Interactive textbook for algorithms and data structures

Abstract

In this paper, an electronic and interactive version of the textbook for the course "Construction and Analysis of Algorithms", which is held at the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Belgrade, is presented. The material covered in the textbook includes advanced data structures, graph algorithms, algebraic algorithms, string processing algorithms, and geometric algorithms. What makes this textbook different from traditional textbooks is its interactive component, which is implemented in JavaScript language using modern Web technologies. This feature enables students to understand better how described algorithms and data structures work. Namely, besides being able to follow the execution of the algorithm step-by-step, the textbook often asks readers to independently carry out certain procedures, controlling the correctness of the results. In this way, students can gain information on how well they understand the algorithm. This is consistent with a constructivist approach to teaching in which the student does not acquire knowledge only passively but must have an active role during the entire teaching process. Since algorithms and data structures play an essential role in computer science studies at all faculties, we believe this textbook can be useful for computer science students of different study programs studying in the Serbian language. The textbook, together with its interactive Web version, is freely available online. Libraries developed for the implementation of this textbook are also freely available and can be used to develop similar textbooks for other fields of computer science or mathematics.