Home > Store

Programming Pearls, 2nd Edition

Register your product to gain access to bonus material or receive a coupon.

Programming Pearls, 2nd Edition

Best Value Purchase

Book + eBook Bundle

  • Your Price: $46.70
  • List Price: $75.58
  • Includes EPUB and PDF
  • About eBook Formats
  • This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase:

    ePub EPUB The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices.

    Adobe Reader PDF The popular standard, used most often with the free Acrobat® Reader® software.

    This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discreetly watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.

More Purchase Options

Book

  • Your Price: $35.99
  • List Price: $44.99
  • Usually ships in 24 hours.

eBook (Watermarked)

  • Your Price: $24.47
  • List Price: $30.59
  • Includes EPUB and PDF
  • About eBook Formats
  • This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase:

    ePub EPUB The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices.

    Adobe Reader PDF The popular standard, used most often with the free Acrobat® Reader® software.

    This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discreetly watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.

About

Features

  • NEW - .
  • .

Description

  • Copyright 2000
  • Dimensions: 6-1/4" x 9-1/4"
  • Pages: 256
  • Edition: 2nd
  • Book
  • ISBN-10: 0-201-65788-0
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-201-65788-3

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.

What remains the same in this edition is Bentley’s focus on the hard core of programming problems and his delivery of workable solutions to those problems. Whether you are new to Bentley’s classic or are revisiting his work for some fresh insight, the book is sure to make your own list of favourites.

Downloads

Downloads

Here you can download a .zip which contains source code, teaching material, and samples of the case studies and examples from the book. Instructions: Extract this .zip file locally, then open the index.html file to navigate through the content.

Download the files (797 KB .zip)

Sample Content

Table of Contents

I. PRELIMINARIES.

Column 1. Cracking the Oyster.


A Friendly Conversation.

Precise Problem Statement.

Program Design.

Implementation Sketch.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Column 2. Aha! Algorithms.


Three Problems.

Ubiquitous Binary Search.

The Power of Primitives.

Getting It Together: Sorting.

Principles · Problems.

Further Reading.

Implementing an Anagram Program.

Column 3. Data Structures Programs.


A Survey Program.

Form-Letter Programming.

An Array of Examples.

Structuring Data.

Powerful Tools for Specialized Data.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Column 4. Writing Correct Programs.


The Challenge of Binary Search.

Writing the Program.

Understanding the Program.

Principles.

The Roles of Program Verification.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Column 5. A Small Matter of Programming.


From Pseudocode to C.

A Test Harness.

The Art of Assertion.

Automated Testing.

Timing.

The Complete Program.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Debugging.

II. PERFORMANCE.

Column 6. Perspective on Performance.


A Case Study.

Design Levels.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Column 7. The Back of the Envelope.


Basic Skills.

Performance Estimates.

Safety Factors.

Little's Law.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Quick Calculations in Everyday Life.

Column 8. Algorithm Design Techniques.


The Problem and a Simple Algorithm.

Two Quadratic Algorithms.

A Divide-and-Conquer Algorithm.

A Scanning Algorithm.

What Does It Matter?

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Column 9. Code Tuning.


A Typical Story.

A First Aid Sampler.

Major Surgery—Binary Search.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Column 10. Squeezing Space.


The Key—Simplicity.

An Illustrative Problem.

Techniques for Data Space.

Techniques for Code Space.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

A Big Squeeze.

III. THE PRODUCT.

Column 11. Sorting.


Insertion Sort.

A Simple Quicksort.

Better Quicksorts.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Column 12. A Sample Problem.


The Problem.

One Solution.

The Design Space.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Column 13. Searching.


The Interface.

Linear Structures.

Binary Search Trees.

Structures for Integers.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

A Real Searching Problem.

Column 14. Heaps.


The Data Structure.

Two Critical Functions.

Priority Queues.

A Sorting Algorithm.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Column 15. Strings of Pearls.


Words.

Phrases.

Generating Text.

Principles.

