Analysis of Algorithms

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3460:435/535 Course Information

• Prerequisite: C- or better in 3460:316 Data Structures and Algorithms II and 3460:418 Introduction to Discrete Structures
• Objectives
  • To study the design of efficient algorithms for classic problems in computer science
• Required Text - 
  • Introduction to Algorithms, Second Edition, Thomas H. Cormen, Charles E. Leiserson, Ronald L. Rivest and Clifford Stein, MIT Press 2001, ISBN 0-262-03293-7 
• Grading Policies
  Your grade will be based on 2 exams (40%), a comprehensive final (25%), and series of course projects and homework (35%).

  Exams must be taken at the announced times unless prior arrangements are made. Pay special attention to the time of the final exam (listed below). Late homework will not be accepted. Hopefully you will all meet the deadlines for all projects. However, if you find it necessary to submit a project late, your grade will be reduced by 10% per day.

  All programming assignments must be your own work. Devising your own solutions to problems and implementing them is the best way to learn about the topics in this course. You should follow these three rules:

  • Guard your code as if it was a trade secret. Do not show your code to anyone else.
  • Sting operations are often used to trap spies in industry. Do not read someone else's code.
  • Discussions among classmates about the general nature of a solution can be beneficial. Beware that these discussions do not become too detailed, or revert to speaking, reading, or writing in a foreign language such as C, C++, Pascal, FORTRAN, BASIC, PERL, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Assembly, or Pseudocode...

  If you need help with your programs, please see me. Duplicate or similar programs, plagiarism, cheating, undue collaboration, or other forms of academic dishonesty may be reported to the Student Disciplinary Office.

• Grading scale:
  • A   90-100    B   80- 89    C   70- 79    D   60- 69    F    0- 59
  • (+/- grades awarded at my discretion)
• Final Exam: Wednesday, May 5, 2004 at 4 PM
• Last day to drop this class: Friday, April 9, 2004.
• Special Notice:  Students whose names do not appear on the university’s class list by January 16, 2004 will not be permitted to participate (attend class, take exams, or receive credit.)

Course Topics

(Tentative)

• Mathematical Foundations (Chapters 1-5)
• Medians and Order Statistics (Chapter 9)
• Dynamic Programming (Chapter 15)
• Greedy Algorithms (Chapter 16)
• Disjoint Sets (Chapter 21)
• Graph Algorithms (Chapters 22-26)
• String Matching (Chapter 32)
• Computational Geometry (Chapter 33)
• NP-Completeness and Approximation (Chapters 34-35)

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