Course Title: Data Structures and Algorithms.

Class Times: TuTh 2:35-3:50pm. Location: SH 113
Lab Time: Th 4:00-4:50pm. Location: SH 113

Information about this course (syllabus, assignments, grades, additional material, useful links, etc.) will be available on Blackboard. Some information will be also available online at http://www.cs.nmsu.edu/~ipivkina/cs372/
More information will be posted as the course progresses.

E-mail:

Official communication to you will often come through your NMSU e-mail box. Please access it regularly, or forward it to your current use address, as your success in college may ride on your ability to respond quickly.

Course Text:

Required: Algorithms by Dasgupta, Papadimitriou, Vazirani. Publisher: McGraw Hill.
Recommended: Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest and Stein. Publisher: McGraw Hill.

Course Content:

The course has two broad inter-related components - Data Structures and Algorithms. Data structures part basically deals with Abstract Data Types (ADT) and their implementations. We will be primarily interested in different implementations of various ADT's and their efficiency. In the process, we will learn about various data structures and efficient schemes to implement these data structures. In the Algorithms part we will talk about some basic algorithm design techniques like Divide-and-Conquer, Greedy Scheme and Dynamic Programming. We will also see how abstract data types are useful in designing and implementing elegant and efficient algorithms. Tentatively, the course will cover the following topics:

• Running time calculations
• Asymptotic notation
• Sorting algorithms
• Solving recurrences
• Divide-and-conquer algorithms
• Hashing
• Graph algorithms
• Balanced binary search trees
• Greedy algorithms
• Dynamic programming

The course will not follow the book literally. Additional material or different examples will be covered in class to explain the concepts, so it is important that you attend all classes. Students are responsible for all lecture material, handouts and announcements given during class.

Course learning objectives / Student Learning Outcomes:

Students who succeed in the course will

1. understand the growth of functions via asymptotic notation,
2. argue the correctness of basic algorithms,
3. evaluate the asymptotic running time of a given algorithm,
4. design algorithms using the divide-and-conquer technique,
5. design algorithms using the dynamic-programming technique,
6. design algorithms using the greedy technique,
7. have a basic understanding of graph algorithms in their design, correcteness, and time complexity.

Course Prerequisites:

CS 272 or equivalent and CS 278 or equivalent. Please refrain from registering for the course if you haven't taken the pre-requisite courses.

The course assumes that you have some knowledge of, and experience with, programming in an imperative programming language like Java. There will be some non-trivial programming assignments in the course.

Evaluation Scheme:

Homework Assignments and Projects: 45%
Exam 1:	                           15%
Exam 2:                            15%
Final Exam:                        20%
Class Participation:                5%

Class Participation:

Participation in class discussions is an important part of the learning process. Your class participation will be evaluated subjectively, but will rely on the following factors: whether or not you ask questions in class, answer my questions, and participate in class activities and discussions.

Class Attendance:

Students are expected to attend regularly all classes for which they are registered. Students making satisfactory progress in their classes will be excused from classes when they are representing NMSU on a university sponsored event. Authorized absences do not relieve the student of their class responsibilities. Prior written notice will be provided to the instructor by the sponsoring department.

Exams:

There will be two midterm exams and one final exam. Dates for midterm exams are February 23 and April 5. There will not be any make-up exams unless there is a very good documented reason to have them. If you do have a very good documented reason, make-up exam will be given during the finals week and it will be a comprehensive exam.

Final exam will be on Thursday, May 10, 3:30-5:30pm. Final exam will be a comprehensive exam.

Due Dates and Late Policy:

Every assignment will have a due date and time. Every school day the assignment is late, the penalty is 5 percent of the possible points off. Assignment turned in after the time deadline on its due date will be considered to be one day late. Each student has two late days that they can use during the semester with no penalty. Late assignments will not be accepted once solutions have been discussed in class or the graded work has been returned to the class!

Class Policy:

The grade of I (incomplete) may be given only if you are unable to complete the course due to documented circumstances beyond your control that develop after the last day to withdraw from the course. Appropriate circumstances include illness and death or crisis in your immediate family. Consult the university catalog for regulations regarding the I grade. In no case will an I grade be assigned to avoid a grade of D or F in the course. If you elect to be graded under the S/U option, you must declare your intention when registering for the course. All work in the class will be graded in a manner identical to that for students choosing the letter grade option. At the end of the semester, your final letter grade in the course will be used to assign either a S or an U. You must achieve a minimum grade of C in order to receive a grade of S.

Both intentional and unintentional plagiarism is prohibited. It is expected that students follow the code of conduct stated in the Student Code of Conduct available at http://www.nmsu.edu/~vpsa/SCOC/
Unless explicitly stated by the instructor, you are assumed to perform the assigned work by yourself, without any external collaboration. Cheating in all forms is prohibited. Minimum penalty for plagiarism and/or cheating on an assignment will be grade 0 for the assignment. Note that a person copying an assignment is guilty of a violation of academic conduct, as is the person from whom the assignment was copied.

ADA:

If you have, or believe you have a disability, you may contact the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) Office located in Corbett Center, Room 244, 575-646-6840, or email sas@nmsu.edu. Appropriate accommodations may then be provided for you. All medical information will be treated confidentially. If you have a condition which may affect your ability to exit safely from the premises in an emergency during class, you are encouraged to discuss this in confidence with the instructor and/or the Director of University Disability Services/ADA Coordinator, Diana Quintana, at the SAS Office. Questions regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the American with Disabilities Amendment Act and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 should be directed to the SAS Office.

Questions regarding NMSU's Non-discrimination Policy and discrimination complaints should be referred to Gerard Nevarez, Office of Institutional Equity, 575-646-3635.