#67 in Computers & technology books
Reddit mentions of Grokking Algorithms: An illustrated guide for programmers and other curious people
Sentiment score: 24
Reddit mentions: 38
We found 38 Reddit mentions of Grokking Algorithms: An illustrated guide for programmers and other curious people. Here are the top ones.
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Manning Publications
Specs:
| Height | 9.25 Inches |
| Length | 7.38 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | May 2016 |
| Weight | 0.881849048 Pounds |
| Width | 0.4 Inches |
Here's my list of the classics:
General Computing
Computer Science
Software Development
Case Studies
Employment
Language-Specific
C
Python
C#
C++
Java
Linux Shell Scripts
Web Development
Ruby and Rails
Assembly
If you're serious about getting into software development, I'd recommend you start looking into data structures and algorithms as well. It's something I think a lot of people who were self-taught tend to miss because it's not required knowledge to program, but it will give you a huge competitive advantage.
While I haven't read it, this book seems like a good introduction to the concept: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1617292230/?coliid=I34MEOIX2VL8U8&colid=MEZKMZI215ZL&psc=0
From there I'd recommend looking at MIT's Intro to Algorithms, 3rd Edition. A bit more advanced, but the topics in there will play a huge role in getting a job in software.
Not OP but I discovered this book 'Grokking Algorithms' from a fantastic youtube channel 'The Coding Train'. The book explains a lot of the algorithms and data structures that I am learning in my first sem of CS at school. This thing even has the stuff that I am going to learn in the next semster. I found this book much more fun than my monotonous textbooks.
If anyone wants to get a good grasp of the fundamentals of A&DS this is a great starting point and then move on to MOOCs by famous Universities. MIT's A&DS was the one that I used. Dunno if it's still available on YouTube because I remember that OCW courses were removed or something?
Link
The Algotitms Design Manual by Skienna helped me a lot.
I was also curious about this one.
Also, this site may help :)
Check out:
Grokking Algorithms: An illustrated guide for programmers and other curious people
 
I'm also pretty rusty at math right now, and have been getting by with a try-different-things-until-it-works approach.  Even for the types of problems I've become efficient at solving, in many cases I don't know the actual terminology, so it makes it difficult to expand upon concepts or communicate them with others.  I'd like to get to a point where I can mentally reason about processes & formulas without having to execute them in order to see the results, and I feel like the first step to get there is to get reacquainted with terminology & foundational concepts.  Here are Some Resources I've queued up to work through for that purpose.
I'm just beginning this journey myself, so judge what I say accordingly.
Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach seems to be the most popular textbook.
This article has some seemingly good advice, though it seems to be geared more toward Machine Learning (ML) than AI in general.
I think you'll want to learn a programming language. The above article recommends Python as it is well suited to ML.
There is (was?) a free online course on ML from Stanford by Andrew Ng. I started to take it a couple years ago but never finished. It is very accessible. The lectures appear to be on YouTube.
Grokking Algorithms is a highly regarded book on algorithms.
Make a free Amazon Web Services account and start playing with Sagemaker.
There really is no well defined path to learning AI, in my opinion. It is a highly interdisciplinary endeavor that will require you to be a self-starting autodidact. It's very exciting though. There is still plenty of new ground to be broken. Some might argue it is difficult for the little guy to compete with big labs at the big tech companies with their ungodly amounts of data to feed their AI, but I am optimistic.
The Grokking Algorithms Book is good for beginners or for those who want a fun refresher. Obviously not too much depth but teaches it in a nice illustrated way. Code is also available on github.
Despite their age, the MIT lectures were great. If you're good at math and enjoy proofs this is the class for you. Same thing with the CLRS book. One of the best books on DS & Algos out there, but it's so dense it'll make your eyes glaze over, unless you love proofs and highly technical reading.
To get your feet wet, Grokking Algorithms is a good book.
A lot of people recommend Princeton's Algorithm Course. I took Algorithms in school already, but I'm probably going to take this course to round out my knowledge.
