chapter one

1 Starting a fabulous adventure

 

This chapter covers

  • exploring what makes some algorithms and data structures so fabulous
  • defining data structures, algorithms and complexity
  • reversing an immutable linked list

An algorithm is a way to solve a problem; a data structure is a way to organize data. Solving problems using organized data is what computer programming is all about, but what makes them fabulous? For me, it’s some combination of these factors:

1.1 Defining data structures, algorithms and complexity

1.2 An immutable linked list

1.2.1 Performance so far

1.2.2 Reversing an immutable linked list

1.3 The challenges ahead

1.4 Summary