Module Identifier |
CI21120 |
Module Title |
DATA STRUCTURES AND SOFTWARE DESIGN |
Academic Year |
2003/2004 |
Co-ordinator |
Dr Mark B Ratcliffe |
Semester |
Semester 2 (Taught over 2 semesters) |
Other staff |
Dr Lynda A Thomas |
Pre-Requisite |
CI12420 or CS12420 |
Co-Requisite |
None |
Mutually Exclusive |
CS21120 |
Course delivery |
Lecture | 44 lectures |
|
Practical | Up to 16 x 2hr |
|
Other | Workshop. Up to 4 |
Assessment |
Assessment Type | Assessment Length/Details | Proportion |
Semester Exam | 2 Hours A1 There will be regular worksheets with penalties for non-submission. | 40% |
Semester Assessment | A2 Course Work: 2 pieces of assessed coursework | 50% |
Semester Assessment | A3 Regular worksheets | 10% |
Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Written examination only | 100% |
|
Further details |
http://www.aber.ac.uk/compsci/ModuleInfo/CI21120 |
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
-
demonstrate their understanding of the principles of abstraction and encapsulation as they apply to the design of abstract data types and programs (A1, A2);
-
analyse and evaluate the time and space behaviour of algorithms and understand how this is expressed and determined (A1, A2, A3);
-
recognise the importance of this analysis in the design of software (A1, A2);
-
recognise the importance of the classes P and NP in the analysis of algorithms (A1);
-
describe some of the main approaches to algorithm design such as greedy algorithms, divide and conquer and dynamic programming (A1);
-
demonstrate judgement in evaluating and choosing appropriate data structures and algorithms for a range of programming problems (A1, A2);
-
design and implement significant programs in Java (A2, A3).
Brief description
This module builds on the foundations of the first year modules on program design and provides a thorough grounding in the design of data structures and algorithms and gives further insight into object-oriented design. This module is designed for students who are enrolled either on the Internet Computing degree or the Minor in Computer Science. It places emphasis on worked examples and covers less theoretical material than CS21120
Aims
This module provides an introduction to data structures and their use in solving programming problems. The course emphasises the use of abstract data types and the contribution that abstraction and encapsulation can make to the comprehensibility, reusability and robustness of programs. The course also examines the efficiency of well-known algorithms in order to provide a basis for students to make informed choices about data structures and algorithms. Java is used as the language of implementation with the intent of providing a means of allowing the student to naturally express these design objectives in code.
As well as providing a solid grounding in the major data structures and algorithms of Computer Science, the course stresses the development of problem solving skills through a number of programming worksheets.
Content
1. Course Overview - 5 Lectures
An introduction into time/space complexity. Issues of correctness as they relate to the definition of ADTs. The key ideas of abstraction and encapsulation. Notations for describing ADTs. Review of Java support for their implementation: packages, exceptions and interfaces.
2. Introduction to Complexity - 3 Lectures
O() notation, growth rates. Measurement of execution time of some real programs and estimation of their time complexity. Some examples of time/space trade-offs.
3. Classes of Algorithm - 2 Lectures
An overview will be given on the different classes of algorithm; for example, divide and conquer and greedy algorithms. Genetic algorithms will also be discussed.
4. Recursion - 2 Lectures
An introduction to recursive thinking. Examples of recursion.
5. Storing and Retrieving Data by Key (1) - 15 Lectures
This problem will be used to motivate the discussion of a wide variety of different implementation techniques. The features of some typical solutions will be related to the dimensions of the problem such as the volume of data to be handled, volatility and the operations required. Internal Storage: linear and binary searching. Linked representations; an introduction to hashing, binary search trees, AVL trees and heaps.
6. Storing and Retrieving Data by Key (2): External storage - 6 Lectures
Performance issues. Hashing and B-tree organisations. The Hashable class in Java.
7. Further Techniques for Designing Software - 4 Lectures
How course topics relate to programming problems, including design patterns.
8. Sorting - 4 Lectures
A comparison of divide and conquer, priority queue and address calculation based sorting algorithms. Performance characteristics of these algorithms will be discussed.
9. Representing Complex Relationships: Graphs - 3 Lectures
Some examples of greedy algorithms. Terminology and implementation considerations. A look at some graph-related problems such as: finding a route (shortest paths); planning a communications network (minimum spanning trees); network routing management (flow graphs); compiling a program or planning a project (topological sorting).
Reading Lists
Books
Nell Dale et al (2002) Data Structures and Java
T. Budd (2001) Data Structures in Java
Michael Main (1999) Data Structures and Other Objects, Using Java
Addison Wesley
T.A. Standish (1998) Data Structures in Java
Addison Wesley
Alfred Aho, John Hopcroft, and Jeffrey Ullman (1983) Data Structures and Algorithms
Addison Wesley
Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman (1992) Foundations of Computer Science
Computer Science Press
Thomas A Standish (1994) Data Structures, Algorithms and Software Principles
Addison Wesley
Rebecca Wirfs-Brock, Brian Wilkerson, and Lauren Wiener (1990) Designing Object-Oriented Software
Prentice Hall
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5