This book is very thorough, but thats really all I can tell you about it's content, because the material (both the algorithm analysis and the data structures material), is presented in such a way as that the author expects you to already have a basic understanding of these concepts. Worst yet, the author's code is extremely poorly documented. Stay away from this book if you are new to advanced data types or algorithm analysis.

Tries to cover all topics but leaves many details that are needed by a beginner. Examples of code are difficult to comprehend.

This book should be on every C++ programmers list. Of all the books I've read on Data Structures and Algorithms using the C++ language this is the most comprehensive. This book also built my knowledge on the C++ language. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

This book is not meant for the beginner and intermediate programer. The author intended this book for the elite. Don't buy this book if you don't have a background in Discrete Math or have Master the c language. Wouldn't not recommend this book to colleges who have a Data Structures class for undergraduates. The code in the book assumes that you can piece together the individual functions to write a full program in c. Also There is no problems that a student can try on his/her own and then find the answer in back of book.

this book provides a concise and fundamental look into algorithms. Excellent book if you want to learn performance time and running time on your written code and gives you the technique to speed up your code. It does not focus too much on what kind of programming language you use and it is to be read in a general sense.

I think the intention with this book was to present the basic ADTs (abstract data types) in a sufficiently generic way that you could "transport" the ideas to other languages. However, as other people have mentioned, the example code provided in the book is not very detailed. Despite the sparse code, I was still able to write my own data structures in JAVA and feel that the book prepared me to write them in other languages as well.

This book is not for beginners. Those who are familiar with the java language will love this book. The analysis of algorithms and recursion chapters are especially helpful. Code snippets are incomplete at best, but if you know the language, this is not a problem. Overall this is a great book to learn with. Discussion of data structures is very comprehensive and complete.

I took this class with the author, the book and class were excellent. The java that is covered is done in a much better way than any other java book I have. The book explains with good examples to get the reader to understand topics like runtime, big oh and the collections api and many different structures. I'd recommend this book to anyone taking data structures.

This is probably the worst book I have read on C++ to date. The author does not clearly explain the details of the C++ language or how to implement them. Contrary to some of the other comments, I believe this book is NOT a good choice for someone learning data structures and algorithms for the first time.

I am writing this review of Data Structures and Problem Solving Using C++ by Mark Allen Weiss on the heels of completing an undergraduate course in data structures. On a scale of 5 ( being the best ) and 1 ( being the worst), I would rate this text at a 2. I am being generous because I don't want to underestimate the possibility of this book having some future usefullness.

Mr. Weiss has an impressive academic record. With a PhD from Princeton in Computer Science and having studied under Dr. Sedgewick, a king of algorithms, he now teaches at Florida International University. Clearly, he is an authority on the subject. However, he should pursue something other than writing textbooks. Let's examine the flaws in his approach.

The author works heartily to impress you with his ability to demonstrate proofs for algorithms. He illustrates various proofs throughout the text and gives a liberal discussion of each. He then provides implementations of each algorithm and spends considerable time discussing the C++ language statements that are used. What he never does adequately is to provide a discussion of data structures and algorithms absent the details which distract the reader of an introductory text. As a point of comparison and constrast, I ask you to consult Data Structures with C++ using STL by William Ford/William Topp.

Consider the study of stacks and how compilers utilize them to evaluate expressions. This is a subject taught in every data structures class. Let's examine the approaches of Weiss and Ford/Topp.

Pages devoted to the topic. Weiss ( 38 ) vs Ford/Topp ( 45 )
Number of tables+figures(excluding code listings) Weiss( 5 ) vs Ford/Topp( 27 )
Pages devoted to writing about data structures ( not C++ implementation ) Weiss ( 8 ) vs Ford/Topp ( 17 )
Questions at the end of chapter with solutions provided . Weiss ( 0 ) vs Ford/Topp ( 11 )

From the brief analysis above, you may recognize a pattern that Dr. Weiss himself admits to following in the writing of his book. In the preface, he says that "fundamental choices need to be made including ... level of mathematical rigor, balance between implementation of data structures and their use ... and programming details related to language chosen ". Regrettably Dr. Weiss has made poor choices on all three areas.

First, the mathematical rigor which might be highly valued in a graduate level text is seen here as a mere annoyance. Second, the balance between implementation and their use is skewed toward the former when it is needed toward the latter. Finally, students who have had adequate instruction in C++ do not need to be led by the hand as the author guides the reader through an implementation. Too many other authors do a much better job with C++ than Dr. Weiss ( read Schildt, Meyers, many more ). Dr. Weiss would be well advised to keep the code examples in play but cut out the narratives on the code.

I was able to do well in my class because I recognized the deficiencies in Dr. Weiss' book and quickly abandoned it in favor of the Topp/Ford text.

On a final note of disappointment, the binding of this book, purchased brand new, failed after just two weeks. I treat my books with respect and in the last twenty years have had only one other occasion of a binding failure ( the pages separate from the web and glue that holds everything together ). My bookseller replaced the text without question.

You will probably be required to buy this book for your data structures class ( as I was ). It is a sad waste of money but many faculty remain impressed with Dr. Weiss' output. I recommend buying a used version ( absent the broken bindings ) and gettinf another readable text from a different author. To be fair, I did give this book a 2 rather than a 1 ( worst ) on a scale of 1 to 5. Since I am planning graduate study in computer science, I believe that the book might hold some value as a reference for the very items that I criticize here. That is, the proofs might be of some interest in a advanced data structures or advanced algorithms course.

This book gave a lot of useful examples for code in programs and defined the algorithms clearly.

Professor Weiss has mastered new levels of obfuscation with his absurd and excruciating academic prose. And he wins the 1998 Academic Cliché Award for wanton overuse of the word "paradigm." There may well be some impressive erudition behind all this pedantic hoo-ha, God knows he quotes everyone from the Renaissance forward, unfortunately the reader has to confront an almost impenetrable barrier of garbled literary theory presented here as scholarly thinking.

E.g., a random quotation from the text: "Consideration of cuisine holds surprising revelations for the history of landscape architecture...Provocative as this statement might be, this assimilation of cuisine to architecture nevertheless only confuses the issue, obfuscating the material specificity of cuisine and delaying its aesthetic liberation."

As one of the reviewers on the back cover of the book says, this book is "almost hallucinatory."