I need help with algorithms, how do I improve?
- by David Burr
I usually do well at figuring out solutions to programming assignments but for some reason, I'm really struggling in my Algorithms class. I'm not failing but I know I can do better.
When I'm confronted with problems like "Divide the array to 2 subarrays so that the sum of each subarray is equal to the other subarray," I feel like my brain won't cooperate and think and I end up not being able to solve it.
Some of the things I'm doing right now to help myself:
reading CLR (1st ed.) -- it takes a
lot of time for stuff to sink in and I can't understand most of it
solving some problems -- no matter
how much I try, most of the time, I
end up googling for the solution
before I understand how to solve it
I know that good algorithmic skills are very important because lots of good companies ask these sorts of questions in their interview process so I'm a bit worried right now.
What else can can I do to improve my algorithmic/problem solving skills? Any advice on how to deal with this?