Problems.

Further Reading.

Epilog to the First Edition.


Epilog to the Second Edition.


Appendix 1. A Catalog of Algorithms.


Appendix 2. An Estimation Quiz.


Appendix 3. Cost Models for Time and Space.


Appendix 4. Rules for Code Tuning.


Appendix 5. C++ Classes for Searching.


Hints for Selected Problems.


Solutions to Selected Problems.


Index. 0201657880T04062001

Preface

Computer programming has many faces. Fred Brooks paints the big picture in The Mythical Man Month; his essays underscore the crucial role of management in large software projects. At a finer grain, Steve McConnell teaches good programming style in Code Complete. The topics in those books are the key to good software and the hallmark of the professional programmer. Unfortunately, though, the workmanlike application of those sound engineering principles isn't always thrilling -- until the software is completed on time and works without surprise.

About the Book
The columns in this book are about a more glamorous aspect of the profession: programming pearls whose origins lie beyond solid engineering, in the realm of insight and creativity. Just as natural pearls grow from grains of sand that have irritated oysters, these programming pearls have grown from real problems that have irritated real programmers. The programs are fun, and they teach important programming techniques and fundamental design principles.

Most of these essays originally appeared in my ''Programming Pearls'' column in Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery. They were collected, revised and published as the first edition of this book in 1986. Twelve of the thirteen pieces in the first edition have been edited substantially for this edition, and three new columns have been added.

The only background the book assumes is programming experience in a high-level language. Advanced techniques (such as templates in C++) show up now and then, but the reader unfamiliar with such topics will be able to skip to the next section with impunity.

Although each column may be read by itself, there is a logical grouping to the complete set. Columns 1 through 5 form Part I of the book. They review programming fundamentals: problem definition, algorithms, data structures and program verification and testing. Part II is built around the theme of efficiency, which is sometimes important in itself and is always a fine springboard into interesting programming problems. Part III applies those techniques to several substantial problems in sorting, searching and strings.

One hint about reading the essays: don't go too fast. Read them carefully, one per sitting. Try the problems as they are posed -- some of them look easy until you've butted your head against them for an hour or two. Afterwards, work hard on the problems at the end of each column: most of what you learn from this book will come out the end of your pencil as you scribble down your solutions. If possible, discuss your ideas with friends and colleagues before peeking at the hints and solutions in the back of the book. The further reading at the end of each chapter isn't intended as a scholarly reference list; I've recommended some good books that are an important part of my personal library.

This book is written for programmers. I hope that the problems, hints, solutions, and further reading make it useful for individuals. The book has been used in classes including Algorithms, Program Verification and Software Engineering. The catalog of algorithms in Appendix 1 is a reference for practicing programmers, and also shows how the book can be integrated into classes on algorithms and data structures.

The Code
The pseudocode programs in the first edition of the book were all implemented, but I was the only person to see the real code. For this edition, I have rewritten all the old programs and written about the same amount of new code. The programs are available at this book's web site. The code includes much of the scaffolding for testing, debugging and timing the functions. The site also contains other relevant material. Because so much software is now available online, a new theme in this edition is how to evaluate and use software components.

The programs use a terse coding style: short variable names, few blank lines, and little or no error checking. This is inappropriate in large software projects, but it is useful to convey the key ideas of algorithms. Solution 5.1 gives more background on this style. The text includes a few real C and C++ programs, but most functions are expressed in a pseudocode that takes less space and avoids inelegant syntax. The notation for i = 0, n) iterates i from 0 through n-1. In these for loops, left and right parentheses denote open ranges (which do not include the end values), and left and right square brackets denote closed ranges (which do include the end values). The phrase function(i, j) still calls a function with parameters i and j, and arrayi, j still accesses an array element.

This edition reports the run times of many programs on ''my computer'', a 400MHz Pentium II with 128 megabytes of RAM running Windows NT 4.0. I timed the programs on several other machines, and the book reports the few substantial differences that I observed. All experiments used the highest available level of compiler optimization. I encourage you to time the programs on your machine; I bet that you'll find similar ratios of run times.

