Algorithms For Dummies

Table of Contents

1. 1. Cover
   2. Introduction
      1. About This Book
      2. Foolish Assumptions
      3. Icons Used in This Book
      4. Beyond the Book
      5. Where to Go from Here
   3. Part 1: Getting Started
      1. Chapter 1: Introducing Algorithms
         1. Describing Algorithms
         2. Using Computers to Solve Problems
         3. Distinguishing between Issues and Solutions
         4. Structuring Data to Obtain a Solution
      2. Chapter 2: Considering Algorithm Design
         1. Starting to Solve a Problem
         2. Dividing and Conquering
         3. Learning that Greed Can Be Good
         4. Computing Costs and Following Heuristics
         5. Evaluating Algorithms
      3. Chapter 3: Using Python to Work with Algorithms
         1. Considering the Benefits of Python
         2. Looking at the Python Distributions
         3. Installing Python on Linux
         4. Installing Python on MacOS
         5. Installing Python on Windows
         6. Downloading the Datasets and Example Code
      4. Chapter 4: Introducing Python for Algorithm Programming
         1. Working with Numbers and Logic
         2. Creating and Using Strings
         3. Interacting with Dates
         4. Creating and Using Functions
         5. Using Conditional and Loop Statements
         6. Storing Data Using Sets, Lists, and Tuples
         7. Defining Useful Iterators
         8. Indexing Data Using Dictionaries
      5. Chapter 5: Performing Essential Data Manipulations Using Python
         1. Performing Calculations Using Vectors and Matrixes
         2. Creating Combinations the Right Way
         3. Getting the Desired Results Using Recursion
         4. Performing Tasks More Quickly
   4. Part 2: Understanding the Need to Sort and Search
      1. Chapter 6: Structuring Data
         1. Determining the Need for Structure
         2. Stacking and Piling Data in Order
         3. Working with Trees
         4. Representing Relations in a Graph
      2. Chapter 7: Arranging and Searching Data
         1. Sorting Data Using Mergesort and Quicksort
         2. Using Search Trees and the Heap
         3. Relying on Hashing
   5. Part 3: Exploring the World of Graphs
      1. Chapter 8: Understanding Graph Basics
         1. Explaining the Importance of Networks
         2. Defining How to Draw a Graph
         3. Measuring Graph Functionality
         4. Putting a Graph in Numeric Format
      2. Chapter 9: Reconnecting the Dots
         1. Traversing a Graph Efficiently
         2. Sorting the Graph Elements
         3. Reducing to a Minimum Spanning Tree
         4. Finding the Shortest Route
      3. Chapter 10: Discovering Graph Secrets
         1. Envisioning Social Networks as Graphs
         2. Navigating a Graph
      4. Chapter 11: Getting the Right Web page
         1. Finding the World in a Search Engine
         2. Explaining the PageRank Algorithm
         3. Implementing PageRank
         4. Going Beyond the PageRank Paradigm
   6. Part 4: Struggling with Big Data
      1. Chapter 12: Managing Big Data
         1. Transforming Power into Data
         2. Streaming Flows of Data
         3. Sketching an Answer from Stream Data
      2. Chapter 13: Parallelizing Operations
         1. Managing Immense Amounts of Data
         2. Working Out Algorithms for MapReduce
      3. Chapter 14: Compressing Data
         1. Making Data Smaller
   7. Part 5: Challenging Difficult Problems
      1. Chapter 15: Working with Greedy Algorithms
         1. Deciding When It Is Better to Be Greedy
         2. Finding Out How Greedy Can Be Useful
      2. Chapter 16: Relying on Dynamic Programming
         1. Explaining Dynamic Programming
         2. Discovering the Best Dynamic Recipes
      3. Chapter 17: Using Randomized Algorithms
         1. Defining How Randomization Works
         2. Putting Randomness into your Logic
      4. Chapter 18: Performing Local Search
         1. Understanding Local Search
         2. Presenting local search tricks
         3. Solving satisfiability of Boolean circuits
      5. Chapter 19: Employing Linear Programming
         1. Using Linear Functions as a Tool
         2. Using Linear Programming in Practice
      6. Chapter 20: Considering Heuristics
         1. Differentiating Heuristics
         2. Routing Robots Using Heuristics
         3. Explaining Path Finding Algorithms
   8. Part 6: The Part of Tens
      1. Chapter 21: Ten Algorithms That Are Changing the World
         1. Using Sort Routines
         2. Looking for Things with Search Routines
         3. Shaking Things Up with Random Numbers
         4. Performing Data Compression
         5. Keeping Data Secret
         6. Changing the Data Domain
         7. Analyzing Links
         8. Spotting Data Patterns
         9. Dealing with Automation and Automatic Responses
         10. Creating Unique Identifiers
      2. Chapter 22: Ten Algorithmic Problems Yet to Solve
         1. Dealing with Text Searches
         2. Differentiating Words
         3. Determining Whether an Application Will End
         4. Creating and Using One-Way Functions
         5. Multiplying Really Large Numbers
         6. Dividing a Resource Equally
         7. Reducing Edit Distance Calculation Time
         8. Solving Problems Quickly
         9. Playing the Parity Game
         10. Understanding Spatial Issues
   9. About the Authors
   10. Connect with Dummies
   11. End User License Agreement