The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 4A: Combinatorial Algorithms, Part 1

Preface

To put all the good stuff into one book is patently impossible,and attempting even to be reasonably comprehensiveabout certain aspects of the subject is likely to lead to runaway growth.

— GERALD B. FOLLAND, “Editor’s Corner” (2005)

The title of Volume 4 is Combinatorial Algorithms, and when I proposed it I was strongly inclined to add a subtitle: The Kind of Programming I Like Best. My editors have decided to tone down such exuberance, but the fact remains that programs with a combinatorial flavor have always been my favorites.

On the other hand I’ve often been surprised to find that, in many people’s minds, the word “combinatorial” is linked with computational difficulty. Indeed, Samuel Johnson, in his famous dictionary of the English ...