Data Structures and Program Design In C (2nd Edition) Review

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Data Structures and Program Design In C (2nd Edition) ReviewI just finished an online course on data structures at UMass, Lowell (secured an A grade without any problem) and this is the textbook used for this course. I agree with some of the comments made by the reviewers here - that typedef's are used beyond reason, code is presented in fragments. I must strongly disagree with the reviewers who said - the book is not worth the money (it's cheap if you buy a used one), it is a bad book, useful only as a paper weight. The strong plus point for this book is that it presents theory well - there are many figures using which it is easy to understand complicated stuff. The other plus point is that it also analyzes the performance of algorithms and I felt the book does a great job of explaining this part in clear terms. The main drawback is that the code is fragmented and spread out, which is certainly frustating. Also, in order to get the code to work on a compiler (I used Microsoft VC++ version 6), you will need to "fill in the gaps" as most code examples (I tried 90% of the examples in the text on MVC++ compiler) are by no means complete but this was not difficult. You can download the code from the publisher's website and the code is actually not organized into different files (sorted by chapter and example) but it comes in a few files where examples from different chapters are mixed. You will have to search and find the part you need. I do agree usage of dummy functions creates confusion. This book has a rocky start with the life game example, which was not very easy to follow with the explanation provided. While I was frustated with the first two chapters, the rest of the chapters are presented well. To the reviewer who said that the code has bugs (which certainly isn't true), my guess that the gaps are not properly filled. I patiently tested most of the code on the computer (after filling in the gaps of course!) and find absolutely no problems with it. This however took lot of time since significant effort is needed from the student to fill the missing code to make it work. I have supplied working code to my fellow students who were facing difficulties in getting the code to run. In a couple of places in the text, the author surprised me with C syntax I did not know was legal (I consider myself intermediate programmer).
I suspect the reason why many readers have problems with this book is two-fold: 1.The code is not available in a format that can be tested on the compiler. Having read a lot of CS books which supply with readily usable code, this book gets annoying. I was wondering why the authors did not give downloadable working code for all examples in the text (which is a definite minus point) 2. The reader will have to go back and forth between the chapters as some functions developed in former chapters are used in later chapters. This does get irritating. I have read books that do this to a ridiculous level but this book stays with in tolerable bounds.
I will not rate this book as the best one on the subject out there but it is definitely good enough to learn data structures. I have used another book as a supplement: Data Structures & Algorithms in Java (Mitchell Waite Signature Series) (Hardcover) By Mitchell Waite, Robert Lafore ISBN: 1571690956. This book has lot of applets that show step by step how algorithms work. I am a visual learner and this helped tremendously. However, I felt that Waite Series book did not present the theory as thoroughly as Robert Kruse's text.
In summary, I consider this book as "decent". I was very much concerned when I first purchased this text because of so many bad reviews. As it turns out, those that can understand C and are willing to sit in front of the computer to make the code samples in this book work need not have any fear. As I said earlier, the theory is presented well, and all it needs is patience and diligence from the student to go through the code examples on a compiler. I believe that I now have a good understanding of the subject and I can move on books that deal with it at more depth. There are a plethora books on this topic out there and there may be better books than the ones mentioned in this review.Data Structures and Program Design In C (2nd Edition) Overview Progressing from the concrete to the abstract —and using numerous, substantial case studies and sample programs —this book explores structured problem solving, data abstraction,software engineering principles, and the comparative analysis ofalgorithms as fundamental tools of program design. Emphasizes principles of top-down refinement, programdesign, review, and testing. Uses the C programming languagethroughout. Offers Internet access to the source codefor all the programs and program extracts printed in the book.

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