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O'Reilly Publishes a Practical Approach to Algorithms with C

August 30, 1999

SEBASTOPOL, CA -- O'Reilly and Associates, well-known (and respected) publishers of technical books, has ventured down the well-worn path of algorithm book publishing with two new algorithm books with a decidedly O'Reilly flavor. The just-released Mastering Algorithms with Perl book is the first book ever to focus on using algorithms in Perl. Mastering Algorithms with C , also just-released, takes a new approach to a somewhat older subject.

There are many books on data structures and algorithms, but Mastering Algorithms with C , by Kyle Loudon, gives you a unique combination of theoretical background and working code. In offering robust solutions for everyday programming tasks, Mastering Algorithms with C avoids the abstract style of most classic data structures and algorithm texts but still provides all the information you need to understand the purpose and use of common programming techniques. "This is not a theoretical book," says O'Reilly editor Andy Oram. "It is an extremely practical approach to algorithms. The writing style is superb, and the code is very clean. This code is easy to update, and adaptable to a variety of situations. Loudon offers a collection of key algorithms that you'll use over and over again in your career."

"When one studies data structures and algorithms, a fair amount of time is sent proving their correctness. Consequently, many books on this subject have an academic feel to them and details such as implementation and application are left to be resolved elsewhere," says author Kyle Loudon. "This book covers how and why certain data structures and algorithms work, real applications that use them (including many examples) and their implementation. Mathematical rigor appears only to the extent necessary in explanations."

Implementations, as well as interesting, real-world examples of each data structure and algorithms, are shown in the text. Full source code appears on the accompanying disk.

Loudon shows you how to use such essential data structures as lists, stacks, queues, sets, trees, heaps, priority queues, and graphs. He shows you how to use algorithms for sorting, searching, numerical analysis, data compression, data encryption, common graph problems, and computational geometry. He also describes the relative efficiency of all implementations. The compression and encryption chapters not only give you working code for reasonably efficient solutions, they explain concepts in an approachable manner for people who never have had the time or expertise to study them in depth.

Anyone with a basic understanding of the C language can use this book.

For more information about Mastering Algorithms with C, including Table of Contents, index, author bio, and sample chapter, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/masteralgoc/

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Mastering Algorithms with C
By Kyle Loudon
1st Edition August 1999 (US)
1-56592-453-3, 560 pages, $34.95 (US$), Includes Diskette
(800) 998-9938

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