CMSC 341 Data Structures
Spring 2003 Section 0101
Tuesday/Thursday 10:00am - SS 206
Mr. Dennis Frey

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

Recommended:


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 40% of your grade, each project weighted equally. Each in-class exam is worth 20 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 be 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.


BlackBoard Discussion Board

A BlackBoard site has been created for this course. This site is used primarily to support discussion boards, but announcements are also posted there. A discussion board will be established for each programming project. Students are encouraged to post general project questions, answer questions posted by other students or just browse the discussion board to find answers to project questions. Your instructors and TAs will also be posting questions and answers. Your questions may be posted anonymously. Other discussion boards for topics such as general C++ questions will also be established. The course BlackBoard is accessed by logging on to my.umbc.edu and clicking on the BlackBoard tab at the top of the page.

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:

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

Class
Date
Topic
Reading

Mon Jan 27
Project 1 Assigned

1
Tues Jan 28
Introduction and C++ 
MAW 1
2
Thurs Jan 30 C++ and OOP
MAW 1
3 Tues Feb 4 Asymptotic Analysis MAW 2
4 Thurs Feb 6 List ADT and Implementations MAW 3

Sun Feb 9
Project 1 Due at 11:59pm


Mon Feb 10
Project 2 Assigned

5 Tues Feb 11 List Implementations MAW 3
6 Thurs Feb 13 List Implementations MAW 3
7 Tues Feb 18 SNOW !!
8 Thurs Feb 20 SNOW !!
9 Tues Feb 25 Stacks, Queue, Dequeue ADT
Binary Search Trees
MAW 4
10 Thurs Feb 27 Binary Search Trees MAW 4
11 Tues Mar 4 BSTs and Exam Review
12
Thurs Mar 6
Exam 1
Classes 1 - 10

Friday Mar 7
Project 3 Assigned

13 Tues Mar 11 Balanced Search Trees MAW 4
14 Thurs Mar 13 Balanced Search Trees MAW 4
15 Tues Mar 18 Balanced Search Trees MAW 4
16
Thurs Mar 20 Balanced Search Trees MAW 4

Fri Mar 21
Project 3 Due at 11:59pm


Tues Mar 25
Spring Break
MAW 6

Thurs Mar 27
Spring Break
MAW 6
17 Tues Apr 1 Priority Queues and Heaps MAW 6
18 Thurs Apr 3 Priority Queues and Heaps MAW 6
19
Tues Apr 8
Exam 2
Classes 12 - 18

Wed Apr 9
Project 4 Assigned

20 Thurs Apr 10 Hashing
MAW 5
21 Tues Apr 15 Hashing
MAW 5
22 Thurs Apr 17 Skip Lists MAW 10 + Notes
23 Tues Apr 22 Skip Lists MAW 10 + Notes

Tues Apr 22
Project 4 Due 11:59pm


Wed Apr 23
Project 5 Assigned

24 Thurs Apr 24 Graphs
MAW 9
25 Tues Apr 29 Graphs MAW 9
26 Thurs May 1 Graphs MAW 9
27 Tues May 6 Disjoint Sets MAW 8

Tues May 6
Project 5 Due 11:59pm

28 Thurs May 8 B - Trees MAW 4 + notes
29 Tues May 13
B - Trees MAW 4 + notes

Tues May 20
1:00 - 3:00pm
Final Exam
Classes 20 - 29

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/spring03/index.shtml
Please check the web page frequently. Any changes to the page will be mentioned in the "What's New" link. 
Last modified on Monday January 13, 2003 by Dennis Frey

email: frey@cs.umbc.edu
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