Ever wonder what makes video, friends, movie, and book recommendations seamless and intuitive on websites like YouTube, Facebook, and Netflix? That’s right, Algorithms.
Algorithms are basically what drives the modern internet if you think about it. These intelligent lines of code are responsible for keeping you hooked to a website by suggesting content that it deems worthy of your interest. The significant part is that it works. It knows precisely what you’d like, and when you don’t, it learns from your experience and modifies itself, i.e., machine learning algorithms.
I think any aspiring programmer should know how to implement and write algorithms. Companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, and Intel thrive on algorithms and data structures, and they are picky about their job applicants.
You don’t even have to go to the top web companies, even midrange companies and startups rely heavily on algorithms, and if you want to get ahead, you should add this skill to your programming arsenal.
A good thing about algorithms is that it is language-agnostic which means that a skilled enough programmer can convert a specific algorithm to their language of choice from another.
Today, I have curated 10 best books for Algorithms and Data structures.
In this Article
- 10. Python Algorithms: Mastering Basic Algorithms in the Python Language
- 9. Introduction to Algorithms: A Creative Approach
- 8. Algorithms Unlocked by Thomas H. Cormen
- 7. Algorithms in a Nutshell
- 6. Problem-Solving with Algorithms and Data Structures Using Python
- 5. Introduction to Algorithms
- 4. The Algorithm Design Manual
- 3. Grokking Algorithms: An Illustrated Guide for Programmers and Other Curious People
- 2. Algorithms (4th Edition)
- 1. Data Structures and Algorithms Made Easy
10. Python Algorithms: Mastering Basic Algorithms in the Python Language
Written by Magnus Lie Hetland, this book is dedicated to Python Algorithms. Since algorithms are language-independent, you would be able to implement these algorithms in your chosen language. However, if you already know how to code in Python, you will find this book the perfect companion for your algorithms study.
Key Features:
- The book deals with some of the most critical and challenging areas of programming and computer science, but in a highly pedagogic and readable manner.
- The book covers both algorithmic theory and programming practice, demonstrating how the approach is reflected in real Python programs.
- Well-known algorithms and data structures that are built into the Python language are explained, and the user is shown how to implement and evaluate others him
Get it from here.
9. Introduction to Algorithms: A Creative Approach
Introduction to Algorithms is written by Udi Manber and serves as an excellent introduction to algorithms. It will enhance your problem-solving abilities and your understanding of the different principles behind algorithm design.
Key Features:
- This book emphasizes the creative aspects of algorithm design by examining steps used in algorithm development.
- The book contains hundreds of problems and examples.
- It is designed to enhance the reader’s problem-solving abilities and understanding of algorithm design principles.
Get it here.
8. Algorithms Unlocked by Thomas H. Cormen
Algorithms unlocked is aimed towards those with a novice understanding of algorithms. It offers a general explanation without appealing to complicated mathematics of how algorithms solve the different computer problems.
Key Features:
- Readers will learn what computer algorithms.
- You will learn the basic principles behind cryptography and the fundamentals of data compression.
- The book includes many complex problems and its solution in a reasonable amount of time.
- Discover simple ways to search for information on a computer.
- Methods for rearranging information in a computer into a prescribed order (“sorting”).
Get it here.
7. Algorithms in a Nutshell
Precisely as the name suggests, in a Nutshell, Algorithms is your guide to many existing algorithms for solving a variety of problems. This book is designed so that you can select and implement the right algorithm for a specific issue without worrying about what goes where.
Key Features:
- Solve a particular coding problem or improve on the performance of an existing solution
- Quickly locate algorithms that relate to the problems you want to solve and determine why a particular algorithm is the right one to use
- Get algorithmic solutions in C, C++, Java, and Ruby with implementation tips
- Learn the expected performance of an algorithm and the conditions it needs to perform at its best
Get it here.
6. Problem-Solving with Algorithms and Data Structures Using Python
This is one of the most sought-after and highly acclaimed books that deals with Python and how different algorithms work, and their contribution to the broader field of computer science.
Key Features:
- This textbook is designed to serve as a text for the first course on data structures and algorithms.
- Covers abstract data types and data structures, writing algorithms and solving problems.
- Looks at several data structures and solve classic problems that arise.
- The tools and techniques you learn here will be applied repeatedly as you continue your study of computer science.
Get it from here.
5. Introduction to Algorithms
Although designed primarily for undergrad and graduate studied, this book can also be used for self-study and is an ideal resource for those who are just starting in the world of algorithms.
Key Features:
- New chapters on algorithms’ role in computing and on probabilistic analysis and randomized algorithms have been included.
- Sections throughout the book have been rewritten for increased clarity, and material has been added.
- Presents a wide variety of algorithms and covers them in considerable depth.
- Algorithms are presented in pseudocode to make the book easily accessible to students from all programming language backgrounds.
Get it here.
4. The Algorithm Design Manual
The algorithm design manual is one of those books that reaches the rank of “must-have” in a given field. Anybody who knows anything about algorithms has probably read this book. The updated version has even more, to offer on combinatorial algorithms technology, techniques, and the importance of design over-analysis.
Key Features:
- Doubles the tutorial material and exercises over the first Edition
- Provides full online support for lecturers, and a completely updated and improved website component with lecture slides, audio, and video
- Contains a unique catalog identifying the 75 algorithmic problems that arise most often in practice, leading the reader down the right path to solve them
- Includes several NEW “war stories” relating experiences from real-world applications
Provides up-to-date links leading to the very best algorithm implementations available in C, C++, and Java.
Get it here.
3. Grokking Algorithms: An Illustrated Guide for Programmers and Other Curious People
Grokking Algorithms is a fully illustrated beginner-friendly guide on applying some of the most common algorithms to the practical problems you may face as a programmer on a day to day basis.
Key Features:
- Covers search, sort, and graph algorithms
- Over 400 pictures with detailed walkthroughs
- Performance trade-offs between algorithms
- Python-based code samples
Get it here.
2. Algorithms (4th Edition)
Algorithms by Robert Sedgewick and Kevin Wayne is considered the leading textbook on algorithms for colleges and universities alike. You will find uses and explanations for some of the most common algorithms in use, as well as a full treatment of data structures and algorithms for sorting, searching, graph processing, and much more.
Key Features:
- This book surveys the most important computer algorithms currently in use.
- Provides a full treatment of data structures and algorithms for sorting, searching, graph processing, and string processing.
- Includes fifty algorithms every programmer should know.
- Java implementations are written in an accessible modular programming style, where all of the code is exposed to the reader and ready to use
Get it here.
1. Data Structures and Algorithms Made Easy
The most highly rated amongst all the books on this list, “Data Structures and Algorithms Made Easy,” provides solutions to complex data structures and algorithms quickly to understand how new to the field is.
Key Features:
- Multiple solutions for each problem.
- Book is coded in C/C++.
- Serves as a guide to prepare for interviews, exams, and campus work.
- Offers solutions to various complex data structures and algorithmic problems.
Get it here.