Название: Graph Algorithms the Fun Way: Powerful Algorithms Decoded, Not Oversimplified
Автор: Jeremy Kubica
Издательство: No Starch Press
Год: 2025
Страниц: 416
Язык: английский
Формат: epub (true)
Размер: 29.8 MB

Graph Algorithms the Fun Way offers a refreshing approach to complex concepts by blending humor, imaginative examples, and practical Python implementations to reveal the power and versatility of graph-based problem-solving in the real world. Through clear diagrams, engaging examples, and Python code, you’ll build a solid foundation for addressing graph problems in your own projects.

This book is an introduction to graphs and their algorithms for programmers who want to understand and apply them. Graphs are a type of data structure used throughout mathematics, Computer Science, and numerous other fields to model and solve a wide range of real-world problems. The structure of a graph allows us to represent connections or associations between items. Understanding this structure is critical to harnessing the power of graphs and using them efficiently.

Yet this book still only scratches the surface of the exciting and powerful world of graph algorithms, an area of study with a long history and ongoing research. A comprehensive coverage of all graph techniques and their relative advantages would require numerous volumes and be out of date the moment it was printed. Instead, this book is meant to serve as a foundation for people approaching this exciting field for the first time.

The book starts by introducing the components of graphs, then dives into exploring a variety of graph algorithms and how they apply to real-world problems. It is more than a cookbook of common algorithms. Its goal is to help readers understand the ideas behind the algorithms and build the intuitions to adapt the concepts covered here to techniques beyond this book.

Explore a rich landscape of cleverly constructed scenarios where:

Hedge mazes illuminate depth-first search
Urban explorations demonstrate breadth-first search
Intricate labyrinths reveal bridges and articulation points
Strategic planning illustrates bipartite matching
From fundamental graph structures to advanced topics, you will

Implement powerful algorithms, including Dijkstra’s, A*, and Floyd-Warshall
Tackle puzzles and optimize pathfinding with newfound confidence
Uncover real-world applications in social networks and transportation systems
Develop robust intuition for when and why to apply specific graph techniques
Delve into topological sorting, minimum spanning trees, strongly connected components, and random walks. Confront challenges like graph coloring and the traveling salesperson problem.

Prepare to view the world through the lens of graphs—where connections reveal insights and algorithms unlock new possibilities.

Who Is This Book For?
This book is for programmers who want to learn more about graphs, graph algorithms, and the computational thinking behind such techniques. I assume no prior knowledge of graphs or graph algorithms. However, readers should have the kind of basic familiarity with Python that can be expected after an introductory course, book, or boot camp. They should be familiar with fundamental Python programming concepts, including basic data structures such as lists and dictionaries.

I hope this book will be useful to a wide range of audiences, not just programmers learning graph algorithms for the first time. The examples and metaphors used throughout the book are designed to provide an alternative way to view the topics from their standard mathematical definitions. Advanced students and experienced computer scientists may find a new perspective to understand particularly difficult or tricky topics.