CSCI 132: Basic Data Structures and Algorithms

Course schedule

Schedule subject to change.

Catalog description

4 Credits (3 Lec, 1 Lab). PREREQUISITE: CSCI 127 and M 151Q. An examination of advanced Java and basic data structures and their application in problem solving. Data structures include stacks, queues and lists. An introduction to algorithms employing the data structures to solve various problems including searching and sorting, and recursion. Understanding and using Java class libraries. The laboratory uses Java. Introduces Big-O Notation.

Course Info

This course meets for lectures on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3:10pm-4pm in Reid Hall 103. Please bring a laptop to class so that you can participate in the classwork exercises. Lectures will be recorded and available on the day’s lecture page (see schedule above) if you would like to rewatch them. On Thursdays, there is a two-hour lab period in which you can complete the week’s lab assignment and get help from the course assistants. We will use Discord as the primary method of course communication, and all course information will be posted on this website or on the Discord server; D2L will be used only to turn in assignments and for grading.

Course Resources

Java documentation, tutorials, and useful links

• You can find the official Java documentation here.
• An organization that I like, Runestone Interactive, makes an interactive textbook for programmers who are coming from Python to and beginning to learn Java. Check it out here.
• If you are interested, check out the MIT Missing Semester of Your CS Education. It covers many of the tools you will use if you continue your computer science career, such as the command line, git, and much more.
• MSU has a code of student conduct that outlines the responsibilities of instructors and students.

Optional textbook

The textbook is optional for this course. Data Structures and Algorithms in Java; 6th edition, Goodrich, Tamassia, Goldwasser. It is available in the bookstore. You can also rent the eBook from Amazon for the semester.

Labs & course assistants

There are four lab sections, all of which meet on Thursdays in Roberts Hall 111. There will be a TA to help you. This TA will also grade your work, so please go to your assigned section. You should contact your TA via Discord if you have any questions about grading or need extra help.

• 001: 10am-11:50am, Asad Noor
• 002: 12pm-2pm, Nicholas Call
• 003: 2:10pm-4pm, Asad Noor
• 004: 4:10pm-6pm, Emmett Osborne

We also have 495 consultants to answer questions during lab. They are Jack Tetrault and Josiah Schwahn (001), Mason Medina and Madison Munro (002), Fletcher Phillips and Ara Megerdichian (003), and Steven Vought (004).

Lecture videos

Lecture videos are hosted both on Panopto (MSU’s screen capture and video hosting service) and on YouTube. Here is the public link to Panopto. Lecture videos on YouTube are linked on each lecture page. Here is the YouTube playlist.

Instructor office hours

My office hours are Monday and Wednesday 9:30-10:30am and Thursday 10-11am in Barnard 359 or via Discord. You can also contact me on Discord to set up a different meeting time. You can find office hours for all CS faculty here.

SmartyCats

There is SmartyCats tutoring for this course! Visit their website to find out more. You can also apply to be a SmartyCats tutor yourself for other CS courses you’ve taken, or for this one next semester.

Computer Science Success Center

There are free tutors available in Barnard 259. More information here.

Discord server

All course communication will be through our course Discord server. Join with this link. It will prompt you to create a new account, or you can choose to log in with an existing account.

Course outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Design and implement a class in Java
• Explain the concept of an ADT
• Implement linked lists, stacks, queues, and deques
• Apply consistent documentation and program style standards in Java
• Be able to determine the time complexity of simple algorithms

Grading

You will be graded on the following:

• 13 labs (lowest score dropped out of 14): 30%
• 4 projects: 50%
• 3 quizzes (including final): 18%
• 2 course surveys: 2%

After any curving, your grade will be determined by your total score as follows: 93+: A; 90+: A-; 87+: B+; 83+: B; 80+: B-; 77+: C+; 73+: C; 70+: C-; 67+: D+; 63: D; 60: D-.

