Programming Pearls

Jon Bentley

ISBN 10: 8177588583 / ISBN 13: 9788177588583

Published by Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd, 2006

May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G8177588583I4N00

Synopsis:

I am very impressed at how fresh the new examples seem.--Steve Mc Connell, author, Code Complete,When programmers list their favourite books, Jon Bentley's collection of programming pearls is commonly included among the classics. Just as natural pearls grow from grains of sand that irritate oysters, programming pearls have grown from real problems that have irritated real programmers. With origins beyond solid engineering, in the realm of insight and creativity, Bentley's pearls offer unique and clever solutions to those nagging problems. Illustrated by programs designed as much for fun as for instruction, the book is filled with lucid and witty descriptions of practical programming techniques and fundamental design principles. It is not at all surprising that Programming Pearls has been so highly valued by programmers at every level of experience, In this revision, the first in 14 years, Bentley has substantially updated his essay to reflect current programming methods and environments. In addition, there are three new essays on (1) testing, debugging, and timing; (2) set representations; and (3) string problems. All he original programs have been rewritten, and an equal amount of new code has been generated. Implementations of all the programs, in C or C++, are now available on the Web

Review: This reviewer still has the original edition of Bentley's book, 14-years-old now. Bentley's influential and eponymous columns first appeared in Communications of the ACM. Programming Pearls contains 15 of these--now updated--columns.

In his book Bentley assumes little more than a working knowledge of C, but it's in no way a guide to C. Rather, it approaches programming in the same way William Morris approached design--as a creative act founded on knowledge of the craft. From the first essay, Bentley emphasises the importance of accurately defining the problem in arriving at a fast, robust and efficient solution. He gives a number of examples that show how real understanding can reduce programming time, increase accuracy and reduce bugs.

The essays are divided into three alliteratively named sections: Preliminaries, Performance and Product. The first section covers writing a program that's correct for the programmer and the client. The second addresses efficiency, code tuning and performance. The last is a little unfocussed, albeit still interesting: it covers sorts, searches and heaps among other subjects. Take note, though: the solutions in the appendices are, in true C fashion, pointers to solutions. Programming Pearls is such a delight, you're likely to find yourself reading it in the bath. --Steve Patient

Bibliographic Details

Title: Programming Pearls
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd
Publication Date: 2006
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Edition: 2nd Edition