CMSC 341 Section 0101 Basic Info

CMSC 341 Data Structures
Section 0101
Mr. Dennis Frey
Mon/Wed, 11:30-12:45, MP 101

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: C++ with Object-Oriented Programming by Paul S. Wang, PWS Publishing.

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.

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
	Mon 29 Jan	Project 1 Assigned
1	Tues 30 Jan	C++ and OOP	MAW 1 PSW 7,8,10,12
	Wed 31 Jan Thur 1 Feb	Extra session: C++ Review 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 101
2	Thur 1 Feb	C++ and OOP	MAW 1 PSW 7,8,10,12
3	Tues 6 Feb	Asymptotic Analysis	MAW 2
	Wed 7 Feb Thur 8 Sep	Extra session: Project 1 Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 101
4	Thur 8 Feb	List ADT and Implementations	MAW 3
5	Tue 13 Feb	List Implementations	MAW 3
	Wed 14 Feb	Project 1 Due Project 2 Assigned
6	Thur 15 Feb	List Implementations	MAW 3
7	Tues 20 Feb	Stacks, Queues, and Applications	MAW 3
	Wed 21 Feb Thur 22 Feb	Extra session: Project 2 Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 101
8	Thur 22 Feb	Binary Search Trees	MAW 4
9	Tues 27 Feb	Binary Search Trees	MAX 4
	Wed 28 Feb	Project 2 Due
	Wed 28 Feb Thur 1 Mar	Extra session: Exam 1 Review 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 101
10	Thur 1 Mar	Hashing	MAW 5
11	Tue 6 Mar	Exam 1
12	Thur 8 Mar	Hashing	MAW 5
13	Tue 13 Mar	Priority Queues	MAW 6
14	Thur 15 Mar	Priority Queues	MAW 6
	Tues 20 Mar	SPRING BREAK
	Thur 22 Mar	SPRING BREAK
	Mon 26 Mar	Project 3 Assigned
15	Tues 27 Mar	Balanced Search Trees	MAW 4
	Wed 28 Mar Thur 29 Mar	Extra session: Project 3 Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 101
16	Thur 29 Mar	Balanced Search Trees	MAW 4
17	Tues 3 Apr	Balanced Search Trees	MAW 4, 11
	Wed 4 Apr Thur 5 Apr	Extra session: Exam 2 Review 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 101
18	Thur 5 Apr	Balanced Search Trees	MAW 11, 12
19	Tue 10 Apr	Exam 2
20	Thur 12 Apr	B-Trees	MAW 4 + Notes
	Sun 15 Apr	Project 3 Due
	Mon 16 Apr	Project 4 Assigned
21	Tues 17 Apr	B-Trees	MAW 4 + notes
	Wed 18 Apr Thur 19 Apr	Extra session: Project 4 Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 101
22	Thurs 19 Apr	Graphs	MAW 9
23	Tues 24 Apr	Graphs	MAW 9
24	Thur 26 Apr	Graphs	MAW 9
	Sun 29 Apr	Project 4 Due
	Mon 30 Apr	Project 5 Assigned
25	Tues 1 May	Skip Lists	MAW 10 + notes
	Wed 2 May Thur 3 May	Extra session: Project 5 Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 101
26	Thur 3 May	Skip Lists	MAW 10 + notes
27	Tues 8 May	Disjoint Sets	MAW 8
28	Thur 10 May	Disjoint Sets	MAW 8
	Sun 13 May	Project 5 Due
29	Tues 15 May	Advanced Topics	Notes
	Wed 16 May Thur 17 May	Extra session: Final Exam Preview 8:30-9:30 P.M. SS 101
	Tues 22 May	Final Exam 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m NOTE: 1 hour earlier than usual class meeting time

Dates and topics are subject to change as required by class progress
PSW = Wang text "C++ With OOP"
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

www.cs.undergraduate/341/spring01/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 Thursday 25 January 2000 by Dennis L. Frey
email: frey@cs.umbc.edu

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CMSC 341 Data Structures Section 0101 Mr. Dennis Frey Mon/Wed, 11:30-12:45, MP 101