Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Algorithms: A Practical Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms in JavaScript (for True Epub)

A hands-on, easy-to-comprehend guide that is perfect for anyone who needs to understand algorithms. With the explosive growth in the amount of data and the diversity of computing applications, efficient algorithms are needed now more than ever. Programming languages come and go, but the core of programming--algorithms and data structures--remains the same. Absolute Beginner's Guide to Algorithms is the fastest way to learn algorithms and data structures. Using helpful diagrams and fully annotated code samples in jаvascript, you will start with the basics and gradually go deeper and broader into all the techniques you need to organize your data. Programming is all about taking data and manipulating it in all sorts of interesting ways. Now, depending on what we are doing, our data needs to be represented in a form that makes it easy for us to actually use. This form is better known as a data structure. As we will see shortly, data structures give the data we are dealing with a heavy dose of organization and scaffolding. This makes manipulating our data easier and (often) more efficient. Recursion is a powerful programming technique that allows us to break down large, complicated problems into smaller, more manageable pieces. Not only is it a valuable tool in our coding toolkit, but understanding recursion will also help us improve our logical thinking and problem-solving skills. So why wait? In this chapter, we get a good overview on what recursion is and why knowing more about it will kick our coding skills up a bunch of notches! If there was a Greatest Hits list of popular algorithms, the Fibonacci sequence would be right at the top. It would be the Beatles or the Rolling Stones of its generation. The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers in which each number is the sum of the previous two numbers. The sequence starts with 0 and 1, and then each subsequent number is the sum of the previous two. So, the sequence goes 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and so on. In our algorithmic digital world, when we talk about search or searching, we are still trying to find something. The key difference is that what we are trying to find will live in a collection of data, such as an array, a list, or a tree. Depending on what we are looking for and what the collection of data looks like, we will employ a variety of approaches to help us find something efficiently. These varieties of approaches have a more formal name: search algorithms. Together, we’re going to look at some really popular search algorithms, each with its own unique twist that makes it special. In this chapter, we start our journey by looking at one of the most approachable search algorithms, the linear search (sometimes called a sequential search). Start fast with data structures basics: arrays, stacks, queues, trees, heaps, and more Walk through popular search, sort, and graph algorithms Understand Big-O notation and why some algorithms are fast and why others are slow Balance theory with practice by playing with the fully functional jаvascript implementations of all covered data structures and algorithms Cover Page About This eBook Title Page Copyright Page Pearson’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Figure Credits Contents at a Glance Table of Contents Acknowledgments Dedication About the Author Tech Editors Part I: Data Structures 1. Introduction to Data Structures Right Tool for the Right Job Back to Data Structures Conclusion Some Additional Resources 2. Big-O Notation and Complexity Analysis It’s Example Time It’s Big-O Notation Time! Conclusion Some Additional Resources 3. Arrays What Is an Array? Array Implementation / Use Cases Arrays and Memory Performance Considerations Conclusion Some Additional Resources 4. Linked Lists Meet the Linked List Linked List: Time and Space Complexity Linked List Variations Implementation Conclusion Some Additional Resources 5. Stacks Meet the Stack A JavaScript Implementation Stacks: Time and Space Complexity Conclusion Some Additional Resources 6. Queues Meet the Queue A JavaScript Implementation Queues: Time and Space Complexity Conclusion Some Additional Resources 7. Trees Trees 101 Height and Depth Conclusion Some Additional Resources 8. Binary Trees Meet the Binary Tree A Simple Binary Tree Implementation Conclusion Some Additional Resources 9. Binary Search Trees It’s Just a Data Structure Implementing a Binary Search Tree Performance and Memory Characteristics Conclusion Some Additional Resources 10. Heaps Meet the Heap Heap Implementation Performance Characteristics Conclusion Some Additional Resources 11. Hashtable (aka Hashmap or Dictionary) A Very Efficient Robot From Robots to Hashing Functions From Hashing Functions to Hashtables JavaScript Implementation/Usage Dealing with Collisions Performance and Memory Conclusion Some Additional Resources 12. Trie (aka Prefix Tree) What Is a Trie? Diving Deeper into Tries Many More Examples Abound! Implementation Time Performance Conclusion Some Additional Resources 13. Graphs What Is a Graph? Graph Implementation Conclusion Some Additional Resources Part II: Algorithms 14. Introduction to Recursion Our Giant Cookie Problem Recursion in Programming Conclusion Some Additional Resources 15. Fibonacci and Going Beyond Recursion Recursively Solving the Fibonacci Sequence Recursion with Memoization Taking an Iteration-Based Approach Going Deeper on the Speed Conclusion Some Additional Resources 16. Towers of Hanoi How Towers of Hanoi Is Played The Single Disk Case It’s Two Disk Time Three Disks The Algorithm The Code Solution Check Out the Recursiveness! It’s Math Time Conclusion Some Additional Resources 17. Search Algorithms and Linear Search Linear Search Conclusion Some Additional Resources 18. Faster Searching with Binary Search Binary Search in Action The JavaScript Implementation Runtime Performance Conclusion Some Additional Resources 19. Binary Tree Traversal Breadth-First Traversal Depth-First Traversal Implementing Our Traversal Approaches Performance of Our Traversal Approaches Conclusion Some Additional Resources 20. Depth-First Search (DFS) and Breadth-First Search (BFS) A Tale of Two Exploration Approaches It’s Example Time When to Use DFS? When to Use BFS? A JavaScript Implementation Performance Details Conclusion Some Additional Resources 21. Quicksort A Look at How Quicksort Works Another Simple Look It’s Implementation Time Performance Characteristics Conclusion Some Additional Resources 22. Bubblesort How Bubblesort Works Walkthrough The Code Conclusion Some Additional Resources 23. Insertion Sort How Insertion Sort Works One More Example Algorithm Overview and Implementation Performance Analysis Conclusion Some Additional Resources 24. Selection Sort Selection Sort Walkthrough Algorithm Deep Dive The JavaScript Implementation Conclusion Some Additional Resources 25. Mergesort How Mergesort Works Mergesort: The Algorithm Details Looking at the Code Conclusion Some Additional Resources 26. Conclusion How this Book Came About One more thing! Index Code Snippets A hands-on, easy-to-comprehend guide that is perfect for anyone who needs to understand algorithms. With the explosive growth in the amount of data and the diversity of computing applications, efficient algorithms are needed now more than ever. Programming languages come and go, but the core of programming—algorithms and data structures—remains the same. Absolute Beginner's Guide to Algorithms is the fastest way to learn algorithms and data structures. Using helpful diagrams and fully annotated code samples in Javascript, you will start with the basics and gradually go deeper and broader into all the techniques you need to organize your data. Start fast with data structures basics: arrays, stacks, queues, trees, heaps, and more Walk through popular search, sort, and graph algorithms Understand Big-O notation and why some algorithms are fast and why others are slow Balance theory with practice by playing with the fully functional JavaScript implementations of all covered data structures and algorithms Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.