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The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 4, Fascicle 5

TAOCP Facsicle 5, brimming with lively examples, forms the first third of what will eventually become hardcover Volume 4B. It begins with a 26-page tutorial on the major advances in probabilistic methods that have been made during the past 50 years, since those theories are the key to so many modern algorithms. Then it introduces the fundamental principles of efficient backtrack programming, a family of techniques that have been a mainstay of combinatorial computing since the beginning. This introductory material is followed by an extensive exploration of important data structures whose links perform delightful dances.