A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills

Some copies of this book have a printing error that causes the figures to be unreadable. If you have received one of these copies, please contact the Pragmatic Bookshelf at support@pragprog.com, and we will replace it for you.

Algorithms and data structures are much more than abstract concepts. Mastering them enables you to write code that runs faster and more efficiently, which is particularly important for today’s web and mobile apps. This book takes a practical approach to data structures and algorithms, with techniques and real-world scenarios that you can use in your daily production code. Graphics and examples make these computer science concepts understandable and relevant. You can use these techniques with any language; examples in the book are in JavaScript, Python, and Ruby.

Use Big O notation, the primary tool for evaluating algorithms, to measure and articulate the efficiency of your code, and modify your algorithm to make it faster. Find out how your choice of arrays, linked lists, and hash tables can dramatically affect the code you write. Use recursion to solve tricky problems and create algorithms that run exponentially faster than the alternatives. Dig into advanced data structures such as binary trees and graphs to help scale specialized applications such as social networks and mapping software. You’ll even encounter a single keyword that can give your code a turbo boost. Jay Wengrow brings to this book the key teaching practices he developed as a web development bootcamp founder and educator.

Use these techniques today to make your code faster and more scalable.

Jay Wengrow is an experienced educator and developer who is dedicated to teaching the world to code. He is the founder and CEO of Actualize, a national coding bootcamp and apprenticeship; Anyone Can Learn To Code, an educational company teaching everyone to code through online tutorials, K-12 computer science curriculum, and corporate training.