DATA STRUCTURES AND ALGORITHMS 

  SE 2C03  (Winter 2022)



* * * This outline is constantly updated. Students should consult this page regularly for all information relevant to this course * * *

Instructor 

Dr. George Karakostas
ITB/218, ext 26132, Mac address: karakos
Office hours: Mon 5:00-6:00 pm

Course Assistance

Geneva Smith (smithgm@mac), Office hour: Thu 10:30-11:30 am
John Popovici (popovj3@mac), Office hour: Mon 6-7 pm
Harshil Modi (modih1@mac), Office hour: Thu 4-5 pm
Luo Yi (luoy94@mac), Office hour: Thu 5-6 pm


Scheduling notes


Prerequisites
SFWRENG 2DM3


Course Objectives 

In this course, we will study the concepts behind the technology of algorithms and data structures. The algorithmic solution of problems arises in any Computer Science or Software Engineering (indeed, any engineering or science) issue. Our goal will be: (i) To appreciate that algorithms and data structures are a technology (just as, say, electrical circuit design, or large software system design); this will be done by introducing performance measurement in order to measure algorithmic efficiency (in this course we will limit ourselves to efficient usage of time, and, sometimes, space). (ii) To recognize the details and nuances of modelling basic problems such as sorting, searching, graph exploration, etc. that will always show up in a Computer Scientist's or Software Engineer's career, and take advantage of these details in order to design better algorithmic solutions; not all algorithms that solve a problem are good, and no algorithm is good for all problems. (iii) To practice the art of reducing a given problem or application to other problems for which we already have good algorithms. 


More specifically, students should know and understand:

Students should be able to

Learning objectives, indicators, and rubrics  


Outline of Topics (roughly per week) 

  1. Introduction (1.3)
  2. Analysis of algorithms - Union-Find  (1.4, 1.5)
  3. Elementary sorts - Mergesort - Quicksort (2.1, 2.2, 2.3)
  4. Priority queues - Sorting applications (2.4, 2.5)
  5. Symbol tables - Binary search trees (3.1, 3.2)
  6. Balanced search trees - Hash tables - searching applications (3.3, 3.4, 3.5)
  7. Graph representation - BFS/DFS - Connected components - Topological sort (4.1, 4.2) 
  8. Minimum Spanning Trees - Shortest paths (4.3, 4.4)
  9. String sorts - Tries (5.1, 5.2)
  10. Substring search - FSA's and regular expressions (5.3 except KMP, 5.4)

  

Student Assessment (Grading) 


Policy on collaboration for homework assignments: Collaboration on the homework assignments is highly encouraged, within reasonable limits. Students are expected to discuss assignment problems with each other, and to cooperate on solutions in groups of no more than 5 people. However, the final write-up should be done by individual students (i.e. individual students should be able to explain their solutions by themselves, if such an explanation is asked for by the instructor) and the names of the collaborators should appear on the paper. Cooperation and teamwork are necessary for the success of any complex task (the design of algorithms being one such task), and it is the instructor's hope that students will come to appreciate them in a constructive way. Please see the instructor if you need someone to collaborate with.

Policy on delayed assignments: Assignments delivered between the lecture they were due and the following lecture get 50% of total credit. After the following lecture, no credit given. 

Policy on collaboration during exams: ABSOLUTELY NO COLLABORATION DURING EXAMS!!!
  


Resources 

Required textbook: "Algorithms", 4th ed., by R. Sedgewick and K. Wayne.
Recommended textbook: "Elements of programming interviews", by A. Aziz, T-H. Lee, A. Prakash

Algorithms visualization tools: There are many of those. One that can be particularly useful is the tool developed by David Galles and you can find here.

Other texts: There are many excellent (text)books that can be used for studying algorithms and data structures. Here I give only a couple you may find interesting, but don't feel discouraged from creating your own "algorithmic library" and finding the books that fit your needs. The subject of this course is rather challenging, and you will benefit if you hear more than one person(=book) explain a concept to you.


Assignments

All assignments are posted on Avenue, and they are submitted electronically (also on Avenue)

Assignment 1 ( Due Wed. 26/1, 11:30 am):  The questions are here. The solutions are here.
Assignment 2 (Due Wed. 9/2, 11:30 am):  The questions are here. The solutions are here.
Assignment 3 (Due Fri. 4/3, 11:30 am):  The questions are here. The solutions are here.
Assignment 4 (Due Fri 25/3, 11:30 am):  The questions are here. The solutions are here.
Assignment 5 (Due Fri 8/4, 11:30 am):  The questions are here. The solutions are here.

To read the assignment files, you'll need the Adobe Reader, which is here. 


Slides

The lecture slides are a collection of textbook figures and other material. You can find them at the textbook site here.   


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• plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which other credit has been obtained. • improper collaboration in group work.
• copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.

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