CMSC 341 Section 0401 Basic Info

CMSC 341 Data Structures
Section 0401
Mr. Jim Kukla
TTh 11:30-12:45, SS-113

Course Description

Data Structures are the paramount concern of this course. The principle objective of the course is to help you learn how to design and analyze a wide range of data structures.

The course covers data structures and associated algorithms. Relationships among data structures, their utility in various situations, and factors affecting their performance in algorithms will be considered. You will learn to analyze the demands of algorithms, how to choose appropriate data structures, and how to integrate data structures into algorithms.

Textbooks

Required: Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in C++, 2nd Edition, by Mark Alan Weiss, Addison-Wesley

You may wish to consult other texts. Here are some suggestions:

Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis by Clifford Shaffer, Prentice-Hall, 1996. This book has good coverage of data structures and algorithm analysis in C++. It has excellent descriptions of a number of data structures.
Data Structures, Algorithms, and Applications in C++ by Sartaj Sahni, McGraw-Hill, 1998. Covers some material not covered by the Heileman text.
Data Structures and Algorithms by Alfred Aho, John Hopcroft, and Jeffrey Ullman, Addison-Wesley, 1983. This is one of the all-time classics, written in Pascal.
Fundamentals of Data Structures by Ellis Horowitz, Sartaj Sahni, and Dinesh Mehta, 1995. Another classic. In C++.
Abstract Data Types by Nell Dale and Henry Walker, D.C. Heath and Company, 1996. A high-level view of data structures and algorithms, with no programming language specified. A very worthwhile and modern text with an alternative viewpoint.
Some C++ textbook (for example, C++ with Object-Oriented Programming by Paul S. Wang, PWS Publishing. from CMSC 202)

Prerequisites

We will assume that you have mastered the material from CMSC 201, CMSC 202, and CMSC 203, including mastery of the C++ language. We will not review material that has been covered in the prerequisite courses. We do cover a few of the data structures from CMSC 202, but from a deeper point-of-view. A few advanced C++ topics such as templates and exceptions will be reviewed.

Grading

Your grade for this course will be based upon 5 projects, 2 in-class exams and the final exam. The projects are worth 50% of your grade, each project weighted equally. Each in-class exam is worth 15 percentage points; the final is worth 20 points. Note that the due dates for the projects and the dates of the exams are already set (q.v., the syllabus and project policy handout). Please plan your schedules accordingly. Makeup exams will be given only under the most dire circumstances (almost never).

Your final letter grade is based on the standard formula:

0 <= F < 60, 60 <= D < 70, 70 <= C < 80, 80 <= B < 90, 90 <= A <= 100

These levels may be adjusted slightly in your favor, but grades will not be ``curved'' in the conventional sense.
Your grade is given for timely work done during the semester; incomplete grades will only be given for medical illness or other such dire circumstances.

Attendance and Readings

You are expected to attend all lectures. You are responsible for all material covered in the lecture, even if it is not in the textbook. You should keep up with the assigned readings during the semester. Some reading material will distributed through the course web page. You are responsible for the material in the readings, even if it is not covered during lecture.

You must study to do well in this course. It will not be enough to attend lectures and do the homework. As advanced undergraduates, you will be responsible for learning material that is not necessarily covered in lectures. A prime learning requirement is that you contribute to class discussions and raise questions about the course material.

Contacting Me or the TAs

Please feel free to visit me or the TAs during our office hours. If you can't make it during the regular hours, please ask for an appointment. We will do everything we can to be available to provide help with this course. Office hours, phone numbers and other contact information is available on-line. If you need to contact any of the course staff outside of lecture and office hours, email is much better than the telephone. You should, however, observe the following etiquette:

Please do not email program code. If you want me or the TA to help you debug your code (and you have already tried the Help Center) submit the code in the usual way, and then send email about the problem. We will look at the submitted code. Please, do NOT mail code to me or to the TA!
Please use your real name. Email from "Crazy Ape" does not get the attention you may want it to. Besides, when you get that great-paying job because you know data structures so well, will you want to send mail to your boss from "Crazy Ape?" Your mail will look much more professional if you use your real name. Start using it now and give up the kid stuff.
Include a meaningful subject line, something like "CMSC 341 Project 2 question."

Academic Integrity

Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. Instances of cheating will be reported to the UMBC Academic Conduct Committee. These reports are filed by the Committee and can be used for disciplinary action such as a permanent record on your transcript. Academic honesty is absolutely required of you. You are expected to be honest yourself and to report any cases of dishonesty you see among other students in this class. Reports of dishonest behavior will be kept anonymous.
Further details on honesty in doing projects for this course are on-line at the Project Policy link.

