
An Introduction to String Algorithms
Carl Kingsford(Author)
Princeton University Press
Will be published approx. on 19. May 2026
Book
Hardback
376 pages
978-0-691-27453-9 (ISBN)
Description
An essential introduction to the building blocks of modern text processing
String algorithms make it possible to process, store, and manipulate text with computational efficiency, with applications ranging from search engines and social networks that regularly process terabytes of information to areas like genomics, where the genome of an organism can be encoded as a long string of letters. This book provides an incisive introduction to the concepts and applications that every practitioner in the field needs to know. Ideal for the classroom and self-study, it guides readers from the fundamentals of string processing to advanced computational methods, presenting useful data structures and proof techniques for strings and other data and serving as an on-ramp to doing cutting-edge research in string algorithms.
Discusses topics ranging from exact string matching and efficient edit distance computation to modern string data structures, sketching methods, and generative models of strings
Covers data structures such as suffix trees, suffix arrays, wavelet trees, the Burrows-Wheeler transform, the FM index, and compressed bit vectors
Presents an array of algorithms along with their proofs of correctness and running time
Develops the skills needed to design and implement new string algorithms as well as various algorithmic techniques that are applicable beyond string algorithms
Invaluable for anyone interested in processing large collections of string data, including genomic sequences and text for training large language models
Includes hundreds of exercises and explanatory figures
An indispensable resource for graduate students, advanced undergraduates, researchers, and practitioners
String algorithms make it possible to process, store, and manipulate text with computational efficiency, with applications ranging from search engines and social networks that regularly process terabytes of information to areas like genomics, where the genome of an organism can be encoded as a long string of letters. This book provides an incisive introduction to the concepts and applications that every practitioner in the field needs to know. Ideal for the classroom and self-study, it guides readers from the fundamentals of string processing to advanced computational methods, presenting useful data structures and proof techniques for strings and other data and serving as an on-ramp to doing cutting-edge research in string algorithms.
Discusses topics ranging from exact string matching and efficient edit distance computation to modern string data structures, sketching methods, and generative models of strings
Covers data structures such as suffix trees, suffix arrays, wavelet trees, the Burrows-Wheeler transform, the FM index, and compressed bit vectors
Presents an array of algorithms along with their proofs of correctness and running time
Develops the skills needed to design and implement new string algorithms as well as various algorithmic techniques that are applicable beyond string algorithms
Invaluable for anyone interested in processing large collections of string data, including genomic sequences and text for training large language models
Includes hundreds of exercises and explanatory figures
An indispensable resource for graduate students, advanced undergraduates, researchers, and practitioners
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
319 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 261 mm
Width: 211 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
1020 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-27453-9 (9780691274539)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Carl Kingsford
An Introduction to String Algorithms
E-Book
05/2026
LAPA Publishers
€68.49
Available for download
Person
Carl Kingsford is the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Computer Science in the Ray and Stephanie Lane Computational Biology Department at Carnegie Mellon University.