CSCI 256

Algorithms

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Course Schedule

The table below lists the topics we will discuss each meeting and the materials associated with each topic.

Some of these resources will only be accessible from within the campus network. Information about the proxy server can be found here.

The schedule is subject to change: we may wish to explore new topics in response to current events or student interest, or we may wish to revise the pace throughout the semester. If changes are made, they will be made well in advance, and any schedule updates will be noted on GLOW.

Book references:

Date Topic Reading(s) Materials
Fr: 2/03 Introduction & Course Overview
  • KT Ch. 1
Mo: 2/06 Choosing the Right Data Structures, Stable Matching Asymptotics
  • KT Ch. 1
We: 2/08 Upper, Lower, and Tight bounds
  • KT Ch. 2
Fr: 2/10 Largest Sum Subinterval
  • KT Ch. 2
Mo: 2/13 Graphs & Graph Proofs
  • KT § 3.1
We: 2/15 Searching Graphs: BFS & DFS
  • KT § 3.1-3.6
Fr: 2/17 Winter Carnival
  • Catch Up
  • Stay Warm
Mo: 2/20 Breadth-first Search Applications
  • KT § 3.1-3.4
We: 2/22 Directed Graphs
  • KT § 3.4-3.6
Fr: 2/24 Greedy: Exchange Method
  • KT § 4-4.3
Mo: 2/27 Greedy: Shortest Paths
  • KT § 4.4
We: 3/01 Greedy: Minimum Spanning Trees
  • KT § 4.5
Fr: 3/03 Greedy: MSTs & Union Find
  • KT § 4.6
Mo: 3/06 Divide & Conquer: Sorting and Recurrences
  • KT § 5-5.2
We: 3/08 Recursion-Tree Method
  • KT § 5-5.2
Fr: 3/10 Recurrences & Analysis
Mo: 3/13 Selection
We: 3/15 In-class Midterm
Fr: 3/17 Dynamic Programming I
  • KT § 6.1
3/18-4/02 Spring Break
  • Spring Break
  • Spring Break
Mo: 4/03 Dynamic Programming II
  • KT § 6.2
We: 4/05 Dynamic Programming III
  • KT § 6.4-6.6
Fr: 4/07 Dynamic Programming IV
  • KT § 6.9-6.10
Mo: 4/10 Floyd-Warshall
We: 4/12 Introduction to Flow Networks
  • KT Ch 7.1
Fr: 4/14 Ford-Fulkerson Algorithm
  • KT § 7.2-7.3
Mo: 4/17 Flow Applications
  • KT § 7.5-7.6
We: 4/19 Baseball Elimination
Fr: 4/21 P vs. NP & NP-hardness
  • KT § 8.1, 8.3
Mo: 4/24 Problem Reductions
  • KT § 8.1, 8.3
We: 4/26 NP-hard Reductions
  • KT § 8.2-8.4
Fr: 4/28 NP-hard Reductions
  • KT § 8.4-8.8
Mo: 5/01 Probability Review I
  • 13.12
We: 5/03 Probability Review II
  • KT § 13.3
Fr: 5/05 Randomized QuickSort
  • KT § 13.3, 13.5
Mo: 5/08 Hashtables
  • KT § 13.6
We: 5/10 Skip Lists
Fr: 5/12 Hashing Applications
  • KT § 13.6
Th: 5/18 Final exam
  • 9:30am in Biology 112