The Self-Taught Computer Scientist

The follow-up to Cory Althoff's bestselling The Self-Taught Programmer, which inspired hundreds of thousands of professionals to learn to program outside of school!

Fresh out of college and with just a year of self-study behind him, Cory Althoff was offered a dream first job as a software engineer for a well-known tech company, but he quickly found himself overwhelmed by the amount of things he needed to know, but hadn't learned yet. This experience combined with his personal journey learning to program inspired his widely praised guide, The Self-Taught Programmer. Now Cory's back with another guide for the self-taught community of learners focusing on the foundations of computer science.

The Self-Taught Computer Scientist introduces beginner and self-taught programmers to computer science fundamentals that are essential for success in programming and software engineering fields. Computer science is a massive subject that could cover an entire lifetime of learning. This book does not aim to cover everything you would learn about if you went to school to get a computer science degree. Instead, Cory's goal is to give you an introduction to some of the most important concepts in computer science that apply to a programming career. With a focus on data structures and algorithms, The Self-Taught Computer Scientist helps you fill gaps in your knowledge, prepare for a technical interview, feel knowledgeable and confident on the job, and ultimately, become a better programmer.

• Learn different algorithms including linear and binary search and test your knowledge with feedback loops

• Understand what a data structure is and study arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, hash tables, binary trees, binary heaps, and graphs

• Prepare for technical interviews and feel comfortable working with more experienced colleagues

• Discover additional resources and tools to expand your skillset and continue your learning journey

It's as simple as this: You have to study computer science if you want to become a successful programmer, and if you don't understand computer science, you won't get hired. Ready for a career in programming, coding, or software engineering and willing to embrace an "always be learning" mindset? The Self-Taught Computer Scientist is for you.

Autorentext

CORY ALTHOFF is a programmer, speaker, and author whose work includes The Self-Taught Programmer and The Self-Taught Computer Scientist. After graduating with a major in political science, Cory taught himself to program, eventually becoming a software engineer at eBay. Several media outlets have praised his books. The Next Web called The Self-Taught Programmer one of the best books to develop your coding skills, and The Chicago Tribune included it on their lists of best computer science books. Over 250K developers are part of the self-taught programmer community he created through his popular Facebook group, blog, newsletter, and Udemy course. Cory lives in California with his wife and daughter.

Zusammenfassung

The Self-Taught Computer Scientist is Cory Althoff's follow-up to The Self-Taught Programmer, which inspired hundreds of thousands of professionals to learn how to program outside of school.

In The Self-Taught Programmer, Cory showed readers why you don't need a computer science degree to program professionally and taught the programming fundamentals he used to go from a complete beginner to a software engineer at eBay without one.

In The Self-Taught Computer Scientist, Cory teaches you the computer science concepts that all self-taught programmers should understand to have outstanding careers. The Self-Taught Computer Scientist will not only make you a better programmer; it will also help you pass your technical interview: the interview all programmers have to pass to land a new job.

Whether you are preparing to apply for jobs or sharpen your computer science knowledge, reading The Self-Taught Computer Scientist will improve your programming career. It's written for complete beginners, so you should have no problem reading it even if you've never studied computer science before.

Inhalt

Introduction xiv

I Introduction to Algorithms 1

1 What is an Algorithm? 3

Analyzing Algorithms 4

Constant Time 8

Logarithmic Time 9

Linear Time 10

Log-Linear Time 11

Quadratic Time 11

Cubic Time 13

Exponential Time 14

Best-Case vs. Worst-Case Complexity 15

Space Complexity 15

Why is This Important? 16

Vocabulary 17

Challenge 18

2 Recursion 19

When to Use Recursion 23

Vocabulary 23

Challenge 23

3 Search Algorithms 25

Linear Search 25

When to Use a Linear Search 27

Binary Search 27

When to Use a Binary Search 30

Searching for Characters 32

Vocabulary 34

Challenge 35

4 Sorting Algorithms 37

Bubble Sort 37

When to Use Bubble Sort 41

Insertion Sort 42

When to Use Insertion Sort 45

Merge Sort 45

When to Use Merge Sort 52

Sorting Algorithms in Python 53

Vocabulary 54

Challenge 54

5 String Algorithms 55

Anagram Detection 55

Palindrome Detection 56

Last Digit 57

Caesar Cipher 58

Vocabulary 61

Challenge 61

6 Math 63

Binary 63

Bitwise Operators 66

FizzBuzz 70

Greatest Common Factor 72

Euclid's Algorithm 74

Primes 75

Vocabulary 77

Challenge 78

7 Self-Taught Inspiration: Margaret Hamilton 79

II Data Structures 81

8 What is a Data Structure? 83

Vocabulary 85

Challenge 86

9 Arrays 87

Array Performance 88

Creating an Array 90

Moving Zeros 91

Combining Two Lists 94

Finding the Duplicates in a List 95

Finding the Intersection of Two Lists 98

Vocabulary 99

Challenge 100

10 Linked Lists 101

Linked List Performance 103

Create a Linked List 104

Search a Linked List 107

Removing a Node from a Linked List 108

Reverse a Linked List 109

Finding a Linked List Cycle 110

Vocabulary 111

Challenges 112

11 Stacks 113

When to Use Stacks 114

Creating a Stack 115

Using Stacks to Reverse Strings 119

Min Stack 120

Stacked Parentheses 123

Vocabulary 125

Challenges 125

12 Queues 127

When to Use Queues 128

Creating a Queue 129

Python's Built-In Queue Class 134

Create a Queue Using Two Stacks 134

Vocabulary 136

Challenge 136

13 Hash Tables 137

When to Use Hash Tables 140

Characters in a String 141

Two Sum 143

Vocabulary 144

Challenge 145

14 Binary Trees 147

When to Use Trees 150

Creating a Binary Tree 153

Breadth-First Tree Traversal 155

More Tree Traversals 157

Invert a Binary Tree 160

Vocabulary 162

Challenges 162

15 Binary Heaps 163

When to Use Heaps 167

Creating a Heap 167 &lt...