Department Of Computer Science

Georgia State University

SYLLABUS Fall 2008

CSc 3410 – Data Structures

Computer Number 80506 & 80507

Time & Room:    MW 3:00 - 4:15 pm  in CS 408 & TR 4:00-5:15p GCB 331                                

Instructor:           J. L. Bhola  

E-Mail:                 jbhola@cs.gsu.edu

Phone:                 404-413-5720

Office Hours:       12:00 - 1:00 pm MW & 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. TR (and by appointment)

Office Location:   34 Peachtree Street – Room 2123.

Disclaimer: "This course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary."

PREREQUISITES: Reference p.369 2008-09 GSU General Catalog: Prerequisites: CSc 2310, CSc 2510, and Math 2211 with grades of C or higher are enforced.

TEXTS:      (Must Have) Frank M. Carrano & Janet J. Prichard:  Data Abstraction & Problem Solving with Java: Walls & Mirrors. 2^nd edition. Pearson - Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.  2005

Software Package: JAVA  SDK 1.5 or newer version or NetBeans 5.0 or newer version.

CONTENTS:    Students are expected to apply their knowledge obtained from CSc 2310. This class will concentrate on Data Structures rather than Java syntax and semantics.
                        However, students will be using Java to implement the various Data Structures that will be covered in class.We will cover chapters 1 through 15 of the text beginning from chapter 1 and
                        continuing in ascending sequence (unless otherwise told). The Vector Data Structure will also be covered. It is expected that students will read the chapters ahead of lectures so that they are
                        prepared. This class is a considered to be one of the CTW (Critical Thinking Writing) class of the Department. It means therefore, that the instructor would evaluate students performance based upon the fowolling with regards to both assignments
                       and exams:
                        1. Analysis.
                        2. Description.

                        3. Understanding.
                        4. Preparation.
                        5. Completeness.
                        6. Correctness.
                        7. English Grammar, etc.
The distribution of points will be provided as per assignment and exam.

Assignments & Tests:

There will be four class tests and the final exams, and there will be either 5 or 6 programming assignments, equally weighted.

                         Test 1 – 15%--- tentative schedule – September 3^rd  & 4^th
                         Test 2 -- 15%--- tentative  schedule - September  24^th  & 25^th
                         Test 3 – 15%--- tentative schedule – October 15^th  & 16^th

                         Test 4 -  15%--- tentative schedule - November 19^th & 20^th
                         Finals – 15%--- Wednesday December 10^th 2:45 – 4:45 p.m. for MW class & Thursday, December, 11th at 2:45 pm for TR class
                         Assignments – 25%.

Adjustments may be made to assignments in class. If a student is absent, it is his/her responsibility to get such changes. NO excuses will be accepted if the

requirements for an assignment is changed or adjusted in class

PLEASE NOTE:

1. Last day to withdraw is Wednesday, October 1^st, 2008.

2.While in class attendance will not directly affect the grade, any handouts and assignments missed will be the sole responsibility of the student. Spot attendance

checks will be performed.

3. All tests and assignments will be done on an individual basis. Anyone found cheating and/or copying (in the opinion of the instructor) will receive an automatic F for that
    assignment or exam. This goes for the person who copies as well as the person who allows their work to be copied.

4. Please refer to the handout on Programming Assignments for complete details on submission requirements. (Details decided per assignment).

5.

• All assignments are due within 10 minutes of the beginning of class on the due date.
• All assignments turned in must be on an IBM compatible 3.5 inches floppy disk or Read/Write CD consisting of the source code (all .java and .class files).  Students must also turn in a print out of the source code (all .java files). If you turn in CD, you must give me permission to write on the disk.
• Any assignment turned in without the .class or the .java file will immediately lose 50%.
• Late assignments will not be accepted.
• Generally, all assignments and tests will be graded and returned within ONE week. If for some reason, I am unable to do so, students will be notified.

6. No make up test will be given. If you will be absent for a test due to sickness, your case may be considered (i.e. you may or may not be given a make up exam) based
    upon a letter from a medical doctor or a legal office written on that doctor’s letter head or the legal ofice's letterhead, stating that you were unable to attend school (and hence take the exam) on the given day. Absolutely
    no make up or excuse for the final exam. If for some medical or legal reason you cannot take the final exam, then you should consider applying for an Incomplete.

7. If you are taking more than one class during this semester, make sure that your final exams are not "clustered". That is, you do not have exams close to each other. Notify me before test 1 (Wednesday, September 3^rd 2008 & Thursday, September 4^th 2008) if this is your case. Do not wait for the last moment – i.e. 2 or 3 days before the final exam.

8.  I will give neither extra assignment nor exam at any time during the semester to boost your grade.

Grading:

“It is the policy of the Department of Computer Science that each instructor of record of any 1000-, 2000-, or 3000-level computer science course compute each student’s final course score so that the student’s performance on any/all work done outside of class and submitted for a grade cannot raise the student’s final course score but can lower it.  In this context, the final course score is the numerical percent that is mapped into the letter grade for the course.”

             “The following table shows the tests and assignments and their weights. The course material on which the homework is based will also be thoroughly tested on in class, including, in the case of programming language instruction, programming syntax, documentation, and design.

:

In-class		Homework
Tests	Weights	Assignments	Weights
Test #1 Test #2 Test#3 Test#4 Finals	15% 15% 15% 15% 15%	Program #1 Program #2 Program #3 Program #4 Program #5	5%    5%    5%    5%    5%
Total Weight = 75%		Total Weight = 25%

Each item will receive a percentage score. These scores will be used to compute a Final Course Score (FCS) and a letter grade for the course according to the following four-step procedure.

Step 1. Compute the Weighted Average of Tests (WAT).

Step 2. Compute the Weighted Average of Tests and Assignments (WATA).

Step 3. Rule: FCS = Minimum of WAT and WATA.

Step 4. Convert the FCS to a letter grade using the following ranges:

A: 100-90, B: 89-80, C: 79-70, D: 69-60, and F: 59-0. 

Examples.

Examples.

Student X

Test scores: 75, 70, 75, 70 80 and  Assignment scores: 88, 90, 95, 80, 85

Step 1. WAT    = (75 + 70 + 75 + 70 + 80)/5 = 74

Step 2. WATA = (15*75 + 15*70 + 15*75 + 15 * 70 + 15 * 80 +  5*88 + 5*90 + 5*95 + 5*80 + 5*85)/100 = 77.4  ≈ 77

Step 3. Rule: FCS = Minimum of 74 and 77 = 74

Step 4. 74 is in the range 70 - 79.  Student X receives a C.

Student Y

Test scores: 73, 60, 70, 60, 70 and  Assignment scores: 88, 90, 95, 80, 85

Step 1. WAT    = (73 + 60 + 70 + 60 + 70)/75 = 66.66 ≈ 67

Step 2. WATA = (15*73 + 15*60 + 15*70 + 15* 60 + 15 * 70 + 5*88 + 5*90 + 5*95 + 5*80 + 5*85)/100 = 71.85  ≈ 72

Step 3. Rule: FCS = Minimum of 67 and 72 = 67

Step 4. 67 is in the range 69-60.  Student Y receives a D.

Disclaimer: "This course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary."