about balancing trees!
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Before University, I found myself reading this... Still not knowing this Wirth fella. [Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs (Prentice-Hall Series in Automatic Computation): Niklaus Wirth: 9780130224187: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Structures-Prentice-Hall-Automatic-Computation/dp/0130224189) And I read much of Knuth while sitting inside of a Borders b/c I could not afford the books! LOL Later, in University, I can honestly say on more than ONE occasion, when the professor announced the book for the class, I laughed because I had already read it on my own! Any book by Sedgewick on Algorithms is great as well. I really learned about balancing trees!
Kirk 10389821 wrote:
Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs (Prentice-Hall Series in Automatic Computation): Niklaus Wirth: 9780130224187: Amazon.com: Books
I actually own that book. Bought it at half-price books for $2.99 in the past year. It's very well written. Did you know that Petzold named his book in homage to that book : Applications = Code + Markup: A Guide to the Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation (Developer Reference): Charles Petzold: 9780735619579: Amazon.com: Books[^] Very cool that you read the Knuth. Also, I've seen (and slightly perused) the Sedgewick book over the years but never settled down on it. I will give it a go after this current one. I also want to go thru : Algorithms in a Nutshell: A Practical Guide 2nd Edition[^] I've read a chapter or so of the first edition but never completed.
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Kirk 10389821 wrote:
Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs (Prentice-Hall Series in Automatic Computation): Niklaus Wirth: 9780130224187: Amazon.com: Books
I actually own that book. Bought it at half-price books for $2.99 in the past year. It's very well written. Did you know that Petzold named his book in homage to that book : Applications = Code + Markup: A Guide to the Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation (Developer Reference): Charles Petzold: 9780735619579: Amazon.com: Books[^] Very cool that you read the Knuth. Also, I've seen (and slightly perused) the Sedgewick book over the years but never settled down on it. I will give it a go after this current one. I also want to go thru : Algorithms in a Nutshell: A Practical Guide 2nd Edition[^] I've read a chapter or so of the first edition but never completed.
I did not know that about Petzold. Cool. I truly enjoyed Programming Pearls by Jon Bently (I believe). Great for wrapping your brain around complex problems and unique solutions... (The dictionary/Anagram problem was one of my favorites)... Enjoy and thanks for sharing!
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There are, in reality, no stupid questions. Only rude answers to honest questions.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
You haven't heard some of my questions.
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Yesterday I got on the idea of learning basic Computer Science things (data structures, algorithms, etc) and I started looking for a book. I become afflicted with this idea every year or so. :rolleyes: I found all the normal ones like Introduction to Algorithms (The MIT Press) 3rd Edition, Kindle Edition by Thomas H. Cormen (Author), Charles E. Leiserson (Author), Ronald L. Rivest (Author), Clifford Stein [^] But that is way too mathy for me. I like math but I like it to be applied. Anyways, I wanted to really see Big O explained and tied to specific algorithms. I wanted to start out relative simply but not treat me like I'm totally ignorant. I stumbled upon this book from the Pragmatic Programmer publishers... A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills[^] I devoured the first 4 chapters and it is amazing. Definitely check this one out. I'm so excited about it. I feel like I'm really putting the concepts together. This one is going into the Top 5 All-time Best books on programming. Seriously up there with Petzold Windows programming. After reading those first 4 chapters I actually understand what O(1), O(N), O(log N) and O(N^2) mean. I even understand them in relation to algorithms. The author connects them to the algos and shows graphs of time / efficiency and it is absolutely clear and
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I have read bits and pieces of Grokking Algorithms[^]. It seems like a very good intro for people who prefer a more visual approach.