S-Q 1997 Extended Syllabus

Required Texts

Weiss

Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in C (second edition), by Mark Weiss. This is the required text for this course. It is available at the Harvard Coop.

Q

The S-Q Course Book, written by the course staff. Distributed in class.

6/24

Don't worry-- although it seems like there's a ridiculous amount of reading for this class (especially since you probably won't even get a copy of the syllabus until class), I don't expect you to do all of this reading immediately. The most important material is Weiss, chapter 2, and the notes on this chapter in the course book. The first chapter of the course book will be discussed in class, and you should review it at your leisure.

Q, chapter 1.

A description of the course. The first section is especially important, but hopefully it is all useful. Pay attention to the lateness policy and how to ask for an extension.

Q, chapter 1

Read the introduction, but skim the rest. Most of this should be review, hopefully. Bookmark any topics that are unfamiliar, and review them if necessary before the first hourly.

Weiss, chapter 2

This material is very important. I find some of the explainations hard to follow, so I've added more notes (listed below). We'll be covering this in lecture.

Q, chapter 2

More coverage of big-O notation and related concepts.

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6/26

Weiss, chapter 3.1-3.2

Focus on the sections 3.1 through 3.2.6 and 3.2.8.

Q, chapter 3 (Sparse Arrays).

A practical application of linked lists.

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7/1

Weiss, chapter 3.3-3.4

The "Infix To Postfix Conversion" and "Function Calls" examples for stacks are interesting and useful, but deal with issues you may be unfamiliar with. Don't stress about it; ask questions if you want help with unfamiliar topics.

Q, chapter 4 (Matrix Operations).

This chapter is not related to stacks and queues, the main topic of the day, but features some important uses of sparse arrays and linked lists. Studying this is good preparation for the first hourly.

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