CISC 5835: Algorithms for Data Analytics
What's this course about?
General information
Faculty: Dr. A. G.
Werschulz
Office: Rm LL610D.
Phone: (212) 636-6325
Office Hours: Wednesdays and Thursdays,
4:00 pm to 5:25 pm, or by appointment.
Teaching Assistant: Ming Chen
Office: Rm LL612.
Office Hours: Mondays, 3:00 to 5:00.
Class meetings: Thursdays, 5:30pm to 7:45pm,
Room LL311A.
Class email list: algs-da STRUDEL
dsm.fordham.edu
(STRUDEL
is a
thinly-disguised @
, to thwart the amount of spam
that your instructor receives in his guise of list manager). This
can be used for both announcements and discussion.
Text and Readings
Our main text will be Dasgupta et al.,
Algorithms, McGraw-Hill, 2006 (ISBN-13: 978-0073523408).
Please resist the tempation to find a free PDF version online and
download same, since you are enabling somebody who has violated
copyright law.
The Dasgupta text does not cover all the topics mentioned in
the catalog description, and so we will present additional
material as needed.
Here is a fuller list of topics that
we hope to cover.
Grading
Protocol
- Examinations: The midterm exam will be given
on Thursday, October 17, and will take up roughly one half
of the regular class time period. The final exam will be given
on Thursday, December 19, taking up the entire class time
period.
- Homeworks
will be assigned on a regular basis;
the assignments will be posted on
the class website. Unless otherwise specified, they will be
due at the beginning of the next class session.
Homework assignments may involve theoretical
work (such as determining the worst-case run-time of some
algorithm) or programming, perhaps both. Late homework will not
be accepted, barring serious illness or unavailability of the
Departmental computing facilities.
- Electronica:
You may not use laptop computers, tablets, or mobile phones,
neither during the lecture nor during the lab.
If you're wondering why, read this
article
from the New York Times.
Additional Remarks
- Some resources:
- The class syllabus.
- PDF "handout-style" versions
of the overhead slides for the course.
The original version
of the Big-O Cheat Sheet, as well as a
printable version.
Need I say more?
Speaking of Big-O and algorithm behavior, take a look at
the
sort animation page for a bit of fun.
- A good chunk of the homework assignments will involve
math, rather than programming. It's generally agreed that the
best way to produce high-quality documents containing
mathematics is to use
LaTeX.
- There is an online
introduction on using the Linux computer systems at Lincoln
Center that belong to the Computer and Information Sciences
Department. Please take some time to read this. It
has the answers to a lot of questions.
- Many websites have material on Unix and Linux.
I have collected a
sample of same.
You should especially look at the material for beginners.
- We strongly encourage you to use the emacs editor for creating
programs. Your instructor thinks that it's the best
programmer's editor, with many handy features (but not so many
as to overwhelm you).
- Academic integrity statement
- Makeup exam policy
-
If you believe that you have a disabling condition that may
interfere with your ability to participate in the activities,
coursework, or assessment of the object of this course, you may be
entitled to accommodations. If so, please schedule an appointment
to speak with me immediately or you may go to the Office of
Disability Services (x26282). Under the
Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Vocational
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, all students, with or without
disabilities, are entitled to equal access to the programs and
activities of Fordham University.
Send mail to agw
STRUDEL dsm.fordham.edu