Students are welcome and encouraged to study together for exams, but examinations are to be your own work -- not your neighbor's and not your notes. All exams are closed-book, closed-notes. Only pencils (or pens) and erasers are permitted in the exam room unless otherwise indicated. Scratch paper is provided to you, as needed. Having any other materials in your possession during an exam will be taken as evidence of cheating and dealt with accordingly.

Syllabus

	Date	Topic	Reading
1	Tue,Thur 5,7 Sep	C++ and OOP	MAW 1
	Tue 5 Sep	Project 1 Assigned
	Wed 6 Sep Thur 7 Sep	Extra session: C++ Review 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 114
2	Tue 12 Sep	C++ and OOP	MAW 1
3	Thur 14 Sep	Asymptotic Analysis	MAW 2
	Wed 13 Sep Thur 14 Sep	Extra session: Project 1 Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 114
4	Tue 19 Sep	List ADT and Implementations	MAW 3
5	Thur 21 Sep	List Implementations	MAW 3
	Tue 19 Sep	Project 1 Due
6	Tue 26 Sep	List Implementations	MAW 3
	Mon 25 Sep	Project 2 Assigned
7	Thur 28 Sep	Stacks, Queues, and Applications	MAW 3
	Wed 27 Sep Thur 28 Sep	Extra session: Project 2 Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 114
8	Tue 3 Oct	Binary Search Trees	MAW 4
9	Thur 5 Oct	Binary Search Trees	MAW 4
10	Tue 10 Oct	Hashing	MAW 5
	Mon 9 Oct	Project 2 Due
11	Thur 12 Oct	Hashing	MAW 5
	Wed 11 Oct Thur 12 Oct	Extra session: Exam 1 Review 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 114
12	Mon 16 Oct	Exam 1 Project 3 Assign
13	Thur 19 Oct	Priority Queues	MAW 6
	Wed 18 Oct Thur 19 Oct	Extra session: Project 3 Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 114
14	Tue 24 Oct	Priority Queues	MAW 6
15	Thur 26 Oct	Balanced Search Trees	MAW 4
16	Tue 31 Oct	Balanced Search Trees	MAW 4
	Mon 30 Oct	Project 3 Due Project 4 Assigned
17	Thur 2 Nov	Balanced Search Trees	MAW 4, 11
	Wed 1 Nov Thur 2 Nov	Extra session: Project 4 Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 114
18	Tue 7 Nov	Balanced Search Trees	MAW 11, 12
19	Thur 9 Nov	B-Trees	MAW 4 + Notes
	Wed 8 Nov Thur 9 Nov	Extra session: Exam 2 Review 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 114
20	Tue 14 Nov	Exam 2
21	Thur 16 Nov	B-Trees	MAW 4 + notes
22	Tue 21 Nov	Graphs	MAW 9
	Mon 20 Nov	Project 4 Due Project 5 Assigned
23	Thur 23 Nov	Graphs	MAW 9
	Thu 23 Nov to Sun 26 Nov	Thanksgiving Break
24	Tue 28 Nov	Graphs	MAW 9
25	Thur 30 Nov	Skip Lists	MAW 10 + notes
	Wed 29 Nov Thur 30 Nov	Extra session: Project 5 Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 114
26	Tue 5 Dec	Skip Lists	MAW 10 + notes
27	Thur 7 Dec	Disjoint Set	MAW 8
28	Tue 12 Dec	Disjoint Set	MAW 8
	Mon 11 Dec	Project 5 Due
29	Thur 14 Dec	Advanced Topics	Notes
	Wed 13 Dec Thur 14 Dec	Extra session: Final Exam Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 114
	Thur 21 Dec	Final Exam 1:00p-3:00p NOTE: 1/2 hour earlier than usual class meeting time

Dates and topics are subject to change as required by class progress
MAW = Weiss text "Data Structures & Algorithm Analysis in C++"

Course Web Page

A few handouts will be provided in paper form at the first class. After that, all handouts will be provided only on the web. The course web page URL is:

http://www.csee.umbc.edu/courses/undergraduate/341/fall00

Please check the web page frequently. Any changes to the page will be mentioned in the "What's New" link.

Last modified on August 31, 20000 by James Kukla
email: kukla@umbc.edu

CMSC 341 Data Structures Section 0401 Mr. Jim Kukla TTh 11:30-12:45, SS-113