To Readers of the First Edition
I hope that your first response as you thumb through this edition of the book is, ''This sure looks familiar.'' A few minutes later, I hope that you'll observe, ''I've never seen that before.''

This version has the same focus as the first edition, but is set in a larger context. Computing has grown substantially in important areas such as databases, networking and user interfaces. Most programmers should be familiar users of such technologies. At the center of each of those areas, though, is a hard core of programming problems. Those programs remain the theme of this book. This edition of the book is a slightly larger fish in a much larger pond.

One section from old Column 4 on implementing binary search grew into new Column 5 on testing, debugging and timing. Old Column 11 grew and split into new Columns 12 (on the original problem) and 13 (on set representations). Old Column 13 described a spelling checker that ran in a 64-kilobyte address space; it has been deleted, but its heart lives on in Section 13.8. New Column 15 is about string problems. Many sections have been inserted into the old columns, and other sections were deleted along the way. With new problems, new solutions, and four new appendices, this edition of the book is 25 percent longer.

Many of the old case studies in this edition are unchanged, for their historical interest. A few old stories have been recast in modern terms.

Acknowledgments for the First Edition
I am grateful for much support from many people. The idea for a Communications of the ACM column was originally conceived by Peter Denning and Stuart Lynn. Peter worked diligently within ACM to make the column possible and recruited me for the job. ACM Headquarters staff, particularly Roz Steier and Nancy Adriance, have been very supportive as these columns were published in their original form. I am especially indebted to the ACM for encouraging publication of the columns in their present form, and to the many CACM readers who made this expanded version necessary and possible by their comments on the original columns.

Al Aho, Peter Denning, Mike Garey, David Johnson, Brian Kernighan, John Linderman, Doug McIlroy and Don Stanat have all read each column with great care, often under extreme time pressure. I am also grateful for the particularly helpful comments of Henry Baird, Bill Cleveland, David Gries, Eric Grosse, Lynn Jelinski, Steve Johnson, Bob Melville, Bob Martin, Arno Penzias, Marilyn Roper, Chris Van Wyk, Vic Vyssotsky and Pamela Zave. Al Aho, Andrew Hume, Brian Kernighan, Ravi Sethi, Laura Skinger and Bjarne Stroustrup provided invaluable help in bookmaking, and West Point cadets in EF 485 field tested the penultimate draft of the manuscript. Thanks, all.

Acknowledgments for the Second Edition
Dan Bentley, Russ Cox, Brian Kernighan, Mark Kernighan, John Linderman, Steve McConnell, Doug McIlroy, Rob Pike, Howard Trickey and Chris Van Wyk have all read this edition with great care. I am also grateful for the particularly helpful comments of Paul Abrahams, Glenda Childress, Eric Grosse, Ann Martin, Peter McIlroy, Peter Memishian, Sundar Narasimhan, Lisa Ricker, Dennis Ritchie, Ravi Sethi, Carol Smith, Tom Szymanski and Kentaro Toyama. I thank Peter Gordon and his colleagues at Addison-Wesley for their help in preparing this edition.



0201657880P04062001

Updates

Errata

The second printing had no changes from the first printing.

The following bugs need to be fixed in upcoming printings:

p. 38, line 23. The clause cantbe(m, n) should be cantbe(m, n-1).

p. 121, line 11: The inequality sign is reversed; the test should read "if u-l < cutoff". (The test is correct in the function qsort4 later on the page.)

p. 129, line -14: The variables "m" and "n" are swapped. The sentence should read: "Next, suppose that m is ten million and n is 231."

p. 181, line -6: Change "structues" to "structures".

p. 203, line 12: Change "commutative" to "associative".

p. 224, line -2: Remove the phrase "or print n + 1 - i rather than i".

p. 231, line -13: Insert "p" after "*", so the line reads

 unsigned int hash(char *p) 

Submit Errata

More Information

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020