welcome
Thank you for purchasing the MEAP edition of Algorithms and Data Structures for Massive Datasets.
The unprecedented growth of data in recent years is putting the spotlight on the data structures and algorithms that can efficiently handle large datasets. In this book, we present you with a basic suite of data structures and algorithms designed to index, query, and analyze massive data.
What prompted us to write this book is that many of the novel data structures and algorithms that run underneath Google, Facebook, Dropbox and many others, are making their way into the mainstream algorithms curricula very slowly. Often the main resources on this subject are research papers filled with sophisticated and enlightening theory, but with little instruction on how to configure the data structures in a practical setting, or when to use them.
Our goal was to present these exciting and cutting-edge topics in one place, in a practical and friendly tone. Mathematical intuition is important for understanding the subject, and we try to cultivate it without including a single proof. Plentiful illustrations are used to illuminate some of the more challenging material.
Large datasets arise in a variety of disciplines, from bioinformatics and finance, to sensor data and social networks, and our use cases are designed to reflect that.