Traditionally an area of study in computer science, string algorithms have, in recent years, become an increasingly important part of biology, particularly genetics. This volume is a comprehensive look at computer algorithms for string processing. In addition to pure computer science, Gusfield adds extensive discussions on biological problems that are cast as string problems and on methods developed to solve them. This text emphasizes the fundamental ideas and techniques central to today's applications. New approaches to this complex material simplify methods that up to now have been for the specialist alone. With over 400 exercises to reinforce the material and develop additional topics, the book is suitable as a text for graduate or advanced undergraduate students in computer science, computational biology, or bio-informatics.