EDIT: special shout out to geeks for geeks. Great Website
> Linux
Here too: It's prevalent in a lot of CS.
https://www.amazon.com/Grokking-Algorithms-illustrated-programmers-curious/dp/1617292230
I recommend Grokking Algorithms and The Algorithm Design Manual.
Grokking Algorithms.
This is the best one yet.
I've actually been getting some interest lately because I just started to attend meetups last week and let some engineers see what I've done so far.
Really appreciate the algorithms/data structures advice. I picked up this book to get a light overview of it first before I really dive into something more formal:
Grokking Algorithms: An illustrated guide for programmers and other curious people
I also have enough college credits to take a Data Structures course called Discrete Structures for Computer Science and my math up to Linear Algebra completed. Here's the description for the community college course:
> This course is an introduction to the discrete structures used in
Computer Science with an emphasis on their applications. Topics
covered include: Functions; Relations and Sets; Basic Logic; Proof
Techniques; Basics of Counting; Graphs and Trees; and Discrete
Probability. This course is compliant with the standards of the Association
for Computing Machinery (ACM).
Is the above what you're referring to more or less?
Are there any books and/or online courses you'd personally recommend for data structures and algorithms?
probably is. don't have it handy.
since you're learning data structures and algorithms in python, any general data structures and algorithm course should work; just implement them in python.
it's hard to suggest [a good resource] off the top of the head, that isn't a mere udemy shill or incredibly dense like stanford's algo course. grokking algorithms was okay, while people might suggest introduction to algorithms (but there's a reason why it's 1k pages and pure madness to "refresh" your knowledge).
doing projects (crash course, automate) would help to refresh using python.
Since the course is in Python you could also always take a look at Grokking Algoriths. I think this is a great book that people overlook. It’s easy to understand and a (fairly) quick read. https://www.amazon.com/Grokking-Algorithms-illustrated-programmers-curious/dp/1617292230
Common sense is also a great book. If you really want to brush up on DS&A you could check out Tim Roughgarden’s coursera courses and the related books.
I will point out though that at least from my experience you can access the course materials even for courses you transferred in so once you get access to you courses or even when you start DS&A at WGU you can always refer back if you’re struggling.
Congratulations! That's a big step. Be proud that you were able to make the switch. Not many people manage to transform ideas into results.
I think there are four areas on which you need to focus, in order to go from mediocre to great. Those areas are:
Now, these areas don't include things like marketing yourself or building valuable relationships with coworkers or your local programming community. I see those as being separate from being great at what you do. However, they're at least as influential in creating a successful and long-lasting career.
Let's take a look at what you can do to improve yourself in those four areas. I'll also suggest some resources.
​
1. Theoretical foundation
Foundational computer science. Most developers without a formal degree have some knowledge gaps here. I suggest taking a MOOC to remediate this. After that, you could potentially take a look at improving your data structures and algorithms knowledge.
​
2. Working knowledge.
I'd suggest doing a JavaScript deep-dive before focusing on your stack. I prefer screencasts and video courses for this, but there are also plenty of books available. After that, focus on the specific frameworks that you're using. While you're doing front-end work, I also suggest you to explore the back-end.
​
3. Software engineering practices.
Design patterns and development methodologies. Read up about testing, agile, XP, and other things about how good software is developed. You could do this by reading the 'Big Books' in software, like Code Complete 2 or the Pragmatic Programmer, in your downtime. Or, if you can't be bothered, just read different blog posts/Wikipedia articles.
​
4. Soft skills.
​
Some closing notes:
- For your 'how to get started with open source' question, see FirstTimersOnly.
- If you can't be bothered to read or do large online courses, or just want a structured path to follow, subscribe to FrontendMasters and go through their 'Learning Paths'.
- 4, combined with building relationships and marketing yourself, is what will truly differentiate you from a lot of other programmers.
