Grokking Algorithms
An illustrated guide for programmers and other curious people
by Aditya Y. Bhargava · first published 2016
71% recommend27% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Gentle, illustrated introduction to algorithms and Big O that assumes little math; hand-drawn visuals build intuition. Suits beginners and anyone intimidated by denser texts like CLRS.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Grokking Algorithms is a fully illustrated, friendly guide that teaches you how to apply common algorithms to the practical problems you face every day as a programmer. You'll start with sorting and searching and, as you build up your skills in thinking algorithmically, you'll tackle more complex concerns such as data compression and artificial intelligence. Each carefully presented example includes helpful diagrams and fully annotated code samples in Python."--Publisher's desription.
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…too basic. There is not even any implementation provided. I thought it didn't offer anything more than you could find on Wikipedia if you add some illustration done with Paper by 53 app. I'd recommend "Grokking Algorithms" by Aditya Bhargava for this topic if you want illustrated explanations with brilliant examples. - Didn't learn anything new from Databases chapter. - Didn't learn anything new from Programming Languages…
on “The Imposter's Handbook” ↗…writing the book in a visualized "worked example" format, which is how I worked through the data structures course I taught over the summer. In that light, I can see it being very similar to something like Grokking Algorithms [1], which I did buy because I enjoyed the idea of visualizing the algorithms (for my students and my own edification). Final note if you went that route is be mindful of colorblind customers and look…
on “Show HN: A coloring book of data structures and algorithms” ↗you might be interested in https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-algorithms it is illustrated and very approachable
on “Show HN: A coloring book of data structures and algorithms” ↗…share this with people just getting started who find algorithms intimidating (we're not all math double majors :P). It probably can't serve as a primary source of material but is a great supplement. Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Bhargava is something I skim for fun occasionally and this seems like a great complement!
on “Show HN: A coloring book of data structures and algorithms” ↗Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Y. Bhargava (I believe he's on HN). Highly recommend, easy read and really enjoyable.
on “Ask HN: What was the best book you read in 2016?” ↗Another great resource I highly recommend: https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-algorithms
on “Algorithms” ↗…Google is looking for: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, analysis of trade offs and being a genuinely nice person. Books that got me into Google: The Algorithm Design Manual by Skienna Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Bhargava
on “Ask HN: How to Get into Google?” ↗…Chiusano & Bjarnason * Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided By Tests - Freeman & Pryce ("The Goose Book") * Modern Java in Action - Raoul-Gabriel Urma * Java Concurrency in Practice - Brian Goetz * Grokking Algorithms - Aditya Y. Bhargava Architecture: * Righting Software - Juval Lowy * Release It! - Michael Nygard * Site Reliability Engineering - Beyer, et al. ("The SRE Book”) * Domain Driven Design - Eric Evans…
on “Theory-building and why employee churn is lethal to software companies” ↗https://www.amazon.com/Grokking-Algorithms-illustrated-progr...
on “Ask HN: Any good Technical books with hilarious presentation?” ↗It's not made by someone from an arts background, but as someone with barely any maths background (stopped learning at 16) I found the book Grokking Algorithms[1] a really good way to learn about data structures etc. It's written with more of a focus on displaying algorithms visually. Doesn't go into massive depth, but helped me considerably in developing intuition…
on “Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?” ↗Grokking Algorithms (https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-algorithms), preferably on paper.
on “Ask HN: Best book to gift someone for getting into software engineering?” ↗…them for the first time, there is a lot of information to get through and using the book format will force you to slow down and ensure you are learning things at your own pace. I also highly recommend "Grokking Algorithms" as a easy primer. It seems a little "basic", but it really is a great way to quickly pick up the basics of algorithms, an a great refresher. I used it in parallel to TADM and helped me get unstuck a…
on “Ask HN: How do I choose the right resource to learn CS fundamentals?” ↗…easier to read as a textbook. I also like Steven Skiena's course videos. But I agree completely that they are unlikely to be something you'll use day-to-day unless you work as an algorithms specialist. > Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Bhargava... I am convinced that you don't need to know more about algorithms than this book covers. This is a nice and compact book, and I think he's right for most jobs that involve writing…
on “Data structures and algorithms I actually used while working at tech companies” ↗Introduction to Algorithms -Thomas H. Cormen Grokking Algorithms -Aditya Bhargava Cracking the Coding Interview Book by Gayle Laakmann McDowell
on “Ask HN: Looking for a book on algorithms and data structures” ↗…data structures. It’s got illustrations and everything! It doesn’t go into loads of detail but as a first intro I think it’s great, then you can go deeper if you want. https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-algorithms
on “Ask HN: I'm looking for a good book on the fundamentals of CS” ↗