Course Information


Time	9:30-10:50am Tuesday/Thursday 9:30-10:20am Friday
Location	VNZORN 142

Instructor	Chuck Cusack
E-mail	cusack@hope.edu
Office	VWF 233
Phone	395-7271
Office Hours	2-3pm MW or by appointment


Textbook	The following two textbooks will be used: The Algorithm Design Manual, Second Edition (ADM), Steven Skiena, Springer, 2010. Webpage for the book: Algorist.com Introduction to Discrete Mathematics and Algorithms (IDMA), Charles Cusack and David Santos, 2013. (The bookstore has copies. You need a hard copy for use during class, but it is also available in PDF here) Note: Whenever the resources column on the schedule has an entry for ADM or IDMA, you are expected to read the given sections before class.

Important Links	Programming Challenges UVa Online Judge Submission Guidelines From the UVa site, but I think it applies to both. Of particular importance is the sample Java code. CSE 392 - Programming Challenges A webpage for a course based on the programming challenges. Linked mostly for the useful information he has about properly implementing solutions in Java so they work on the platforms—see the longest bullet item under the Course Documents heading).

Resources	Answers in the back of your book An Introduction to Discrete Mathematics and Algorithms has Exercise sections that contain problems with solutions given in the next section. Me See me during office hourse, before or after class, or make an appointment at another time.

Description	The main purpose of this course is to teach you how to properly design and analyze algorithms. Specific topics include: The basics of algorithm analysis including Asymptotic notation Complexity classes Analyzing recursive algorithms Creating and solving recurrence relations Algorithmic techniques, including Brute Force Divide-and-Conquer Decrease-and-Conquer Transform-and-Conquer Space and Time Tradeoffs Dynamic Programming Greedy Techniques Distributed/Parallel Algorithms Random Algorithms Theory of computing, including Tractable and intractable problems Complexity classes like P, NP, and NP-Complete See the Schedule for a more detailed description of what we will do when.