{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "description": "docs: review of Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Y. Bhargava",
  "path": "/posts/grokking-algorithms-by-aditya-bhargava/",
  "publishedAt": "2025-08-15T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://read.ryancowl.es",
  "tags": [
    "Books"
  ],
  "textContent": "If the word \"algorithms\" makes you think of dense textbooks and academic notation, Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Y. Bhargava is the opposite of that.\n\nThe book covers foundational concepts like sorting, searching, and common data structures before moving into performance trade-offs, recursion, dynamic programming, and k-nearest neighbors. Each topic is explained with simple illustrations (hand-drawn style, which adds to the charm) and real-world analogies. The progression feels well-paced, never rushing past something important.\n\nThe code examples are written in Python, but I did some of the exercises in PHP and JavaScript too, mostly as an excuse to refamiliarize myself with their syntax and docs. That ended up being a useful exercise on its own. Translating an algorithm into a different language forces you to understand it rather than just copy it.\n\nIt's not a heavy read. The exercises are fun. And as someone without a CS degree, it helped fill some gaps in my understanding of concepts that come up more often than you'd think in day-to-day work. Would recommend to a friend.",
  "title": "Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Y. Bhargava"
}