Objectives

Professor

Textbook and Software

Attendance

Grades

Written Assignments

Assigned Problems


 

Objectives

• To review algorithms and problem solving techniques for solving a variety of problems.
• To improve concrete understanding of algorithmic techniques by using them to construct solutions to challenging problems.
• To practice coding and testing solutions to the kinds of problems posed in programming contests

Professor

Office hours: I am generally on campus every day between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and often later than that.. If I am not in class, I am usually in my office or one of the computer labs. I will try to observe the following office hours and will notify you if I won't be available. 

M-W-F	10:20-11:30 a.m.
T-Th	1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Please feel free to come by at other times and you are always welcome to make an appointment. 

Textbooks and Software

Skiena, Steven S. and Miguel A. Revilla. Programming Challenges." New York, N.Y. : 2003.

There is the website where you should register to submit and test your code. Note that if you registered last year you should follow the instructions on this page and you should NOT create a new account. I think you may have to use FireFox on this site.

http://icpcres.ecs.baylor.edu/

Attendance 

Because this class only meets one time per week, your attendance is very important. Every unexcused absence will lower your grade. Because we will get to try out what we learn at the programming contest which is in early November, this course will meet for 90 minutes for the first 10 weeks of the semester. Unless there is some extenuating circumstance, I assume you will participate in the programming contest and there will be no final. If you cannot participate, there will be an appropriate alternative during the final exam period..

Class will be devoted to a review and discussion of relevant material, student presentation of solutions, and the discussion of problems. Those who are repeating this course must work new problems.

Grades

Your grade will be determined by the programs you write, the contribution you make to the problem solving discussions, and your presentations. I will give you a status report every two weeks.

Written Assignments 

There will be reading assignments and/or exercises assigned each week. You should submit these to the on-line judges and I would like you to keep a log of your submissions and the results. I also want you to submit a copy of your program to me. If you are unable to get a program to work, we will discuss it in class. If you have spent more than three honest hours of work on a problem, it is definitely time to move on!

The programming contest is actually done in teams but a great deal of the solution to problems is done individually. I want this to be collaborative but you should also work on solutions individually. When you write up the documentation for your problems, include a paragraph at the top to describe how much of this you did yourself and who helped you overcome difficulties. This kind of reflection is good. I suggest you each take a problem for which you are the leader. Work on it individually for a few days and then collaborate with others in your group. You may select other problems if you are really stuck. You will be in loose teams which will change every few weeks.

The kind of programming that occurs in programming contests is NOT the kind of programming you will do on the job. BUT it is great for developing solid problem solving skills, reinforcing a knowledge of algorithms, and just plain having fun. Software houses like Microsoft and Exstream Software encourage their programmers to work on these kinds of problems.