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This syllabus is a living document; please be aware that many elements on this page will change throughout the semester, including the course schedule. It is the student's responsibility to review this page periodically for updates.

Class information

       Lecture Section 1: TR 9:55 - 11:10am SC 256
       Lecture Section 2: TR 2:40 -  3:55pm SC 240
       Lab: F 1:40-3:10pm OR 3:20-4:50pm, SC 256
       Required textbook: Data Structures and Algorithms in C++, 2nd edition
            by Goodrich, Tamassia, and Mount.

Instructor information

       Professor: Ameet Soni
       Email:
       Office: Science Center 253
       Phonei: 610-957-6288
       Office hours: Mondays, 10:00am - noon OR by appointment

Welcome to CS35. This course continues the broad introduction to computer science begun in CS21, providing a general background for further study in the field. By concentrating on data structures and algorithms, you will obtain the basic building blocks by which all large software are built. These topics are central to every sub-discipline in computer science, and also connect to central concepts across the sciences. Topics to be covered include object-oriented programming in C++, advanced data structures (such as priority queues, trees, hash tables, and graphs), advanced algorithms, as well as software design and verification. At the end of this course, you will have obtained the ability to successfully analyze problems in the discipline. You will also take your first steps towards developing the skills necessary to synthesize and evaluate the must fundamental questions in the field.

To enroll in this course you must have completed CPSC 21 or obtain permission from the instructor. This course is designated as a natural sciences and engineering practicum.

Course Promises / Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, you will have developed the following knowledge and skills:

• Understand the basic principles of object-oriented programming and learn how to create programs in C++ using this paradigm.
• Understand asymptotic growth and big-O notation.
• Analyze the performance of algorithms in terms of big-O notation.
• Given an algorithm, argue that it correctly solves the problem for which it was designed.
• Given a description of a data structure and its operations, write code to implement the data structure in C++.
• Understand the difference between an abstract interface and the implementation of that interface.
• Given multiple implementations of a data structure, analyze the performance of each implementation in terms of run-time and memory use and understand the tradeoffs of using one approach over another.
• Be able to combine multiple data structures in a coherent way to solve problems of moderate complexity.

Student support

Student Support Coordinator: Frances Ruiz (Office: Science Center 257, Phone: 6062)

CS35 Ninjas (student mentors): Jonathan Cronin, Samantha Goldstein, Chris Magnano, and Sophie Libkind

The CS Ninjas will assist me in our in-class lab sessions and run study sessions in the main CS lab (Science Center 240) on Monday evenings from 7 - 11 p.m.

You are encouraged to participate in these study sessions to prepare for quizzes, to discuss programming concepts, and to get friendly assistance in working on homework assignments.

Assessment (Grading)

40%	Lab assignments (11)
30%	Quizzes (4) and Final Report
5%	Class participation
25%	Final exam

Student Responsbilities

I have outlined the skills and objects this course promises to provide you. For this promises to be upheld, you will need to commit towards the policies outlined below.

Attendance and Participation

Lecture attendance is required. While I am more than happy to help with any material in office hourse, priority will be given to students who show up and participate regularly in class. Office hourse are not to make up for a missed lecture.

Unlike CS21, lab attendance in CS35 is required. New lab assignments will be introduced in our Friday lab sessions, and lab sessions will sometimes contain new course material, required practice exercises, and written quizzes.

Merely showing up to class, however, is not sufficient for success in this course. Students are expected to be active in the learning process. This includes asking and answering questions as well as working with classmates during small group break sessions. Students are expected to r eview the previous lecture's notes and the reading prior to showing up to class. Studies have shown that active involvement is the number one determinant of student success.

Quiz policy

Quizzes will be given at the beginning of class on the days posted in the Announcements section of the Schedule. Please look over these dates carefully and contact the professor in at least one week in advance if you cannot be in class for a quiz. If you do not show up for the quiz, you will receive a zero for that quiz.

In addition to quizzes, you will be asked to produce a written report at the end of the semester detailing a data structure and/or algorithm that was not covered in the course. You will write a medium-length scientific paper on the topic and present an overview of your findings to your classmates during the final week of classes.

Lab assignment policy

Lab assignments are submitted electronically using the handin35 program, and are typically due by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday nights. You may submit your assignment multiple times, but each submission overwrites the previous one and only the final submission will be graded. Unless otherwise stated, you should assume that a lab assignment is to be done individually. Most of the assignments after the first month will provide the option of working in pairs. Any written assignment, however, must be done individually, even if the main programming assignment for the week allowed paired programming.

Late Policy: Each individual will be given 2 late days for the semester. This will encompass any reason - illness, interviews, paper deadlines, etc. You must notify me by the original lab deadline that you plan on using late days. Since handin35 won't accept late submissions, you must also notify me when your lab is finished so that I can grab the files in your directory. Past these days, late assignments will not be accepted except in very rare, extreme circumstances. You should budget your 2 days to account for future illnesses or assignment deadlines for other courses. Even if you do not fully complete a lab assignment you should submit what you have done to receive partial credit.

Academic accommodations

If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact Leslie Hempling in the Office of Student Disability Services, located in Parrish 130, or e-mail lhempli1 to set up an appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting accommodations. Leslie Hempling is responsible for reviewing and approving disability-related accommodation requests and, as appropriate, she will issue students with documented disabilities an Accommodation Authorization Letter. Since accommodations may require early planning and are not retroactive, please contact her as soon as possible. For details about the Student Disabilities Service and the accomodations process, visit http://www.swarthmore.edu/student-life/academic-advising-and-support/student-disability-services.xml. You are also welcome to contact me privately to discuss your academic needs. However, all disability-related accommodations must be arranged through Leslie Hempling in the Office Of Student Disability Services. To receive an accommodation for a course activity, you must have an Accomodation Authorization letter from Leslie Hempling and you need to meet with me to work out the details of your accommodation at least two weeks prior to any activity requiring accomodations.

