CS 483 Syllabus (Fall 2011)

CS 483 Fall 2011
Design and Analysis of Algorithms

Lecture Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:00 pm - 4:15 pm
Location: Krug Hall 242
Course webpage: http://www.cs.gmu.edu/~lifei/teaching/cs483_fall11
Credit: 3

Instructor: Fei Li, Room 5326, Engineering Building, email: lifei@cs.gmu.edu
Office hours: Thursday 5:00pm - 7:00pm; Teaching Assistant: Chen Liang, Room 4456, Engineering Building, email: cliang1@masonlive.gmu.edu
: Office hours: Wednesday 11:00am - 1:00pm

NEWS:

11/17/2011: Assignment 6 is released.
11/03/2011: Assignment 5 is released.
10/25/2011: Assignment 4 is released.
10/04/2011: Assignment 3 is released.
09/20/2011: Assignment 2 is released.
09/13/2011:Fei Li's office hour is changed from Thursday 4:30pm - 6:30pm to Thursday 5:00pm - 7:00pm.
09/06/2011: Assignment 1 is released.

Course Overview:: In this course, a thorough examination of several well-known techniques that are used for the design and analysis of efficient algorithms will be covered. Topics to be covered include theoretical measures of algorithm complexity, greedy algorithms, divide and conquer techniques, dynamic programming, graph algorithms, search strategies, and an introduction to the theory of NP-completeness.

Prerequisites:: CS 310 and CS 330 Calculus (MATH 113, 114, 213) and MATH 125. Please contact with the instructor if you are not sure.

Textbooks:

Algorithm Design by Jon Kleinberg and Éva Tardos, Addison Wesley (2006).

Course Materials:

Lecture	Date	Topic	Lecture Notes	Scope	Assignments	Note
1	August 30	Introduction	Introduction	Chapter 1
2	September 1	Introduction	Stable Matching Stable Matching Demo	Chapter 1		Must read: Section 1.1; Solved exercises (pp. 19-22) Optinal to read: Preface; Section 1.2
3	September 6	Algorithm Analysis	Asymptotic Order of Growth	Chapter 2	Assignment 1: p.67: Exercise 3 (2 points) p.68: Exercise 6 (3 points)	Must read: Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, Solved exercises (pp. 65-66) Optional to read: Sections 2.3, 2.5
4	September 8
5	September 13
6	September 15	Graphs	Graphs	Chaper 3		Must read: Sections 3.1 and 3.2 An example from Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest, and Stein
7	September 20		Topological Order Demo		Assignment 2: p.107: Exercise 2 (2 points) p.110: Exercise 10 (3 points) p.111: Exercise 11 (3 points)	Must read: Sections 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6, Solved exercises 1 and 2 Optional to read: Section 3.3 Assignment 1 due Assignment 2 released
8	September 22
9	September 27	Greedy Algorithms	Greedy Algorithms Interval Scheduling Demo	Chapter 4		Must read: Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, and 4.5, Solved exercises 1 and 2 Optional to read: Section 4.3
10	September 29
11	October 4		Dijkstra Algorithm Demo (Shortest Path) Minimum Spanning Tree		Assignment 3: p.189: Exercise 3 (2 points) p.198: Exercise 19 (3 points) p.199: Exercise 20 (3 points)	Assignment 2 due Assignment 3 released
12	October 6
Columbus Day recess No class	October 11
13	October 13	Divide and Conquer	Divide-and-Conquer Merge-Sort Demo Merge-Count Demo	Chapter 5		Must read: Sections 5.1, 5.3, 5.4, and 5.5, Solved exercises 1 and 2 Optional to read: Section 5.2
14	October 18	Divide and Conquer Review + solutions				Assignment 3 due
15	October 20	Midterm
16	October 25				Assignment 4: p.246: Exercise 2 (3 points) Choose *one* of the following two problems: - p.246: Exercise 3 (3 points) - one problem from Algorithms (3 points)	Assignment 4 released
17	October 27	Dynamic Programming	Dynamic Programming	Chapter 6		Must read: Sections 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4, Solved exercises 1 and 2
18	November 1					Must read: Sections 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, and 6.8
19	November 3				Assignment 5: p.312: Exercise 1 (3 points) p.313: Exercise 2 (3 points) p.316: Exercise 5 (3 points)	Assignment 4 due An example from Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest, and Stein Assignment 5 released
20	November 8		Shortest Path with Negative Weights			Bellman-Ford Algorithm (from CLRS)
21	November 10	Network Flow	Max Flow Min Cut	Chapter 7		Must read: Sections 7.1, 7.2, 7.5, and 7.6, Solved exercises 1 and 2
22	November 15		Max Flow Applications			Ford-Fulkerson Algorithm
23	November 17				Assignment 6: p.416: Exercise 6 (2 points) p.420: Exercise 12 (2 points) p.420: Exercise 13 (1 points) p.421: Exercise 14 (1 points) p.421: Exercise 15 (3 points)	Assignment 5 due
24	November 22
Thanksgiving recess No class	November 24
25	November 29	Randomized Algorithms	Randomized Algorithms	Chapter 13		Must read: Sections 13.1, 13.3, 13.5, and 13.12, Solved exercise 1 Optional to read: Sections 13.2, Solved exercise 2
26	December 1					Assignment 6 due
27	December 6	Probabilistic Analysis		CLRS Chapter 5
28	December 8	Review + solutions
29	December 15: 1:30pm - 4:15pm	Final exam

