Wengrow - A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills

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Data structures and algorithms are much more than abstract concepts. Mastering them enables you to write more efficient code that runs faster, which is particularly important for todays web and mobile apps. If you last saw an algorithm in a university course or at a job interview, youre missing out on the raw power algorithms can provide.

The problem with most resources on these subjects is that theyre...well...obtuse. Most texts go heavy on the math jargon, and if youre not a mathematician, its really difficult to grasp what on Earth is going on. Even books that claim to make algorithms easy assume that the reader has an advanced math degree. Because of this, too many people shy away from these concepts, feeling that theyre simply not smart enough to understand them.

The truth, however, is that everything about data structures and algorithms boils down to common sense. Mathematical notation itself is simply a particular language, and everything in math can also be explained with common-sense terminology. In this book, I dont use any math beyond addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponents. Instead, every concept is broken down in plain English, and I use a heavy dose of images to make everything a pleasure to understand.

Once you understand these concepts, you will be equipped to write code that is efficient, fast, and elegant. You will be able to weigh the pros and cons of various code alternatives, and be able to make educated decisions as to which code is best for the given situation.

Some of you may be reading this book because youre studying these topics at school, or you may be preparing for tech interviews. While this book will demystify these computer science fundamentals and go a long way in helping you at these goals, I encourage you to appreciate the power that these concepts provide in your day-to-day programming. I specifically go out of my way to make these concepts real and practical with ideas that you could make use of today.

This book is ideal for several audiences:

• You are a beginning developer who knows basic programming, but wants to learn the fundamentals of computer science to write better code and increase your programming knowledge and skills.

• You are a self-taught developer who has never studied formal computer science (or a developer who did but forgot everything!) and wants to leverage the power of data structures and algorithms to write more scalable and elegant code.