Review of 'Bandit Algorithms for Website Optimization' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
The prose describes the concepts and the code very well. I started not knowing much about bandit algorithms, and now feel that I know the basics, and have a good idea of where to go next for further study.
Unfortunately, I found the code to be distracting due to its lack of clarity, and “unpythonic” tendencies. There were a few instances where domain specific terms were introduced, and then different names were used in code. The provided code is in R and Julia by default, and while python is also provided, the R code has to be modified. If there’s ever talk of another edition, I’d almost suggest Typescript and an accompanying website playground.
On the whole, a good quick introduction to an interesting topic.
