Description. This course surveys the most important algorithms and data structures in use on computers today. Particular emphasis is given to algorithms for sorting, searching, and graphs. The course concentrates on developing implementations, understanding their performance characteristics, and estimating their potential effectiveness in applications.
Prerequisites. COS 126 or approval by the COS placement officer.
Lectures. Lectures meet at 11am–12:20pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Friend 101. Attendance is required.
Precepts. Precepts meet once per week and cover details pertinent to programming assignments, quizzes, and exams. Come prepared to participate in the discussion, not just ask questions. This includes reading the assignment specification before the corresponding precept.
Course staff.
 Prof. Pedro Paredes Instructor |
 Prof. Kevin Wayne Instructor |
 Prof. Huacheng Yu Instructor |
 Kobi Kaplan Course Administrator |
 Anny Zhou Preceptor |
 Brendan Wang Preceptor |
 Emma Farkash Preceptor |
 Han Xu Preceptor |
 Stanley Wei Preceptor |
 Victor Chu Preceptor |
 Zhiyue Zhang Preceptor |
The staff is complemented by a team of undergraduates who serve as graders, and grading managers.
Office hours. You are welcome to attend the office hours of any staff member. Office hours are listed on the Help page.
Schedule. Here is the schedule for lectures and precepts.
| TIME | LOCATION | PERSON | |
|---|---|---|---|
| L01 | T Th 11am–12:20pm | Friend 101 | Kevin |
| P01 | Th 3–4:20pm | Friend 009 | Anny |
| P01A | Th 3–4:20pm | Friend 109 | Zhiyue |
| P01B | Th 3–4:20pm | Friend 108 | Stanley |
| P02 | F 11-12:20pm | Friend 009 | Brendan |
| P02A | F 11–12:20pm | Friend 109 | Victor |
| P02B | F 11am–12:20pm | Friend 108 | Han |
| P03 | F 1:30pm-2:50pm | Friend 009 | Stanley |
| P03A | F 1:30–2:50pm | Friend 109 | Emma |
P04The Advanced Precept, P04, is intended for students seeking a more advanced treatment of the material, which covers topics beyond the scope of the course. Use TigerHub to transfer into (or out of) P04.* |
F 1:30–2:50pm | Friend 108 | Huacheng |
Course grades. Your grade for the course will be based on the following components: programming assignments (45%), quizzes (10%), midterm exam (15%), final exam (25%), and participation (5%).
Programming assignments. The programming assignments involve applying the material from lecture to solve problems in science, engineering, and commerce.
Quizzes. The quizzes consist of two or three short questions per lecture, to ensure that you are keeping up with the material.
Exams. Exams are closed-book. The midterm exam is in-class on Tuesday, March 4. The final exam is in-person on Sunday, May 11 at 4pm.
Participation. Participation in this course is fundamental to engaged learning, including using iClickers in lecture and collaborating with a classmate in precept. You are expected to attend each scheduled lecture and precept on time and ready to participate fully.
Course website. This course website includes links to course content, including lecture slides, precept activities, programming assignments, quizzes, and old exams.
Textbook. Algorithms, 4th edition by Robert Sedgewick and Kevin Wayne. Addison-Wesley Professional, 2011, ISBN 0-321-57351-X. The assigned readings are required.
Booksite. The booksite contains many useful resources while programming.
Lecture recordings. You can access recordings of the in-person lectures via the Panopto link in Canvas. For compliance and privacy reasons, you may not redistribute these recordings.
Discussion forum. The best way to ask a short question about the course materials is via Ed Discussion, an online discussion forum where you can ask (and answer) questions.
Programming environment. We recommend developing Java programs for this course on your personal laptop or desktop. Here are instructions for setting up a custom IntelliJ-based programming environment under macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Lab TAs. Undergraduate lab TAs are available to answer general computing questions in Lewis 121/122/134. They can assist you in debugging, provided you have first made a reasonable effort to identify the bug and isolate the problem. For non-debugging questions, use Ed Discussion or office hours.