​
Sorry for the long post, and good luck! :)
Learning JavaScript Data Structures and Algorithms - Second Edition is a really good book with clear explanations and code examples.
Grokking Algorithms is also a wonderful book especially for non-CS people and beginners. The examples are in Python but it shouldn't be a problem given your Ruby and JavaScript background.
I would say Code is good, starts from binary and moves up. Easy to follow.
https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Developer-Practices-ebook/dp/B00JDMPOK2/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1549136477&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=code+book
Then Grokking Algorithm.Explains algorithms with pictures.
https://www.amazon.com/Grokking-Algorithms-illustrated-programmers-curious/dp/1617292230
Then check out Harvard Cs50.
https://youtu.be/y62zj9ozPOM
On Amazon you can preview quite a bit, although not the recursion chapter which looks pretty short:
https://www.amazon.com/Grokking-Algorithms-illustrated-programmers-curious/dp/1617292230
I would suggest Grokking Algorithms in Python:
https://www.amazon.com/Grokking-Algorithms-illustrated-programmers-curious/dp/1617292230
It explains them in an accesible, easy to understand format. Whether or not you like or know python, it's a good learning resource. I highly recommend it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1617292230/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680502441/
https://runestone.academy/runestone/books/published/pythonds/index.html
Este é mais indicado.
Grokking Algorithms, it's not like cs50 but trust me, read it. It's worth every cent, and more importantly all implementations are in Python.
I'd recommend Grokking Algorithms
I took 325 last winter and it was a bit rough. Join the slack group for the class and the class will be tad bit easier and less frustrating. also supplement the class with the Grokking Algorithms book (link below). I guy who graduated a year ago from the program wrote about it in his blog. Like him, the book helped me out tremendously.
Grokking Algorithms
There’s a book called Grokkin Algorithms, which illustrates some of those concepts quickly. I also liked another book called Cracking the Code Interview.
>The Algorithm Design Manual
Is this another algorithms book? How is it compared to Cormen's Introduction to Algorithms or Grokking Algorithms? I tried Cormen's and Grokking's, but it was a hard read and I generally prefer Youtube videos (mycodeschool) and so on. Is The Algorithm Design Manual similar?
>EPI, and PIE
What are these?
This is the one I used in college and I had it lying around, it's served me well.
https://www.amazon.com/Algorithm-Design-Manual-Steven-Skiena/dp/1848000693/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=Algorithm&qid=1555780009&s=gateway&sr=8-7
I also got this book by a recommendation from a coworker, it has really nice visual displays for different algorithms.
https://www.amazon.com/Grokking-Algorithms-illustrated-programmers-curious/dp/1617292230/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=Algorithm&qid=1555780009&s=gateway&sr=8-8
Grokking Algorithms: An illustrated guide for programmers and other curious people https://www.amazon.com/dp/1617292230/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LPkTCb09XVDTR
Why stay at a school where you're not studying what you want, and which doesn't even offer what you want nor one of the most popular in-demand majors??
Anyway, there are any number of online courses/tutorials about Data Structures, and how to build/use them in various languages. You can use C++ for them, or try to learn something else too. For speed & simplicity in interviews, a lot of people seem to prefer Python for discussing DS&A, but by their nature the concepts are fairly language-agnostic.
Try visualalgo for one ... there are plenty of others.
Since a lot of algorithms require/suggest the use of specific data structures to make them work, it's probably better to learn what those are first, and then try to tackle the algorithms that rely on them.
Grokking Algorithms - illustrated & pretty basic intro to concepts
Common Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms - slightly less so, but still pretty basic intro to concepts
CTCI - problems covering arrays, linked lists, stacks & queues, trees, graphs ... Actually kind of useless if you don't already know what those are though.
Introduction to Algorithms (CLRS) - 1 of 2 standard U.S. college-level algorithms textbooks
Algorithms, 4th Ed. - the other standard U.S. college-level textbook, w/free online "book site", code, and a free Coursera course to go along with it.
