Who is Interested in Algorithms and Why?
Lessons from the Stony Brook Algorithms Repository¹

Steven S. Skiena²
Department of Computer Science
SUNY Stony Brook, NY 11794-4400
skiena@cs.sunysb.edu
©Steven S. Skiena

Abstract:

W

e present ``market research'' for the field of combinatorial algorithms and algorithm engineering, attempting to determine which algorithmic problems are most in demand in applications. We analyze 1,503,135 WWW hits recorded on the Stony Brook Algorithms Repository (http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/$\sim$algorith), to determine the relative level of interest among 75 algorithmic problems and the extent to which publicly available algorithm implementations satisfy this demand.