SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY
Department of Mathematics and Computing Science

CSC 2341—Algorithmic Foundations of Computing Science—CSC 2341
CSC 2342—Data Structures and Algorithms—CSC 2342

Lecture and Lab-Recitation Overview

Overview of Lectures

The lectures in this course may be viewed as consisting of two "streams": a "theory stream" and a "practice stream".

The "theory stream" will present the various algorithms and data structures we discuss, as well as any required-but-not-assumed mathematical background that may be needed for a better understanding of how these algorithms work, how efficient they are, which one might be better than another in a given situation, and so on.

The "practice stream" will present new topics in C++ (and our local programming environment in particular), new topics in program development in general, and implementation issues.

Needless to say, it would be nearly impossible to make these two streams totally disjoint, and probably not a good idea even if possible to achieve. So, topics from each stream will be intermingled in the lecture material. We shall, however, try to keep things in context by pointing out, as we go, where and how each topic fits into the conceptual "stream infrastructure".

Overview of Lab-Recitation Sessions

Performing the hands-on lab-related programming activities is the critical part of any computing science course having a major programming component. This course is no exception.

In addition to dealing with new topics in C++ and the programming environment, what you do in the lab will involve working with sample programs that illustrate the topics discussed in class. You will either modify those programs in prescribed ways, or write new ones to perform the same task in a different way, or to perform new, related tasks. In the beginning you may also need to devote some time to a review and consolidation of previous C++ knowledge. Sometimes what you are working on may carry over from one week to the next, but more often sample programs will tend to be independent of one another and illustrate a topic in isolation. In a given week, the lab-recitation topic might, or might not, relate to the current "major assignment", since there are topics that might not relate directly to the current major-assignment-in-progress, yet deserve some hands-on time in the lab.

For what should be obvious reasons, attending labs and keeping up with the lab work will be critical to your success in the course. There will, in fact, be direct credit assigned to some of the work actually done in the lab, or based on lab activities and completed outside the lab, possibly for submission as all or part of an assignment. The indirect benefit accruing from performing and understanding the lab activities is, of course, incalculable.

What students can expect and what your instructor will expect

• Required student preparation for lectures and labs
  The assigned reading for a particular lecture on any given day is always the relevant material from the text. The assigned reading for any lab/recitation is the same, together with any relevant notes and sample programs from class, which will be available on-line. Relevant text material may of course be obtained, or at least inferred, from the Course Outline.
• What happens during a lecture class
  The instructor will present and discuss topics according to the schedule given in the Course Outline (which may be modified as the course proceeds to reflect more accurately what actually takes place in class). Real-time computer displays using on-line sample programs and other material (also available to students), overhead transparencies, whiteboard examples and other visual aids will be used to aid the in-class presentations and discussions. Students should not expect that everything seen in class will magically appear on the course web site at some point. In other words, class attendance is necessary if nothing is to be missed.
• What happens during a formal lab/recitation session
  The instructor will first present a brief overview of what is to be accomplished during the current lab/recitation (again, see the Course Outline). This may be followed by a presentation of one or more topics, after which the instructor will guide and monitor your progress through a sequence of required activities. There may be one or more additional presentations of topics during the session, as required. Keep in mind that a formal lab/recitation session is for completing the required activities for that session, whatever they may be. This may or may not include time for working on major assignments but these must not be worked on unless you have finished all other required activities or are specifically directed to do so. Note too that there may be a time lag between when a topic is covered in class and when that same topic is dealt with in a lab/recitation session. You should use any such time lag to become as familiar with the topic as possible before your in-lab hands-on encounter with it.
• Required student follow-up
  You must, of course, review and study the material presented and discussed in classes and lab/recitation sessions. Also, any assigned activity not completed before leaving the lab/recitation must be finished later outside the formal lab/recitation session, by the required due time if it is to be submitted, and in any case before the beginning of the next formal lab/recitation session. You will also have major assignments to complete and submit for credit. Most of the work on these, and perhaps all of it, will have to be done outside the formal lab periods, as mentioned above.
• Warning to all students
  Failure to review the material covered in any given week, and, in particular, failure to complete each week's required activities before the next week begins, will have several cascading negative effects. First, you will be unprepared for the following week's activities. Because of the cumulative nature of the work, unless you recover immediately there will be a growing sense of frustration and unpreparedness that will lead to eventual paralysis. This may begin to show up first in the lab/recitation portion of the course, but will eventually extend to the course as a whole.