Algorithms and Data Structures: An Approach in C

Rating:
Summary: Look for another text
Review: I was asked to teach a course of the same title, and the this text was already listed for the course. A few pages of each chapter are useful. The figures are good and the given definitions of lists, trees, and graphs are good. However, only a few pages are devoted per topic to definitions and related terminology. The remaining parts (bulk) of the chapters are devoted to academic C-language implementations of data structures and algorithms. Few, if any of the implementations scale well. There is an unnecessary emphasis on recursion. Complexities of the C language are introduced which distract from the main topic of the book. Much of the complexity is pointless, particularly from the point of view of efficient, intuitive coding practice. Even when C was a prominent industrial implementation language -- you would not want to train the work force in this manner. Look for another text.