Transcript CS105-L1-Intro

Introduction
CS 105
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Why study data structures and
algorithms?
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Programs solve problems
Programs process information
Information needs to be organized
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Programs carry out tasks
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Data structures
Algorithms
Data structures and algorithms need to
be correct and efficient
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Data structure
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A systematic way of organizing and accessing
data
Examples
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Dictionary: words and definitions are arranged for
convenient lookup
Queue: data is arranged so that insertion and
removal follow the “first-in, first-out” rule
Data structures are often components of
larger programs
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Algorithm
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A step-by-step procedure for performing
some task in a finite amount of time
Properties of an algorithm
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It must correctly solve a problem; i.e. produce the
correct output from its given input
Its instructions must be clear and unambiguous
It must terminate
Contrast an algorithm from a program
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“Good” data structures and
algorithms
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Objectives of this course:
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Design and recognize good data structures and
algorithms
Be able to write complex programs (in Java) that
implement algorithms and employ data structures
This entails the analysis and comparison of
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Different algorithms that solve a problem
Different implementations of a data structure
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