Data Structures and Algorithms in C++ Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of the dozens of Data Structures and Algorithms books in the market and till now the worst I've ever seen. I have taken two DSA courses in my undergrad years, and now as a grad, I'm TAing that course.
The theoretical treatment of the book is superficial and too childish. Yet, there's too little practical value. They discuss the unnecessary linked list implementations of trees which is quite confusing for students. I am also amazed that they do not mention finding or removing an element in a BST. And, more importantly there's too little discussion of graphs.
I don't understand those professors trying to bog down students with useless details and complicated C++ codes. Rather, they should give the intuition and the theory behind the data structures and algorithms. Weiss' book is much better than this one. But, even that is obsessed with doing tricky things with C++.
Anyway, to sum up: This book is a garbage. Stay away unless it's required for the course you're taking in case you may need to do homeworks and such.

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* Provides a comprehensive introduction to data structures and algorithms, including their design, analysis, and implementation* Each data structure is presented using ADTs and their respective implementations* Helps provide an understanding of the wide spectrum of skills ranging from sound algorithm and data structure design to efficient implementation and coding of these designs in C++Wiley Higher Education

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100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing the Right Curriculum and Approach for Your Child's Learning Style Review

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(More customer reviews)I've read a lot of homeschooling books in planning for my children's education and I learned something from each one, whether I liked the book or not! This book, however, is a planner's dream! It truly has you plan from the bottom up, applying thought to aspects of homeschooling that I had not previously considered.
Cathy Duffy begins by having you come up with your own philosophy of education. As she puts it, "If there were no laws requiring you to educate your child, what would you want them to learn anyway?" Wow! That question really gets to the heart of the matter for most people choosing to homeschool. Then, she has you consider your thoughts about how you want to teach and run your school (teach different ages together, work directly with your children or have them work independently, real books vs. textbooks, field trips, adhering to a schedule or remaining flexible, etc.). She has you take a sort of quiz about your preferred approaches to learning that shows which styles might appeal to you most. After leaning so heavily toward Charlotte Mason after all my reading, I was somewhat surprised to find that I have an equally high regard for unit studies and--gasp!--unschooling (a "curriculum" choice that petrifies me a bit)! She describes the various homeschooling methods (traditional, Charlotte Mason, classical, unit study, unschooling, independent study, eclectic, and umbrella programs). Then, she asks you to consider your confidence/experience level, time available to teach, finances, and religious beliefs. In addition, one of the most important differences about this book is that it addresses your teaching style and your child's learning style. This is such an important consideration when deciding what curriculum to choose. I'm sad to admit that I've been so gleefully planning what I want them to learn and what I think they'll enjoy that I've given very little SERIOUS thought to their perspective about things. Not anymore...
Finally, the discussion of her top 100 picks begins. The curriculum choices are introduced with a chart. The format helps you pick resources that are aligned with what you now know are your homeschooling preferences. Each curriculum is ranked for the following criteria: (1) Multi-sensory/hands-on (2)structure/rules-oriented (3) logical/analytical learners (4) social activity (5) amount of parent instruction (6) independent study vs. one-on-one (7) amount of writing (8) prep time (9) grade level specific vs. multi-level (10) ease of use for teacher (11) necessity for teacher's manual (12) supportive of Charlotte Mason's philosophy (13) supportive of classical education (14) religious affiliations. Using the chart, it was easy to look for a unit study or Charlotte Mason approach that would accomodate my Wiggly Willy and my Sociable Sue who work at different grade levels.
Some critics of the book feel that the author leans too heavily on Christian resources so I actually did a count for those interested. Of her 100 picks, there were 15 Catholic choices, 41 Protestant choices, and 54 were religiously neutral. (They don't add up to 100 because some would work for both Protestants and Catholics, some neutrals could add religious supplements, etc.) If you consider that probably AT LEAST 50% of homeschoolers are keeping their children at home so they can offer religious instruction, I don't think those numbers are in any way out of balance.
If you are looking for an umbrella curriculum (one that covers all the subjects) you should know that she really goes in depth into only two, Calvert School (neutral) and Sonlight (Protestant). However, some of the unit studies she discusses could be used as a full program with a few additional choices for neglected subjects. (Only one of the seven unit study programs, Five in a Row, is religiously neutral.) If an umbrella curriculum is what you're looking for, you would be better off requesting catalogs and information from companies offering that service rather than buying this book. Otherwise, the curriculum choices included in this book fall under the following categories: (1) phonics/reading/literature (2) math (3) grammar and composition (4) spelling and vocabulary (5) history/social science (6) science (7) unit studies (8) foreign language (9) miscellaneous.
Her picks definitely cover a wide range of methodology. Some will appeal to you and some won't. What I find is that in researching something that is appealing (usually on Amazon), I invariably follow link after link until I wind up reading so many reviews that I more fully understand the pros and cons of each curriculum choice I make. What a wonderful thing! I would rank this book with the top four homeschooling books I have read (Rebecca Rupp's "Home Learning Year by Year," Charlotte Mason's "Original Homeschooling Series," and Karen Andreola's "A Charlotte Mason Companion").

