Book Club: Grokking Algorithms. 2 Discussion Qs

I'll answer these questions when I've finished the book, but feel free to answer these here or to use them for your own book club.

Grokking Algorithms An illustrated guide for programmers and other curious people, by Aditya Y. Bhargava

Discussion Questions

1. The author uses illustrations to explain the topics in the book. Did you find them helpful for your understanding?

2. Has reading this book helped you to explain any of the algorithms or concepts to someone else?

3. Were any of the topics or algorithms frustrating for you? Is there anything you still don't understand?

4. Have you used any of the algorithms in your coding (or another application!) after reading the book? How did the algorithm help you?

5. Is there anything you'd misunderstood about the topics covered before reading the book, that was corrected or clarified in the book?

6. Do you have a favourite algorithm from the book? If so, why? What do you like about it?

7. Is there anything you'll learn more about after reading this book?

8. Would you recommend this book? Who would enjoy reading it?

Comments

[ruthmoog]

The author uses illustrations to explain the topics in the book. Did you find them helpful for your understanding?

Absolutely, the text did a good job of explaining them but the pictures helped me visualise ideas, avoid confusion and keep the book interesting.

Has reading this book helped you to explain any of the algorithms or concepts to someone else?

I explained binary search to someone - but it's quite a simple concept so I think it is easy to explain and understand once you are aware of it.

Were any of the topics or algorithms frustrating for you? Is there anything you still don't understand?

The exercises helped iron-out anything that I had not understood well. The most confusion I had was from a misprint!

Have you used any of the algorithms in your coding (or another application!) after reading the book? How did the algorithm help you?

The typical data structures you see often in programming I use a lot. I did have a coding interview question that used optimisation with constraint problem, so I was able to be a bit more relaxed about answering the problem - but I didn't get through that interview so it can't have helped me much!

Is there anything you'd misunderstood about the topics covered before reading the book, that was corrected or clarified in the book?

Most of the topics were new to me. I was confused about the 'Divide and Conquer' approach because I was familiar before with the strategic context (divide your enemy against each other to weaken then you can conquer them - eugh) as opposed to 'break it into bitesized chunks' or 'how to eat an elephant'.

Do you have a favourite algorithm from the book? If so, why? What do you like about it?

Binary search! Because it's so commonly used and obvious!

Is there anything you'll learn more about after reading this book?

Not really, I think this level of depth is enough for my needs, but I will go back to it for reference when it's topical.

Would you recommend this book? Who would enjoy reading it?

Yes! Anyone who is interested in tech, including non-programmers. I think it's especially interesting for devs who did not study computer science. Also the topics and exercises are good to prep for technical interviews, without being too in-depth.