Combinatorial Optimization: Theory and Algorithms (Algorithms and Combinatorics)

✍ Scribed by Bernhard Korte, Jens Vygen

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 595
• Series: Algorithms and Combinatorics
• Edition: 3rd
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This is the most comprehensive compilation on combinatorial optiomization I have seen so far. Usually, Papadimitriou's book is a good place for this material - but in many cases, looking for proofs and theorems - I had to use several books: () Combinatorial Optimization Algorithms and Complexity by Papadimitriou and Steiglitz. () Integer and Combinatorial Optimization by Nemhauser and Wolsey () Theory of linear and integer programming by Schrijver () Combinatorial Optimization by Cook, Cunningham, Pulleyblank and Schrijver ()Combinatorial Algorithms by Kreher and Stinson

This book, on the other hand, contains so much information and so many proved theorems - it's the richest resuorce in this topic, in my humble opinion.

Using it as a graduate level textbook for an introduction* to combinatorial optimization is kind of hard - as although it's richness, some topics are described without enough detail or examples (like the topics on network flow and bipartite graphs) - yet the authors probably assumed some previous knowledge in those topics.

I prefer using this book as a reference rather than and intoduction.

The heavy mathematical notations in this book might scare some readers, but no-fear! You quickly get used to it, and appreciate the greatness in the notations, as they make the theorems more short and to the point. On the other hand - getting back to this book for a quick review on some subject might force you to flip pages for a fwe minutes, just to remember the notation again.

The authors intended this book to be a graduaet level textbook or an up-to-date reference work for current research. I believe they accomplished both targets!