Grokking Algorithms: An Illustrated Guide For Programmers and Other Curious People by Aditya Y. Bhargava. Aditya is an Engineering Manager at Etsy. He blogs at adit.io.
This is not a book for seasoned programmers. However, this is certainly a wonderful book to learn the basics of algorithms.
Grokking Algorithms provides an illustrated overview of algorithms which certainly provides a foundation to common algorithms used everyday by programmers.
For anyone interested in learning the basic structures of algorithms, Aditya also provides code samples in Python. In addition, the programming community has shared java versions of the book on Github.
On the surface, everyone learning about various algorithm options will not secure a programming job in their short term future.
However, I feel it is very fair to say many readers interested in learning about algorithms will not be overwhelmed.
If you are interested in learning to code, then this book is required reading. There are 400 illustrations within Aditya’s 256 page book. easy-peasy. The 256 page count is not lost on me.
Recursion
For instance, in chapter 3 you will learn recursion, a coding technique used in many algorithms. On the surface it would appear overwhelming, however each chapter’s illustrations provide the core understanding for anyone to appreciate.
In addition, I believe Aditya provides a great visual approach to introducing recursion with a simple concept: you find in your grandma’s attic a mysterious locked suitcase (box). Your grandmother tells you a key to open the suitcase is located in the boxes below:
Power of visual storytelling
Aditya illustrates commonly used algorithms to visually build his foundational message. If you benefit from visual learning and storytelling, this book is unquestionably a perfect fit! Aditya begins with sorting and searching, however he leads up to data compression and artificial intelligence.
In conclusion, Grokking Algorithms is a wonderful teaching resource. Above all, this book is perfect for anyone learning to code.
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