Course Announcements

Course Description

We will also cover techniques for analyzing the performance of our implementations of these data structures, using a technique known as "algorithm analysis".

course objectives
You will learn how to select an appropriate data structure and implementation based on the problem you are solving.

You will learn some Java - as will the instructor.

you will learn how to analyze the performance of code, both in terms of their running time and space requirements.

You will have ample opportunities (in the form of quizzes and coding projects) to practice these skills.

Textbooks

Recommended:

• Your favorite Java reference book -- here are some of mine (NOTE: Most of these are rather new. Java is an evolving language, and release 1.5 includes many language features not described in earlier texts)
 
• Absolute Java, Third Edition by Walter Savitch Addison Wesley Publishing, ISBN: 0-321-48792-3
  This is the text used in CMSC 202
• Java in a Nutshell, 5th Edition by David Flanagan, O'Reilly, 2005, ISBN 0-596-00773-6
• Thinking in Java, edition by Bruce Eckel, Prentice-Hall PTR, 2006, ISBN 0-131-87248-6. Available online at http://www.codeguru.com/java/tij/tij_c.shtml.
• Head First Java, Second Edition by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates, O'Reilly, 2005, ISBN 0-596-00920-8
• Learning Java by Neimeyer & Knudsen, O'Reilly Press, 2005 ISBN 0-596-00873-2

• Data structures and algorithms with object-oriented design patterns in Java by Bruno Preiss, Wiley, 1999.
• 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 Java by Sartaj Sahni, McGraw-Hill, 1998.
• 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 in C++ by Ellis Horowitz, Sartaj Sahni, and Dinesh Mehta, 2006. Update of another classic.
• 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.

Prerequisites

Grading

Each programming project is 8% of your grade, each exam is 20% of your grade.

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). Projects are due on or before the published due date, and they will not be accepted after that time. Please plan your schedules accordingly. Note that it's much better for you to turn in a partially-completed project than not to turn anything in. Makeup exams are generally not given. If your work schedule precludes your taking an exam, please notify me in advance.

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

Attendance and Readings

You must keep up with the work to do well in this course. If the only coding you do is just the projects, and all your studying is just before the exam, you can reasonably expect a "c". If you want to earn a better grade, you will need to do more than just 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 do not email program code. If you want me or the TA to help you debug your code 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!
• Note that the Help Center does not offer help with code for this course.
• Please use your your UMBC account to send mail. This will remove any ambiguity about who you are, and my mail filters will probably not eliminate campus mail.
• Include a meaningful subject line, something like "CMSC 341 Project 2 question."

Academic Integrity

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.

Lab Access and Policies

• Observe all the University and Departmental policies regarding the use of the University's and the Department's computer and laboratory facilities.
• No Food or Drinks Allowed in the Lab. Absolutely Never!
• Do not log in to multiple machines, especially when there are students waiting for access to the lab.
• Be respectful of others working in the lab. DO NOT create disturbances (e.g. don't be noisy, don't play audible music, etc).
• CMSC 421 related activities have priority. This is because they have special requirements that limit them to this lab, while there are designated OIT Labs across campus that provide general computer access.
• Observe the TA hours in the lab. CMSC 341 students are only allowed to work during the TA lab hours. Sign in with the TA when you arrive. You must leave the lab by when the TA goes off duty - no excuses, no exceptions!
• When you complete working in the lab, remove all your code from the lab machines. Leaving your code where others may find it does not absolve you from being charged with cheating, should some other student find and "borrow" your code.
• Report offenders of lab rules to the instructional staff.
• Report any suspicious activity to the instructional staff or the Campus police, as appropriate.
• The lab is provided to you by the University for your benefit. Take good care of it! Do not abuse it!
• Repeated offenses might result in shutting down the laboratory for everybody.

Failure to observe all the lab rules will result in suspending your lab access, as well as further disciplinary actions as determined by Departmental and University policy.

As lab time and resources are limited, you should plan to use them to your best advantage. I suggest that your best use of the lab is to obtain assistance from the TA on some problems you have, rather than to experiment with code design (or any other such activity that can be done effectively in one of the regular labs, without the TA's presence). Lab time and space are limited resources. Please use them when you must, but please try to use them only when you must.

Class Schedule

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

Course Web Page

www.cs.umbc.edu/courses/undergraduate/341/fall07/index.shtml