This book describes data structures, methods of organizing large amounts of data, and algorithm analysis, the estimation of the running time of algorithms. As computers become faster and faster, the need for programs that can handle large amounts of input becomes more acute. Paradoxically, this requires more careful attention to efficiency, since inefficiencies in programs become most obvious when input sizes are large. By analyzing an algorithm before it is actually coded, students can decide if a particular solution will be feasible. For example, in this text students look at specific problems and see how careful implementations can reduce the time constraint for large amounts of data from 16 years to less than a second. Therefore, no algorithm or data structure is presented without an explanation of its running time.

In some cases, minute details that affect the running time of the implementation are explored. Once a solution method is determined, a program must still be written. As computers have become more powerful, the problems they must solve have become larger and more complex, requiring development of more intricate programs. The goal of this text is to teach students good programming and algorithm analysis skills simultaneously so that they can develop such programs with the maximum amount of efficiency.

This book is suitable for either an advanced data structures (CS7) course or a first-year graduate course in algorithm analysis. Students should have some knowledge of intermediate programming, including such topics as pointers and recursion, and some background in discrete math.