Topics:

In this course, we will consider the algorithm design and alaysis techniques of various problems coming from the following areas:

• Analysis of Algorithm Efficiency (asymptotic notation, amortized analysis)
• Brute Force Techniques (sorting, search, traveling salesmen)
• Divide and Conquer (merge sort, quicksort, matrix multiplication, polynomial multiplication)
• Graph decomposition and search (connected components, shortest path problem)
• Greedy Techniques (minimum spanning tree, Huffman trees)
• Dynamic Programming (edit distance,matrix chainmultiplication, knapsack, all pairs shortest paths)
• Linear Programming (network flows, matching, simplex, duality)
• Randomized Algorithms

Course Outcomes:

1. An understanding of classical problems in Computer Science
2. An understanding of classical algorithm design and analysis strategies
3. An ability to analyze the computability of a problem
4. Be able to design and analyze new algorithms to solve a computational problem
5. An ability to reason algorithmically

Tentative Grading:

Policies:
: Hand in hard copies of assignments in class. Please note that all coursework is to be done independently. Plagiarizing the homework will be penalized by maximum negative credit and cheating on the exam will earn you an F in the course. See the GMU Honor Code System and Policies at http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/acadpol.html and http://www.cs.gmu.edu/honor-code.html. You are encouraged to discuss the material BEFORE you do the assignment. As a part of the interaction you can discuss a meaning of the question or possible ways of approaching the solution. The homework should be written strictly by yourself. In case your solution is based on the important idea of someone else please acknowledge that in your solution, to avoid any accusations.

Academic Honesty:

The integrity of the University community is affected by the individual choices made by each of us. GMU has an Honor Code with clear guidelines regarding academic integrity. Three fundamental and rather simple principles to follow at all times are that: (1) all work submitted be your own; (2) when using the work or ideas of others, including fellow students, give full credit through accurate citations; and (3) if you are uncertain about the ground rules on a particular assignment, ask for clarification. No grade is important enough to justify academic misconduct.

Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another person without giving the person credit. Writers give credit through accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or endnotes. Paraphrased material must also be cited, using MLA or APA format. A simple listing of books or articles is not sufficient. Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery and cannot be tolerated in the academic setting. If you have any doubts about what constitutes plagiarism, please see me.

Disability Statement:

If you have a learning or physical difference that may affect your academic work, you will need to furnish appropriate documentation to the Disability Resource Center. If you qualify for accommodation, the DRC staff will give you a form detailing appropriate accommodations for your instructor.

In addition to providing your professors with the appropriate form, please take the initiative to discuss accommodation with them at the beginning of the semester and as needed during the term. Because of the range of learning differences, faculty members need to learn from you the most effective ways to assist you. If you have contacted the Disability Resource Center and are waiting to hear from a counselor, please tell me.