Programming Pearls is a fascinating book about programming. Sitting on the crapper this morning, I read the chapter on algorithm design techniques. It starts off:
This column studies four different algorithms for one small problem, with an emphasis on the techniques used to design them. Some of the algorithms are a little complicated, but with justification. While the first program we’ll study takes fifteen days to solve a problem of size 100,000, the final program solves the problem in five milliseconds.
I’m embarassed to admit that I can only follow about half of what he is saying. My meager grasp of mathematics is one problem, and my ignorance of low-level programming languages (C, C++, Java, C#, etc.) also doesn’t help. I’ve started to learn Java again, which should help. Also, I just ordered Mathematics: Its Content, Methods and Meaning so I can bone up on my math knowledge.