Late assignment policies

To run a course of this size we cannot accommodate individual requests for extensions on assignemnts; therefore, we have strict rules for when assignments are due, but have some leeway built in. Please read the bullet points below carefully, respect the policy, and get help early if you are having any problems. We want you to succeed!

• You are responsible for any announcements about assignments made in class, on Discord, on D2L, and here on the course website.
• All assignments are due on their due date by the Anywhere on Earth (AoE) timezone, which is 6 hours behind Bozeman. (This means that the real due date is 6am the following day.) If you submit a lab or project the following day before 8am, you get 25% off. If you submit within four days of the due date (by Monday AoE for labs; by Tuesday AoE for projects) you get 50%. Otherwise, no points are possible.
• Every student gets one free late pass with no questions asked for projects. This means you can submit up to four days late (by Tuesday AoE) with no penalty. Use this wisely! If you use this early in the semester and something unforseen happens, you will still need to submit the project on time or the penalties above apply. Please message the course assistant for your section on Discord to let them know you are using your late pass for a project. You should send this message before you make the submission, or shortly after.
• At the end of the semester, your lowest lab grade will be dropped.
• You can submit as many times as you would like; only your last submission will be graded.

Missed quiz policy

Any conflicts with a quiz must be discussed with me prior to missing the quiz. I follow University policy on makeups, which allows that serious illness or a serious family emergency are valid reasons requiring an accommodation. Most other reasons (employment conflict, travel plans) are not valid.

Collaboration policy

On all assignments, you may:

• Share ideas with others.
• Help others debug their code (or receive help debugging your code from someone else).

You may not:

• Share your code with other people.
• Submit code that you did not write.
• Modify someone else’s solution and claim it as your own.

Academic misconduct

In line with the MSU student code of conduct, if I or the teaching assistants suspect that you have committed academic misconduct, we will schedule a meeting with you to discuss. If, after the meeting, we believe that you did commit academic misconduct, you will receive a 0 on the assignment and I will submit a report to the Dean of Students. It’s just not worth it to cheat in this course.

Important dates

The last day to drop the course online (with no instructor or advisor approval) is Sepember 7th. The last day to drop without a W grade (instructor or advisor approval required) is September 14th. The last day to drop with a W grade (instructor or advisor approval required) is November 17th. See the full add/drop schedule for more information.

Diversity statement

Montana State University’s campuses are committed to providing an environment that emphasizes the dignity and worth of every member of its community and that is free from harassment and discrimination based upon race, color, religion, national origin, creed, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran’s status, sex, age, political ideas, marital or family status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. Such an environment is necessary to a healthy learning, working, and living atmosphere because discrimination and harassment undermine human dignity and the positive connection among all people at our University. Acts of discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, and retaliation will be addressed consistent with this policy.

Accommodations

If you have a documented disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation(s), please contact me and the Office of Disability Services as soon as possible.

How to succeed in this class

What you can do:

• Keep up with the course by attending class, checking Discord, being aware of the course schedule, and doing all assignments on time.
• Be an active participant in class. This means asking and answering questions in class and on Discord, seeking help when needed, and contacting the instructor or the course assistants using Discord if you have any questions outside of class time.
• Be respectful of your classmates, your instructor, and the course assistants.
• Do your own work.

What I can do:

• Grade promptly (exact guarantees TBD).
• Post assignments well in advance (at least one week before due date for labs; at least two weeks before due date for projects).
• Respond to all Discord messages within one business day.
• Create a course atmosphere conducive to learning by respecting all of my students and being enthusiastic about course material and my role in helping you learn.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Daniel DeFrance for sharing his syllabus with me.

Copyright statement

This syllabus, course lectures and presentations, and any course materials provided throughout this term are protected by U.S. copyright laws. Students enrolled in the course may use them for their own research and educational purposes. However, reproducing, selling or otherwise distributing these materials without written permission of the copyright owner is expressly prohibited, including providing materials to commercial platforms such as Chegg or CourseHero. Doing so may constitute a violation of U.S. copyright law as well as MSU’s Code of Student Conduct.