Ready-To-Run Delphi? 3.0 Algorithms [With Includes Source Code, Test Programs, Databases...]

by Kenneth R. Stephens and Rod Stephens

All the algorithms you'll ever need for use in your Delphi programs Ready-to-Run Delphi 3.0 Algorithms This book/CD package arms you with a library of powerful algorithms completely implemented in Delphi source code. Just as importantly, it shows you when, where, and how to use them, and when you shouldn't use them. You'll find out how to handle just about any design requirement you'll encounter, such as managing data structures, sorting, searching,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471254002
• ISBN13: 9780471254003
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Lots of information, but a little confuse

You really find many things here: stacks, lists, trees etc... But the code is not very clear. And they use pointers a lot. Some simulations would be good too...

Interesting reference book

I found this book interesting, and at times a pretty hard slog, to read. It covers all the common programming problems such as searching, sorting, stacks, ques etc. Although the book says it is for Delphi 3, the code is generic and would work equally on later versions. I have yet to use some of the code in my own programs but I found some of his thoughts interesting, especially recursion eg. most books would use it for binary searches or factorials but as he states it would run much more efficiently by placing it in a simple loop!, a fact that most other discussions fail to recognise. He points out that while one approach may be suitable for some problems you should realise that sometimes what is a 'less efficient' approach may be better eg. don't use hashing or binary searches on short lists, exhaustive is better. It is a book that most programmers will be able to 'do without' but if you think you may need to do some of the things discussed in the book, it is probably worthwhile thinking of getting a copy.

Just what the intern ordered

I own 20 Delphi books (I am the author of one of them), and this book is one of the select few that I come back to time and again.I was hoping someone would do a "concise", Object Pascal-specific version of "The Art of Computer Programming", and here it is.The title is unfortunate, I think. It should be something like "The Art of Delphi Programming"; the material here is virtually timeless, not Delphi 3-specific.While there are minor lapses here and there (for example, a data type of "string * 20", which won't compile in Delphi (it should be String[20])), that is a very minor problem.If you are a Delphi developer and need to learn about lists, trees, sorting algorithms, etc., search no further: this is the book you need.Clay Shannon

A great book for everyone who appreciates CS

This book has an excellent collection of classic and modern computer science algorithms. Unlike many other similar books, Rod Stephens (the author) goes deep into every topic. For example, under "searching" most books write about why do we need searching, describe exhaustive searching, and then finish with binary search, saying "look: we can search among 16 items with only 4 comparisons, - is that cool or what?!" On the other hand, here is what "Ready to Run Delphi 3.0 algorithms" has under "searching": exhaustive search, searching sorted lists, searching linked lists, binary search, interpolation search, string data, hunting and searching, binary hunt and search, interpolative hunt and search. The chapters are Fundamental Concepts, Lists, Stacks and Queues, Arrays, Recursion, Trees, Balanced Trees, Decision Trees, Sorting, Searching, Hashing, Network Algorithms, and OO Techniques. I gave 4 out of 5 rating because although there is a lot of stuff in there, some important algorithms are missing. Minimax discussion is not followed by alpha-beta pruning. Heuristics, probably the most interesting part of decision trees (at least to me) is barely touched and no sample code is given. To summarize, this book' material is what I went to university for.