Academic integrity

Academic honesty is required in all work you submit to be graded. With the exception of your lab partner on approved lab assignments, you may not submit work done with (or by) someone else, or examine or use work done by others to complete your own work. Your code should never be shared with anyone; you may not examine or use code belonging to someone else, nor may you let anyone else look at or make a copy of your code. This includes sharing solutions after the due date of the assignment.

All code you submit must be your own with the following permissible exceptions: code distributed in class, code found in the course text book, and code worked on with an assigned partner. In these cases, you should always include detailed comments that indicates on which parts of the assignment you received help, and what your sources were.

Discussing ideas and approaches to problems with others on a general level is fine (in fact, we encourage you to discuss general strategies with each other), but you should never read anyone else's code or let anyone else read your code. You may discuss assignment specifications and requirements with others in the class to be sure you understand the problem. In addition, you are allowed to work with others to help learn the course material. However, with the exception of your lab partner, you may not work with others on your assignments in any capacity.

``It is the opinion of the faculty that for an intentional first offense, failure in the course is normally appropriate. Suspension for a semester or deprivation of the degree in that year may also be appropriate when warranted by the seriousness of the offense.'' - Swarthmore College Bulletin (2008-2009, Section 7.1.2)

Please see me if there are any questions about what is permissible.

How to succeed in CS35

CS35 is substantially faster-paced than CS21, covering a broad range of topics. To succeed you should:

• Attend class.
  The primary introduction to course material is through class lecture. Additionally, we often do learning exercises during class, which give you immediate experience with the material we are covering.
• Start the lab assignments early.
  I realize this one is not always easy to do, but if you can get in the habit of doing this, you will be much better off. As the labs get longer and more difficult, starting early will give you plenty of time to mull over the lab problems even when you aren't actively writing your solution.
• Practice, practice, practice.
  The only effective way to learn the material and pass the quizzes and exams is to consistently do the labs.
• Seek help early and often.
  Because course material builds on previous material, it is essential to your success in this class that you keep up with the course material.
• Attend CS35 Study Sessions.
  The student Ninjas hold an evening study session each week. You are encouraged to participate in these sessions. The Ninjas will help you prepare for quizzes, will provide additional instruction in programming concepts, and will provide friendly assistance on your lab assignments.

Schedule

For the reading assignments the section numbers are inclusive, so "1.1-1.1.2" means you should read all the sections from 1.1 up to and including section 1.1.2. This is a tentative schedule, it may change as we go.

WEEK	DAY	ANNOUNCEMENTS	TOPIC & READING	LAB
1	Sep 04		Introduction to C++ Ch1: 1.1-1.1.2, page 10(strings), page 16(using), 1.2-1.4.1	Lab 1 - Image Editor
	Sep 06
2	Sep 11		Object-oriented design in C++ Ch1: 1.5-1.5.2, 1.6-1.7.4 Ch2: 2.1-2.2.5	Lab 2 - Chicken
	Sep 13	Drop/Add ends (Sep 14)
3	Sep 18	Quiz 1 study guide	Complexity analysis Ch4: (all)	Lab 3 - Algorithm Analysis
	Sep 20	Quiz 1
4	Sep 25		Lists Ch6: 6.1-6.1.3 Ch3: 3.2-3.2.4 Ch6: 6.2-6.2.3 gdb commands gdb guide	Lab 4 - Popcorn and Linked Lists
	Sep 27
5	Oct 02		Stacks and queues Ch5: 5.1-5.2.5	Lab 5 - A-maze-ing Stacks and Queues
	Oct 04
6	Oct 09	Quiz 2 study guide	Sorting Ch11: 11.1-11.3	Lab 6 - Sorting
	Oct 11	Quiz 2
	Oct 16	Fall break
	Oct 18
7	Oct 23		Trees Ch7: 7.1-7.3.3, 7.3.6 Ch10: 10.1-10.1.2	Lab 7 - Morse Code Encoder
	Oct 25
8	Oct 30		Balanced search trees Ch10: 10.2-10.2.1	Lab 8 - Web page indexing
	Nov 01
9	Nov 06	Quiz 3 study guide	Priority queues Ch8: 8.1-8.1.3, 8.1.5, 8.3-8.3.3, 8.3.5	Lab 9 - Ordered Search Results
	Nov 08	Quiz 3 Last day to declare CR/NC or withdraw with a "W" (Nov 09)
10	Nov 13		Dictionaries and hash tables Ch9: 9.1-9.1.1, 9.2-9.2.6, 9.5-9.5.1	Lab 10 - Scrabble Solver
	Nov 15
11	Nov 20		Introduction to graphs Ch13: 13.1-13.3.2, 13.3.5-13.5
	Nov 22	Thanksgiving
12	Nov 27	Quiz 4 study guide	Shortest paths Ch13: 13.6	Lab 11 - Oracle of Bacon
	Nov 29	Quiz 4
13	Dec 04		More graphs
	Dec 06
14	Dec 11	Final study guide	Course wrap-up	Final Written Report
	Dec 15	Final 7:00pm–10:00pm Science Center 199