kostka's blog

Sports programming, the book?
By kostka, 3 years ago, In English

A long time ago I had to write a master's thesis. Of course, my thesis was about sports programming. To be precise: I described what the whole thing is about, including famous competitions and platforms, and described many techniques (with applications) that weren't really known to wider audiences (outside this community and some of them also to Um_nik apparently).

See Table of Contents, if you are interested in what exactly was included.

Now I am wondering what to do with this work. For instance, would you be interested in buying this if I ever published this as a book?

  • Vote: I like it
  • +283
  • Vote: I do not like it

Comments Comments (30)
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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +81 Vote: I do not like it

Count me in. I'll buy it.

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +38 Vote: I do not like it

I'll buy it, provided that it is priced reasonably

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it -42 Vote: I do not like it

sir ,can you help in private??

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +20 Vote: I do not like it

How can you tell that the techniques are not known to wider audiences? Outside of professors everyone I discussed algorithms/ds with are competitive programmers.

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    3 years ago, # ^ |
    ← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

    That's a very good question. I tried to include things that are not in typical algorithms and data structures courses. I also tried to write only about things that are not already described in Cormen's "Introduction to Algorithms" (or other books).

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +22 Vote: I do not like it

I think it's gonna be really interesting. There are dozens of books about the same basic stuff, but the book with a set of different advanced techniques would be something new and exciting.

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3 years ago, # |
← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +29 Vote: I do not like it

I will buy the book on the condition that you refer to the activity as "competitive programming" instead of "sports programming": https://codeforces.me/blog/entry/67253

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +8 Vote: I do not like it

If it's going to be available as a free pdf, then I would maybe check it. If it's sold for money, then I'm going to almost certainly skip it. Many people are spoiled by the easy availability of free high quality information about almost any subject on the Internet.

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +5 Vote: I do not like it

I'd be interested in buying your book even if you didn't publish it.

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +96 Vote: I do not like it

I will buy it when I am red. Don't want to get in trouble with Um_nik for learning useless algorithms when I should be solving problems.

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +44 Vote: I do not like it

Are you open to collaboration?

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

I'm in!

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +134 Vote: I do not like it

I will buy it and then postpone reading for years. Difficult topics are difficult.

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    3 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +90 Vote: I do not like it

    Looking forward to "Hard book reading stream"

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    3 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +8 Vote: I do not like it

    Although topics he's proposing are way too advanced, putting together some advanced stuff in a book let's you learn them in more organized way, otherwise obviously there are many blogs, papers and videos about them, but just finding motivation to learn them might be difficult

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +28 Vote: I do not like it

I'd buy this book even if I had no use for it, the topics seem pretty cool and I could never really bring myself to learn them properly, so it'd be finally something readable in one place. And I can't even imagine how cool your collaboration with adamant would be (I guess that'd lead to an even more amazing section on strings :D).

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +46 Vote: I do not like it

For the right price I'd be interested in buying even only a reasonable explanation for why the fuck does matroid intersection algorithms work.

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

Very interested

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +12 Vote: I do not like it

Book about sport programming? Just titles around algorithms/ds/techniques. I don't get it. We need histories!

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

I would love to buy it.

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

could you use latex?

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    3 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +8 Vote: I do not like it

    The TOC seems to have been typeset in $$$\LaTeX$$$, as can be seen from the TOC format as well as the font (it uses a sans serif font called Latin Modern Sans, so it might have not been that obvious).

    Spoiler
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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +1 Vote: I do not like it

I would buy it. I won't pretend that I'd sit down and read through the whole thing, but I'd probably sit down and read a section when I'm in the mood. Plus, I need something on my bookshelf to show off this hobby, and how many competent sports programming books are there?

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