Algorithms course material | Hacker News Reader

Algorithms course material

compgeom.cs.uiuc.edu

58 pointsawa17 comments

In case you didn't make the connection, this material is by the professor who wrote the recently posted article: "Getting into a PhD program with a low GPA". His undergraduate GPA was a 2.4/4.0, according to his website.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1072923

I stumbled upon this today... The page has a link to everything.pdf (http://compgeom.cs.uiuc.edu/~jeffe/teaching/algorithms/every...) which is an 765 page pdf & covers all the material from the course. It can also be a good reference/text book for a self-taught algorithms course.

Good link - I had Jeff for algorithms a couple years ago and he's a dedicated and passionate teacher.

To wit, I also had Jeff for algorithms a couple years ago and he is indeed a dedicated and passionate teacher. But thank you for your support, fellow HNers!

I second that, I had him in '05 and specifically waited to take the class with him as the teacher. Was well worth it, he brings a sense of humor and style to teaching that turned an otherwise difficult class into an absolute joy.

I had Jeff his first semester at UIUC. He received a standing ovation the last day of class. He's _that_ good.

"Am I writing a textbook? No. All textbooks suck. (Partly that's because of the unethical rapacious profitable business practices of (most) textbook publishers—these notes will always be freely available."

excellent!

Much inadvertent wisdom in this: If you're a student, you will (usually) learn more from trying to solve a problem and failing than by reading the answer.

Inadvertent?

What is a good book for learning about this subject? Knuth's? Any other recommendations?

_Introduction to Algorithms_ (aka "CLRS") http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Algorithms-Third-Thomas-C...

CLRS is the classic textbook for Algorithms... For some topics Klienberg and Tardos is good, I will suggest to read the CLRS text and keep K&T for topics you want to read more on, also the K&T problems are much harder (usually) than CLRS.

I'll second Intro to Algorithms, which has been mentioned. It's what I used in my algorithms class and it's quite comprehensive. (It will also take you a while to get through.)

I've also heard The Algorithm Design Manual recommended, although I haven't read it and don't own a copy. http://www.amazon.com/Algorithm-Design-Manual-Steven-Skiena/...

Also check out the (now free) Problems on Algorithms: http://www.eng.unt.edu/ian/books/free/license.html

Last I checked, Georgia Tech was using:

http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~vazirani/algorithms.html

for their intro algorithms class. I TA'd a semester with this book, and while it definitely has its warts it is much more compact and readable than CLRS.

I'd suggest Algorithm Design by Kleinberg and Tardos: http://www.amazon.com/Algorithm-Design-Jon-Kleinberg/dp/0321... , it's more readable than either CLRS or Dasgupta/Papadimitriou/Vazirani.

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