ArticleslgStudy

computer science

Jewels of Stringology

Jewels of Stringology is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Jewels of Stringology rather than just read about it. In short: Jewels of Stringology: Text Algorithms is a book on algorithms for pattern matching in strings and related problems. It was written by Maxime Crochemore and Wojciech Rytter, and published by World Scientific in 2003.

Jewels of Stringology — main illustration
Jewels of Stringology — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Jewels of Stringology belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Jewels of Stringology to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Jewels of Stringology from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Jewels of Stringology: Text Algorithms is a book on algorithms for pattern matching in strings and related problems. It was written by Maxime Crochemore and Wojciech Rytter, and published by World Scientific in 2003.

Topics The first topics of the book are two basic string-searching algorithms for finding exactly-matching substrings, the Knuth–Morris–Pratt algorithm and the Boyer–Moore string-search algorithm. It then describes the suffix tree, an index for quickly looking up matching substrings, and two algorithms for constructing it. Other topics in the book include the construction of deterministic finite automata for pattern recognition, the discovery of repeated patterns in strings, constant-space string matching algorithms, and the lossless compression of strings. Approximate string matching is covered in several variations including edit distance and the longest common subsequence problem. The book concludes with advanced topics including two-dimensional pattern matching, parallel algorithms for pattern matching, the shortest common superstring problem, parameterized pattern matching and duplicate code detection, and the Rabin–Karp algorithm.

Audience and reception The book is written for an audience familiar with algorithm design and analysis, but not necessarily familiar with string algorithms. Reviewer Rolf Klein suggests that this target audience may be narrow, as he evaluates the book as being too difficult for many students, but not supplying as much depth for experts as the same authors' earlier book Text Algorithms (1994). Reviewer Shoshana Marcus writes that the algorithms chosen for inclusion in the book are "elegant yet fundamental" but have often been overlooked by more general algorithms textbooks. She writes that the book itself should become a valuable reference for researchers in this area, and that it could also be used to supplement undergraduate or graduate course material in algorithms. Reviewer Ricardo Baeza-Yates suggests that the book's omission of bit-level parallel programming techniques reflects its bias towards theoretical rather than practical methods, but nevertheless agrees with its suitability for graduate courses.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jewels of Stringology

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jewels of Stringology claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Jewels of Stringology before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Jewels of Stringology ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Jewels of Stringology

In research
Jewels of Stringology appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Jewels of Stringology in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Jewels of Stringology is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2003 non-fiction books, Algorithms on strings, Computer science books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Jewels of Stringology outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Jewels of Stringology in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Jewels of Stringology means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Jewels of Stringology out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jewels of Stringology in simple terms?

Jewels of Stringology: Text Algorithms is a book on algorithms for pattern matching in strings and related problems. It was written by Maxime Crochemore and Wojciech Rytter, and published by World Scientific in 2003.

Why does Jewels of Stringology matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Jewels of Stringology?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Jewels of Stringology.

Tags

  • 2003 non-fiction books
  • Algorithms on strings
  • Computer science books

Keep exploring