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The key to successful home education, homeschool veterans will tell you, is determining your educational philosophy and marrying it to your child's learning style. Then you can make an informed decision in choosing the right educational curriculum for the child. This is the formula for success.In 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, homeschool guru Cathy Duffy can help you accomplish these critical tasks. Cathy will give you her top choices from every subject area, approaching everything through a Christian worldview perspective. This book is a critical volume for the homeschooling community.

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Medical Abbreviations and Eponyms (MEDICAL ABBREVIATIONS & EPONYMS (SLOANE)) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a court reporter, I am constantly faced with deciphering doctors' medical "lingo." This book has been an absolute God-send for me. I have found every abbreviation I have ever looked for. It is the most thorough book I have come across for medical abbreviations, and I have an extensive reference library. The eponym section is not the best I've seen, but overall, this book is a must-have! It's a major time saver!

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The 2nd edition of this popular reference offers an extensive list of medical abbreviations, acronyms, symbols, and eponyms.Over 10,000 new abbreviations and over 1,000 new eponyms have been added to the updated edition, and definitions have been given for common diseases, syndromes, and operations.Also includes a new, in-depth appendix which lists over 400 anticancer drug combinations.

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RHCE Red Hat Certified Engineer Linux Study Guide (Exam RH302) (Certification Press) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Red Hat Certified Engineer is one of the most respected of the Linux certifications. Part of the reason is because of the difficulty of the exam. "Red Hat Certified Engineer Linux Study Guide, 4th Edition" covers all the points of the exam very well and includes the information you need to work with Red Hat in the real world. In addition to all the information you need to pass the exam, the book contains over 50 lab exercises and two complete RHCE exams and the entire book on CD. If you plan on taking the exam do the labs, don't just read over them.
Michael Jang has consistently produced high quality books and this is one of his best. The book is strongly slanted toward passing the exam, which is okay since that is exactly what it purports to be. Throughout the book there are short comments marked off from the rest of the test which points to tips for real world items (called "on the job") and tips for the exam (called "exam watch"). Each chapter ends with a short summary, a "two-minute drill", self-test questions, and lab questions. The "two-minute drill" is great for exam preparation the day of the exam since it is pretty much the type of thing that you would put on note cards for a quick review anyway.
This is real-life advice and is full or tips and troubleshooting problems. In the installation section it covers disk partitioning, swap space, bios limits, multiple controllers, and RAID. Some good solid advice and information about things like problems with a computer with both a SCSI drive controller and IDE drive controller in the same system. The installation troubleshooting section includes boot loaders, RAID, logical volumes, kickstart automated installation and pretty much everything you might run across. It even includes how to boot up into single user mode, a very important ability for some administrative tasks and gaining root level access (full access to everything) to the system. For some reason, although this is used in real-life for a lot of reasons, it seems to be left out of most books. They will tell you to switch to single user mode to fix a problem or gain root access, but don't tell you how to do it. This book tells you everything you need to know. It includes not only the graphical and utility methods to do things but also includes the information for how it changes the configuration. The information is so detailed that you can hand add the lines and/or configuration files and do it all by hand if you would prefer. This way you understand exactly what each item does and it is much easier to troubleshoot problems.
The authors have included everything you need to know to install, troubleshoot, and administer a real-world server - shell configuration, kernel information, automation, X Windows installation and configuration, GNOME and KDE desktops, Apache server including security and virtual hosts, Squid proxy server configuration, secure FTP server, mail services including SMTP, sendmail, postfix, POP, and IMAP, Samba installation and configuration, printing services, DNS, BIND, DHCP, LDAP client configuration, firewall policies, network address translation, and the Linux rescue environment are examples of the breadth of coverage.
It even includes how to work with the automounter, another item that is left out of most other books. The only error I found was on page 11, Table 1-2, where it has "First IDE drive = /dev/had" when it should be "/dev/hda". For that to be the only problem I found in a book of this size shows the care with which it was edited.
This is simply the best book I have seen if you want to become a general Linux "guru". Not only does it have everything you need to pass the exam, it has everything you need to install and administer a Linux network. There are better books available on specific areas of Linux, for example a single chapter on Apache obviously cannot compete with a 600 page book on Apache server. Then again, this the best book around if you want an understanding of Linux that is general enough to provide a complete overview of how Linux works in the real world and is also detailed enough to provide everything you need to get everything you want up and running. "Red Hat Certified Engineer Linux Study Guide, 4th Edition" gets the highest recommendation I can give.

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The Best Fully Integrated Study System Available

With hundreds of practice questions and hands-on exercises, RHCE Red Hat Certified Engineer Linux Study Guide, Fifth Edition covers what you need to know--and shows you how to prepare--for this challenging exam.

100% complete coverage of all objectives for exam RH302

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