DADS: The On-Line Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures

Published

September 17, 2020

Author(s)

Paul E. Black

Abstract

The Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures (DADS) is a publicly accessible dictionary of generally useful algorithms, data structures, algorithmic techniques, archetypal problems, and related definitions available at https://nist.gov/DADS/. DADS is meant to be a resource for the practicing programmer, although students and researchers may find it a useful starting point. DADS has fundamental entries in areas such as theory, cryptography and compression, graphs, trees, and searching, for instance, Ackermann's function, quick sort, traveling salesman, big O notation, merge sort, AVL tree, hash table, and Byzantine generals. This document is a manual for and documentation of DADS. It records the history of DADS and explains the theory, goals, and operating philosophy behind DADS, the structure of the web site, and the structure and content of the DADS source directory. This report also describes in detail the format and content of term files, which correspond roughly to entries, and the software to compile term files into HTML web pages and to check and maintain DADS.Finally, there are notes on possible future enhancements. A typical term is included as an appendix for the reader's convenience.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 8318

Report Number

8318

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

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DOI Link

Keywords

Algorithm, data structure

Citation

Black, P. (2020), DADS: The On-Line Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8318 (Accessed January 15, 2025)