The CS Detective: An Algorithmic Tale of Crime, Conspiracy, and Computation
Description
Meet Frank Runtime. Disgraced ex-detective. Hard-boiled private eye. Search expert.
When a robbery hits police headquarters, it’s up to Frank Runtime and his extensive search skills to catch the culprits. In this detective story, you’ll learn how to use algorithmic tools to solve the case. Runtime scours smugglers’ boats with binary search, tails spies with a search tree, escapes a prison with depth-first search, and picks locks with priority queues. Joined by know-it-all rookie Officer Notation and inept tag-along Socks, he follows a series of leads in a best-first search that unravels a deep conspiracy. Each chapter introduces a thrilling twist matched with a new algorithmic concept, ending with a technical recap.
Perfect for computer science students and amateur sleuths alike, The CS Detective adds an entertaining twist to learning algorithms.
Follow Frank’s mission and learn:
–The algorithms behind best-first and depth-first search, iterative deepening, parallelizing, binary search, and more
–Basic computational concepts like strings, arrays, stacks, and queues
–How to adapt search algorithms to unusual data structures
–The most efficient algorithms to use in a given situation, and when to apply common-sense heuristic methods
Praise for The CS Detective: An Algorithmic Tale of Crime, Conspiracy, and Computation
“This book is both entertaining and educational, and a great stocking stuffer, especially for anyone involved with data analysis.”
—The Vancouver Sun
“A great introduction for older kids or adults to the concepts contained therein. The story is filled with humor and adventure.”
—Geek Dad
“Exceptionally well written, organized and presented...truly adds an entertaining and novel twist to making the learning algorithms fun, practical, and effective.”
—Midwest Book Review
“I love being able to wrap learning into this story and that it doesn’t seem like learning at all. This book is perfect for computer science students or amateur sleuths who enjoy a good mystery.”
—The Old Schoolhouse
“I give this book 10 out of 10 horseshoes.”
—CodeRanch
“Good wizards and evil wizards cast spells, which helps capture the interest of students in the upper middle and lower high school grades...The story is worth the time to learn about different binary searches.”
—National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
“I think the book would be good for high school–college level students interested in search algorithms or computer science in general. I enjoyed the book and the refresher on CS topics.”
—404 Tech Support