DistributedAlgorithms:AnIntuitiveApproach

The revised edition of this guide to distributed algorithms places a strong emphasis on real-world examples and exercises, instead of complex mathematical models. This approach aims to make the subject more accessible by teaching algorithmic thought without getting bogged down in proof and logic. The book's structure enables the reader to learn a broad range of algorithms in a relatively short amount of time. Algorithms are explained using informal descriptions, illuminating examples, and practical exercises, allowing readers to understand them intuitively and from multiple perspectives.

The book also includes proof sketches, which explain the idea behind fundamental results or argue for an algorithm's correctness. The algorithms presented in the book are mostly classics that shed light on the algorithmic design of distributed systems or key issues in distributed computing and concurrent programming.

The second edition of the book has undergone substantial revision. It includes a new chapter on distributed transactions that offers up-to-date treatment of database transactions and transactional memory. A new chapter on security covers the exciting new topics of blockchains and quantum cryptography. The book now also includes sections on rollback recovery, fault-tolerant termination detection, and consensus for shared memory. An appendix has been added to provide pseudocode descriptions of many algorithms. Solutions and instructor's slides are available.

This guide to distributed algorithms is suitable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in computer science or as a reference for researchers in the field.

作者简介

WanFokkinkisProfessorofTheoreticalComputerScienceattheVUUniversity,Amsterdam.