Sherrod A. Data Structures and Algorithms for Game Developers

Charles River Media, 2007. — 577 p.The creation of a video game is no easy task for anyone to undertake. When it comes to programming, a lot of knowledge needs to be obtained to create an efficient and solid product. The game industry is a very competitive business, where games are defined heavily by the products that came before them. These products have raised the bar in terms of what is considered cutting-edge and standard in the industry. The more advanced games become, the more data is required to realize a game, especially from a graphics point of view. As games continue to push the envelope of what can be done and as they continue to increase gamers’ expectations, it becomes harder to create top-of-the-line quality products.
This book is the first edition of Data Structures for Game Developers. In this book you can expect to walk away with detailed knowledge about various data structures and the algorithms that can be performed on them. This combination is the key to creating real-time simulations that push the envelope on what is considered cutting-edge. Along with game- and simulation-related data structures, this book will cover common data structures and algorithms that are heavily used in general computer programming.
The purpose of this book, Data Structures for Game Developers, is to cover, in general, the huge topic of data structures that are used in game development and is targeted to beginner, student, and hobbyist C++ game and simulation programmers.
The information in this book can be used by any programmer outside the field of game development, a few chapters cover information that applies more to individuals creating graphical simulations that need to run at interactive rates, which fits in with game development. These chapters cover scene management techniques used to help process a 3D scene in real time for rendering as well as physics and collisions, to name a few.
This project is my third book, with the first being Ultimate Game Programming with DirectX and the second being Ultimate 3D Game Engine Design and Architecture. Data structures and algorithms drive object-oriented software and are key subjects to tackle for serious developers. Data structures and algorithms are the topics programmers learn after learning a programming language and are used in almost every kind of application, even simple ones that rely on arrays. Video games have a lot of data that need to be managed and processed efficiently, so this book is ideal for those getting into the topics for the first time or for those looking for a reference.
This book is for C++ programmers who are looking for a reference and for those learning the topics for the first time. The target experience level is beginners, but anyone at any level can find some value in this book. It can be used in data structure and algorithm courses in either general computer programming or in game development courses. The material in this book is easy to understand and is straightforward, which also makes it appropriate as a supplemental text. Many readers of different levels can benefit from having this book in their development library.Introduction to Data Structures
Arrays
Recursion
Introduction to Sorting
Link Lists
Stacks and Queues
Hash Tables
Advanced Sorting
Trees
Heaps
Graphs
Additional STL Algorithms
Scene Management
Data CompressionA Additional Resources
B Chapter Review Question Answers
C OpenGL
D NonStandard Containers and Algorithms