CMSC 341 Data Structures fall 2008
Section 0101 (M/W 5:30-6:45 SOND 205)
Mitch Edelman
Office: ITE 218
Office hours: Monday and Wednesdays 7:00 - 8:15 PM and by appointment
Course Description
We will discuss a number of topics essential to your growth as a computer
science student. Data Structures are the primary topic. You will learn to
design and analyze core data structures and algorithms that use them.
You will also study the relationships among data structures, their
utility in various situations, and factors affecting their performance.
You will learn to analyze the time complexity of algorithms, and how to choose
appropriate data structures and algorithms.
Textbooks
Required: Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in Java,
2rd Edition, by Mark Alan Weiss, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-321-37013-9
Recommended:
- Your favorite Java reference book -- here are some of mine
- 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
- 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
We will assume that you have mastered the material from
CMSC 201,
CMSC 202,
and CMSC 203.
We will not review material that has been covered in the prerequisite courses.
We do cover a few of the concepts from CMSC 202, but from a deeper
point-of-view. We assume prior experience with Java, but will review Java
briefly in the first few lectures and will have more intense reviews
outside of class hours early in the semester for those who are a little
rusty.
Grading
Your grade for this course will be based on
5 programming projects, 2 in-class exams and the final exam.
It is a very bad idea not to turn in all projects.
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). Please plan your schedules accordingly. Makeup exams will be given
only under the most dire circumstances (almost never). Project regrades must be
submitted within 1 Week of the return date to the TA for your section.
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 given only for medical illness or other such
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. Please
keep up with the assigned readings during the semester. Reading materials
will be distributed through the course web page. You
are responsible for the material in the readings, even if it is not
covered during lecture. In particular, the assigned readings may
show up on course quizzes, even though they were not explicitly presented
in lectures!
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 expected to review and to learn materials from a variety of
sources, including the text and journal articles (which will be posted
online). 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:
- Do not email program code. If you want me or the TA to
help you debug your code, check it in via CVS, 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 avoid your mail being trapped
by the spam filter
- 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.
- Dates and topics are subject to change as required by class
progress
- MAW = Weiss text "Data Structures & Algorithm Analysis
in Java"
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
www.cs.umbc.edu/courses/undergraduate/341/fall09/index.php
Please check the web page frequently. Any changes to the page will be
mentioned in the "Latest News" link.
email: edelman@umbc.edu
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