Название: Quick Data Structures
Автор: David Matuszek
Издательство: CRC Press
Год: 2026
Страниц: 151
Язык: английский
Формат: epub (true)
Размер: 10.1 MB

If you want to upgrade your programming skills, the most important thing you need is a solid understanding of fundamental data structures. The proper choice of data structures distinguishes excellent programmers from merely competent ones.

As an experienced programmer, you use data structures―at least arrays―all the time. However, you may not be familiar with hash tables, trees and binary trees, priority queues, directed and undirected graphs, and other data structures at your disposal.

A good choice of data structures will simplify your job, not complicate it. Your code will be not only faster but also easier to understand and debug. There is no downside to using the right data structures for the job.

Code isn’t always the best way to explain an algorithm or data structure—but sometimes it is. In such cases, the code should be as readable as possible. It’s generally agreed that Python is the most readable language, but every language has glitches. Similarly, Python has dictionaries, “lists,” and sets, which we will try to avoid. Consequently, the code in this book is “Python-like” but, in the interest of making code as readable as possible for everyone, not necessarily “real” Python. There is one feature we retain from Python. Good programming style demands that code be indented properly, and in Python, this is a requirement, not just a style rule. In this book, indentation is used to indicate code controlled by an if or while statement, making braces unnecessary.

This book:

Provides an understanding of the fundamental building blocks of data structures
Describes the construction and use of all common data structures
Explains the simple math required for selecting efficient data structures
Equips you with everything you need to choose data structures or devise appropriate new ones