Data Structures and Algorithms for Game Developers by Allen Sherrod.

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    • Data Structures and Algorithms for Game Developers by Allen Sherrod.

      Has anyone read this book 'Data Structures and Algorithms for Game Developers by Allen Sherrod' ?? If so what do you think of it ?, there aren't any reviews on amazon about it.
      I was thinking of buying a copy of it or maybe a copy of 'Data Structures for Game Programmers' by Ron Penton (seeing as several people on here seem to recommend it), not only that but even though the later book is rather old (2002) its still more than double the price of the Allen Sherrod book, which only came out this year.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by draco ().

    • RE: Data Structures and Algorithms for Game Developers by Allen Sherrod.

      I've never read the first one, but I own the second one. It's an excellent introduction to some basic data structures and algorithms with amazing examples that visually take you through the functions step-by-step. It's very illuminating to watch various sorting algorithms race against each other, or to watch how an in-order traversal works. It makes a very good first book on the subject.

      -Rez

    • Thanks for the reply Rez, it was actually one of your posts that made me consider getting the book in the first place. It must be good as on Amazon its still around £40 - £99 for used copies and it was written in 2002, and the other book by Allen Sherrod (May 2007) is only £20 new. Meh, perhaps I'll buy both, as someone once said to me "You can never have to many programming books."
      I have quite a few and have spent several hundred pounds sterling on them, but i really do enjoy reading them, game programming books especially can be quite humorous.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by draco ().

    • That's because game programmers are nuts. ;)

      And you're right, you can never have too many programming books.

      -Rez

    • Hey, don't knock Perl! It was my second language ever. *sniff*

      Beside, I like Perl. The only problems I've had with it are the lack of true OO support and dealing with script-kiddies who think that code obfuscation is a game. Neither of these have motivated me enough to learn another scripting language. Besides, the obvious replacement (Python) makes me want to stab the designers because they place syntatic meaning on whitespace.

      -Rez

      PS: The most obfuscated code I've ever seen is in the eyedropper perl module. It's pretty much nothing but regular expressions.

    • No girls allowed? Hey don't you know that girls think nerds are cool these days????
      Mr.Mike
      Author, Programmer, Brewer, Patriot

    • I think it happened one night when you were pulling an all nighter. You probably missed the announcement. ;)

      -Rez

    • OK, i now own the Allen Sherrod book Data Structures and Algorithms for Game Developers. I have only read the first two chapters so far, and from what I've read..so far so good :)

      I still intend to buy the other book 'Data Structure for Game Programmers', even though its now six years old.As it must be good, the fact that it costs between £75 - £200 depending on if its new or used, must reflect that(sureley!?), that and the fact that evryone I've spoken to about it says how good it is.

      I'm not sure wether to wait and see if the price falls a bit, or just go ahead and buy it the next time i have the money spare, seeing as its so old its probably out of print, meaning that the price could in fact go up, i think i will probably not wait too long.(nowing my luck it will be between £150 - £ 250 the next time i look at buying it)

      P.S - Can anyone reccomend a good book on Game Engine design and/or programming ??

    • What level of programmer are you? 3D Game Engine Design is excellent, but it's extremely advanced. High-end game engines like Gamebryo are based on it. Its sister book is 3D Game Engine Architecture.

      3D Game Engine Design:
      amazon.com/Game-Engine-Design-…oks&qid=1199502333&sr=8-3

      3D Game Engine Architecture:
      amazon.com/Game-Engine-Archite…oks&qid=1199502333&sr=8-1

      I would suggest looking through these books before you actually buy them. Like I said, they're very advanced and concentrate mostly on the math behind rendering and how to put it all together.

      If you're looking for general game engine (as opposed to rendering engine) design, Game Coding Complete is actually the best book I've read on that subject. I haven't seen any other books compare.

      -Rez

    • Thanks for the links Rez :) I'll have to ring around a few shops and see if they have these books in stock, not many shops in my area sell computer programming books(maybe 3 - 4 at the most!) and their selection is'nt that great. You can order them in, but if you do, and its not what your looking for..well, thats tough, and you have to pay for it anyway. I'm really after a book on just game engine deisgn patterns/architechure, showing the different patterns and their pros and cons. I'm oly working in 2D at the moment, but would like to get into 3D in the future.

    • Allon Sherrod wrote a game engine book, as well. I have it at home, when I get there I'll go over it again and let you know how it looks. I haven't read it from cover to cover, but he didn't take Mike's advice on a good name (oh lol Building Block Engine. Bad name).
      Feel you safe and secure in the protection of your pants . . . but one day, one day there shall be a No Pants Day and that shall be the harbinger of your undoing . . .

    • Haha, exactly. I dunno, it just doesn't have that awesome quality to it. Either way, I have yet to go home, so when I do, I'll take a look.

      From my recollections, it wasn't terribly awesome, I still prefer Eberly's opinion on most issues, though there was some decent information, if I'm not mistaken.
      Feel you safe and secure in the protection of your pants . . . but one day, one day there shall be a No Pants Day and that shall be the harbinger of your undoing . . .