I highly recommend this book. It takes a lot of key concepts on 228 and 311 a d dumbs it down into pictures with psuedocode. I would definitely use this along with the help room if you can.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1617292230/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_6KATDbSJF44PD
I understand how you feel, honestly - as someone who did poorly in school, and I am somewhat dyscalculic, I really feel like I can relate!
The important thing for you, in my opinion, based on your explanation there, is to look for learning materials that suit you. Some people learn easily from really academic materials, some (like me) don't - and fortunately, there are lots of materials out there trying different approaches to teaching this kind of stuff. It gets easier as you go, as well - once the ball starts rolling you find it much easier to grasp future concepts. I got a massive 1300 page book called "An introduction to Algorithms" many years ago... Introduction my arse. It might as well have been alien language to me. But now, years later, I can actually understand its contents. It definitely was not an introduction (but it is a great book, both physically and literally).
A few recommendations for actual introductory books on these subjects:
"A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms" by Jay Wengrow (2nd Edition coming 2020)
This book says the following in the opening chapter:
>"The problem with most resources on these subjects is that they're...well...obtuse. Most texts go heavy on the math jargon, and if you're not a mathematician, it's really difficult to grasp" . . . "Because of this, many people shy away from these concepts, feeling like they are simply not 'smart' enough to understand them."
It's not a perfect book, but it goes into a lot of basic data structures and explains them in a not-insane way. It helped me a lot! Understanding not just how they work, but why they are useful, is so helpful.
"Grokking Algorithms: An illustrated guide for Programmers and other curious people" by Aditya Y. Bhargava
A similar book, however, more algorithm and less data structure focused, and it goes into somewhat more depth, although usually the extra material is considered optional. The author here expresses a similar concern that books and learning materials on these concepts are often very hard to understand, and it need not be that way!
You can learn these things, you just need to find the right book/method that works for you! It can take some searching to find it. I know from experience!
Read the books, try to implement some of their concepts, and then try applying those things to real problems (i.e. from HackerRank or similar sites, try more than just HR). Read the book again. Repeat. You will understand a bit more each time. That was what worked for me, at least.
Thank you for suggesting this! The style of learning the book serves is right up my alley. Do you have any other suggestions of books that are just like this? One book I enjoyed reading in a similar fashion was Grokking Algorithms
I would recommend Wengrow's or Bhargava's to learn the basics in a more pleasant way and and then continue with others that dig deeper (Cormen, Sedgewick, etc.).
I'm just following that plan actually.
^((Sorry for my bad english))
There is this awesome book called Grokking Algorithms.
This should help you really well. Every concept is taught in a clear, concise manner with lots of illustrations.
You bet, although it uses python rather than C/C++, I think Grokking Algorithms is a good read that covers both linked lists and hash tables amazon link.
can confirm, using this book in my MSCS program (my Uni doesn't have undergrad programs); I'm implementing a lot of the algorithms using custom objects in Python, so it's doing wonders for my object oriented game...
The book is also relatively straight forward to read (again, keep in mind I'm a graduate student), but other books such as the Algorithm Design Manual have been known to have easier to understand explanations and not be as theoretically deep.
Also lastly, for when I was testing my toes in the water, I flipped through Grokking Algorithms which for a short summary, and explanations on how things work is a great place to start (but of course you won't see this book in academic environments).
Some have mentioned in replies to my post that the algorithms presented in the book are either too abstract or simple. To that I say read this, grokking algorithms: An illustrated guide for programmers and other curious people https://www.amazon.com/dp/1617292230/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_KG7CAbE9E4243. It's written well and explains some more complex ideas in an easy to understand manner .
The UK amazon doesn't have any versions directly from you just resellers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grokking-Algorithms-illustrated-programmers-curious/dp/1617292230/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464778753&sr=8-1&keywords=Grokking+algorithms
Any chance you will be adding new versions available through Amazon?