Advanced Algorithms and Data Structures

appendix A. A quick guide to pseudo-code

For this book we decided to use pseudo-code to describe how algorithms work. This decision was mainly motivated by two considerations:

• We wanted to make the book accessible to readers with all kind of backgrounds, without being tied to a particular programming language or paradigm.

• By providing a generic description of the steps performed by the algorithm and abstracting away low-level details, we can focus on the essence of the algorithms without worrying about programming language quirks.

The whole point of pseudo-code should be to provide a generic, complete, and easy-to-understand description of algorithms; hence, if it is done properly, there should be no need to further explain it.

At the ...