CPSC3555 - Programming Challenges

A course to look at a diverse set of programming problems

Instructor | Description | Topics | Texts | Policies

INSTRUCTOR:	Dr. Rodrigo A. Obando
OFFICE:	Center for Commerce and Technology, Room 453
OFFICE HOURS:	M 9:00-11:00 am, TR 9:00-10:00 am, 3:00-4:00 pm, WF 10:00-12:00 noon; and by appointment;
PHONE:	(706) 568-5374
E-MAIL:	Obando_Rodrigo@columbusstate.edu

CATALOG DESCRIPTION OF COURSE

Prerequisite: CPSC 2108 – Data Structures. An overview of different classes of problems in computation and programming and how to approach them. Some of the problem areas include Data Structures, Combinatorics, Number Theory, Backtracking and Graph Traversal. (1 credit).

ACADEMIC OBJECTIVES

Students will learn to identify the class of problem posed in a question,
Students will learn to assess the complexity of the problem at hand,
Students will learn to work in a team for efficacy and effectiveness.

MAJOR TOPICS

A competition environment setup.
Data Structures problems.
Problems dealing with Strings.
Sorting problems.
Problems in Arithmetic and Algebra.
Combinatorics problems.
Problems in Number Theory.
Backtracking.
Graph Traversals.
Graph Algorithms.
Dynamic Programming.

TEXTBOOKS

Required Text

Authors	Steven S. Skiena and Miguel A. Revilla
Title	Programming Challenges: The Programming Contest Training Manual
Publisher	Springer
Year	2003
ISBN	0-38-700163-8

Supplementary Books and Materials

Software and other resources found in the lab and on the Internet .

POLICIES

Student Responsibilities

As a student in this course, you are responsible to:

manage your time and maintain the discipline required to meet the course requirements,
complete all readings,
complete all assignments,
actively participate in weekly discussions, and
read any e-mail sent by the instructor and respond accordingly.

Grading Policy

Programming Assignments = 900 pts.
Attendance = 100 pts.

Grades may be determined according to this scale:

A	90% - 100%	B	80% - 89%
C	70% - 79%	D	60% - 69%

General Policies

You are responsible for all class work missed, regardless of the reason for the absence(s). Late assignments will not be accepted. No makeup exams or quizzes will be given, so please make sure you are present for all exams/quizzes. Refer to the CSU Catalog (http://aa.columbusstate.edu/advising/a.htm#Absence Policy) for more information on class attendance and withdrawal.

Academic dishonesty

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, activities such as cheating and plagiarism (http://aa.columbusstate.edu/advising/a.htm#Academic Dishonesty/Academic Misconduct). It is a basis for disciplinary action. Any work turned in for individual credit must be entirely the work of the student submitting the work. All work must be your own. [For group projects, the work must be done only by members of the group.] You may share ideas but submitting identical assignments (for example) will be considered cheating. You may discuss the material in the course and help one another with debugging; however, any work you hand in for a grade must be your own. A simple way to avoid inadvertent plagiarism is to talk about the assignments, but don't read each other's work or write solutions together unless otherwise directed by your instructor. For your own protection, keep scratch paper and old versions of assignments to establish ownership, until after the assignment has been graded and returned to you. If you have any questions about this, please see your instructor immediately. For assignments, access to notes, the course textbooks, books and other publications is allowed. All work that is not your own, MUST be properly cited. This includes any material found on the Internet. Stealing or giving or receiving any code, diagrams, drawings, text or designs from another person (CSU or non-CSU, including the Internet) is not allowed. Having access to another person’s work on the computer system or giving access to your work to another person is not allowed. It is your responsibility to prevent others from having unauthorized access to your work.

No cheating in any form will be tolerated. Penalties for academic dishonesty may include a zero grade on the assignment or exam/quiz, a failing grade for the course, suspension from the Computer Science program, and dismissal from the program. All instances of cheating will be documented in writing with a copy placed in the Department’s files. Students will be expected to discuss the academic misconduct with the faculty member and the chairperson. For more details see the Faculty Handbook: http://aa.columbusstate.edu/faculty/FacHandbook0203/sec100.htm#109.14 and the Student Handbook: http://sa.columbusstate.edu/handbook/handbook2003.pdf

You are expected to review the TSYS Department of Computer Science’s Academic Dishonesty Policy - (http://csc.columbusstate.edu/policy/Academic-Dishonesty-Policy.html)

Getting help

You can always contact me during my posted office hours, by e-mail, or by appointment.

CSU ADA statement

If you have a documented disability as described by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 933-112 Section 504) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and would like to request academic and/or physical accommodations please contact Joy Norman at the Office of Disability Services in the Center for Academic Support and Student Retention, Tucker Hall (706) 568-2330, as soon as possible. Course requirements will not be waived but reasonable accommodations may be provided as appropriate.