cs2223 Course Description

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cs2223, D97/98 Course Description

WPI course cs2223, Algorithms

This page contains the following information:

Course Description

Course Meetings and Other Components

Course Schedule

Course Grading Information

Course Communications

Cooperation

Course Description

This course is algotithms, sequences of computer instructions which performing useful tasks. We will study how to write and analyze algorithms. And, we will discuss techniques for selecting among alternative algorithms which perform equivalent tasks. This material is an important part of the theoretical and mathematical foundation of computer science. For a complete description of cs2223, see the WPI on-line Catalog.

Course Meetings and Other Components

Classes: Perreault Hall (Fuller Labs) on M,T,R,F at 12:30.

Help Sessions: Room 243 in Fuller Labs. This is the best place to get help with course material.

Text Book: G Brassard and P Bratley, Fundamentals of Algorithmics (1997, Prentice-Hall). Reading Assignments will be made each seek, see the Syllabus.

Notes: Additional Course material can be found on the Notes page.

Course Schedule

This couse is designed around a seven-week schedule. Each week is identical, except for minor variations at the end of the course because of WPI project day:

Readings and Problems are assigned at the beginning of each week. See the Syllabus for details.
Class Notes will be available a day or two after each class. These summarize classes but are not inteneded as substitutes for attending class.
Problems: There are three homework problem sets; the due dates are shown in the Syllabus. Problems will be assigned two weeks before they are due. Please turn them in early since no homework will be accepted late for any reason. You are encouraged to work together on the problems and to attend helps sessions, where we will answer your questions about the problems. However, even if you use techniques you have learned from others, you must write up your own, unique solutions to the problems. The only exception is that you may use any materials from the text book or this web site, including programs, without having to rewrite them.
Exams: There are four in-class exams; the dates are shown in the Syllabus. The Exams will cumulatively cover all course material . Exams and solutions will be posted on this web site. All exams are open book and open notes but materials may not be shared during an exam. No , calculators, computers, or communication means may be used. All exams must be written in non-erasable ink. Please bring whatever pens you will need with you to Exams since sharing will not be allowed

Course Grading Information

Your final grade will be determined at the end of the course from the total of your scores on problems and Exams as follows. The course maximum total score is 450 points.

Problems; 50 points each, 150 points total. Problems must be turned in at the beginning of the classes on the dates shown in the Syllabus. After the class has started, homework may no longer be turned in. We encourage you to start and finish the homework early. Homework will not be accepted late, for any reason. We will only grade one of the assigned problems and that one problem will be worth the full 50 points. The problem to be graded will be selected at random during class.
Exams: 100 points each, 300 points maximum. Of the four Exam grades, the top three will be kept and the lowest discarded.
Late Credit, Partial Credit, Make-up Problems, Make-up Exams, Other Exceptions. None, Never, Not for any reason. Period.
Grade Changes: Grades will be changed only when a clear grading error has been made (eg, the numbers don't add up) or where the grading has been inconsistent with the standards used for the rest of the class. Only the Instructor can change a grade, so see him. The TA will be sympathetic, but she cannot change grades.

Letter grades will be assigned at the end of the course. Conversion between the total numerical score and the final letter grade will not be done until after the term has ended. That means that it will not be possible to predict minimum passing scores for individual Problems or Exams. Your best grade strategy is to take all of the exams, and turn in all of the Problems.

Course Communications

The mailing list cs2223@cs.wpi.edu may be used by any class member to communicate with each other or with the teaching staff. Since you are encouraged to work together on the problems, the mailing list is an ideal place to post and answer questions about the problems. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@cs.wpi.edu. If you send mail with the one-line message help, you will be mailed instructions. The name of the list is cs2223.
Confidential e-mail to the teaching staff for sensitive information, such as grading queries, should be sent to cs2223_ta@cs.wpi.edu. Unless confidentiality is required, please use the general mailing list, cs2223@cs.wpi.edu.
Confidential e-mail for the instructor only can be sent to wittels@cs.wpi.edu. Expect the response time for e-mail sent here to be long.
There are no other official forms of course communication. If you send e-mail directly to the TA, it will be considered to be personal e-mail not related to the course.

This information is also contained on the Course Contacts page.

Cooperation

Working problems together and comparing answers is a valuable learning tool and we encourage you to work together as much as possible. However, the materials you turn in must be your own work. Turning in someone else's work or modifications of someone else's work, whether it was obtained with or without permission, is unacceptable. However, you are allowed to use anything from the textbook and any course materials which appear on this web site, including computer programs, without violating these cooperation rules. That means you may (but don't have to) use our code in solving your problems. Cooperating in any form during Exams is not allowed. Please read the WPI Academic Honesty Policy since we will follow that policy exactly as published. If you have any questions about this policy, please discuss them with the Instructor.

Questions

If you have questions about any of this, please ask the teaching staff.