[HN Gopher] Introduction to Algorithms, Fourth Edition - The MIT...
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       Introduction to Algorithms, Fourth Edition - The MIT Press
        
       Author : philonoist
       Score  : 42 points
       Date   : 2021-11-29 14:48 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (mitpress.mit.edu)
 (TXT) w3m dump (mitpress.mit.edu)
        
       | jrussino wrote:
       | Is there any published information available yet about what the
       | major differences are from the third edition? I couldn't find
       | much so I posed the question on quora:
       | https://www.quora.com/unanswered/What-are-the-major-differen...
        
         | jrussino wrote:
         | Already received a reply from Dr. Cormen:
         | 
         | "I've been tweeting out differences between 3e and 4e here:
         | https://twitter.com/clrs4e"
         | 
         | Also, from the description on purchase pages (Amazon, etc.): "
         | New for the fourth edition * New chapters on matchings in
         | bipartite graphs, online algorithms, and machine learning * New
         | material on topics including solving recurrence equations, hash
         | tables, potential functions, and suffix arrays * 140 new
         | exercises and 22 new problems * Reader feedback-informed
         | improvements to old problems * Clearer, more personal, and
         | gender-neutral writing style * Color added to improve visual
         | presentation * Notes, bibliography, and index updated to
         | reflect developments in the field * Website with new
         | supplementary material "
        
       | iamcreasy wrote:
       | In one of Cormans' answer to question "Is CLRS really an
       | "introduction"? If so, what's next?"[1] he replied, "Yes,
       | Introduction to Algorithms really is an introductory text--on
       | algorithms". But then he recommended the next book people should
       | read is Don Knuth's The Art of Computer Programming. Here is the
       | quote "What's next? Don Knuth's The Art of Computer Programming,
       | which I consider the greatest books (it is a multi-volume set)
       | computer science has ever had or ever will have."
       | 
       | I suppose the target groups of people studying his introductory
       | book is not any random junior student at a random CS department
       | if he is expecting them to pick up Knuth's Art of Computer
       | Programming right after Introduction to Algorithms.
       | 
       | [1] https://www.quora.com/Is-CLRS-really-an-introduction-If-
       | so-w...
        
         | dragontamer wrote:
         | > I suppose the target groups of people studying his
         | introductory book is not any random junior student at a random
         | CS department if he is expecting them to pick up Knuth's Art of
         | Computer Programming right after Introduction to Algorithms.
         | 
         | I believe high-school students _can_ start that book at page1
         | chapter1.
         | 
         | Just because it is rigorous and difficult doesn't mean that the
         | high school student is ill-equipped to read it. TAOCP is one of
         | the clearest written math-heavy books I've ever read, which
         | makes it ideal for beginners.
         | 
         | Yes, its rigorous. Yes, it will take you days, even weeks, to
         | make progress beyond a few pages at times. But that's not a bad
         | thing. Knuth hits the hardest subjects in the earliest sections
         | and very precisely describes a lot of problems.
         | 
         | Instead of relying upon "Dog isa Animal" and other crude,
         | counter-productive "training wheels language" unsuitable for
         | advanced understanding... Knuth just lays out the math as it
         | is, in all of its complexity and glory.
         | 
         | Rigor is good. And the sooner people practice with rigor, the
         | better their minds will be. If anything, mathematical rigor
         | needs to be introduced at younger ages when the mind is more
         | pliable to learning different languages.
         | 
         | -------
         | 
         | TAOCP is somewhere between an algorithms book and a math book.
         | The 1st chapter is 100% math. It can be pursued independently
         | and the 1st chapter is an _excellent_ introduction to rigorous
         | mathematics.
        
         | gh0std3v wrote:
         | > I suppose the target groups of people studying his
         | introductory book is not any random junior student at a random
         | CS department if he is expecting them to pick up Knuth's Art of
         | Computer Programming right after Introduction to Algorithms.
         | 
         | I don't think he's _expecting_ a student to do that. He
         | recommends the book in response to the question  "What's
         | next?", implying that if a student would like to learn more,
         | they should go to Knuth's books. Also, judging from the Quora
         | link, he assumes the student has had a course in discrete
         | mathematics, so they should be familiar with mathematical
         | proofs and be comfortable with some level of rigor.
         | 
         | I don't think Knuth's books are impossible to read, but a
         | primer to some of the material can help (and understanding
         | mathematical proof is a prerequisite).
        
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