This proposal lies somewhere between a revision and a new course. Essentially, material in the first three computing courses our majors see (COMP1011 Computing 1A, COMP1021 Computing 1B, and COMP2011 Data Organisation) has been redistributed amongst three new courses (COMP1911 Computing 1, COMP1921 Data Structures and Algorithms, and COMP2911 Engineering Design in Computing 2) which will replace them.

This proposal has four objectives:

1. To more closely match the order in which material is presented in COMP1091 and COMP2091 so that students in the common first year program will be able to study alongside computing majors not in the program (eg BSc Comp and SEng students). So that students will be able to move between the programs without duplicating or missing important content.
2. To increase the integration between our first three courses (currently each works largely in isolation)
3. To update the content coverage to reflect developments in discipline of computer science and engineering since the current courses were initially proposed. In particular to increase the emphasis on objected oriented programming and to introduce material on objected oriented design.
4. To increase the emphasis on a discipline of design in computing which follows on from and supports the skills acquired in the new first year faculty design course.

We are proposing new course codes: COMP1911, COMP1921 and COMP2911, in order to make it clear from transcripts who has covered which version of the courses during the transitional period.

Specific remarks for COMP2911

Overview

The engineering design and use of data structures and their associated algorithms. Object Oriented programming and design. Algorithm design methodologies: backtrack, greedy method, divide and conquer, dynamic programming.

Examples are drawn from classical data structures (eg graphs, tables) and more contemporary ones (eg objects, randomized data structures).

Students

• all CSE students
• non-CSE students with an interest in computing who have taken COMP1921 Algorithms and Data Structures

Inputs

Can assume the outputs from COMP1911 Computing 1 and COMP1921 Data Structures and Algorithms Students will be able to write small correct C programs with good style given a clear problem specification. Students will be familiar with unit testing, debugging via print statements, simple unix commands, cse lab familiarity. Students will be familiar with ADTs, simple data structures (lists, trees, graphs) and algorithms in them. Students will be familiar with computational complexity.

Prerequisites: COMP1911 Computing1, COMP1921 Algorithms and Data Structures
Corequisites: none

Outputs

Topics

• OO programming
• OO design
• selecting data structures and algorithms
• designing data structures (including examples drawn from randomized data structures, hash tables)
• algorithm design: divide and conquer, dynammic programming, greedy method.

Skills

• converting problems -> algorithms
• analyse program time/space efficiency theoretically and empirically
• groupwork
• version control
• programming style and quality control

Assurance - What

• design effective solutions to problems using OO
• implement and analyse data structures based on trees, lists, tables, graphs
• select appropriate data structures and algorithms for problems
• calculate empirically and/or theoretically the time and space efficiency of simple programs.
• calculate and understand the implications of bounds on the complexity of simple problems.

Assurance - How

• assessed lab exercises
• two or more assignments including a group project
• formal exam