CSci 227 Syllabus    Resources    Coursework

CSci 227: Programming Methods
Department of Computer Science
Hunter College, City University of New York
Spring 2024

TL;DR: Data structures & algorithms in Python for CS Minors.

For questions about the course, write to: stjohn AT hunter cuny edu.

Announcements:

• This course is designed as a continuation of CSci 127 and aimed at computer science minors and others interested in strengthening their programming skills and knowledge of canonical data structures and algorithms. This course can be counted towards a computer science minor, but not towards the computer science major.
• If you have taken the introductory programming course at Hunter (CSci 127), you can enroll directly via CUNYFirst without additional permissions. If you took the course elsewhere, reach out to a computer science advisor about what's needed to align your previous courses to Hunter courses on your CUNYFirst record.

Course Structure:

Each we have:

• In-person Lecture: Tuesday 10:00-11:15am, 1001G HN.
• Online Lab: asynchronous, schedule below.
• In-person Quizzes: By appointment in 1001G Hunter North.
• In-person Code Reviews (oral assessment): By appointment in 1001G Hunter North.
• Programming Assignments

This is a HYBRID course which means that, in place of a second weekly meeting, you are responsible for independently working through the weekly lab found in the "Handouts" column in the Course Outline below.

Calendar:

Tentative schedule, subject to change:

Dates:		Topics:	Handouts:	Coursework:	Reading:
Week 0:	1/25-1/30	Recap: Python Basics	Lab 0	Quiz 0
Week 1:	1/31-2/6	Syllabus & Class Policies; Recap of Primitive Data Types & Control Structures: Conditionals & Loops; Introduction to Collection Data Types: List, Set, Tuple, and Dictionaries	Syllabus, Lab 1	Programs 1-2, Quiz 1, Code Review 1	Textbook: Sections 1.1-1.8.1, 1.10, 1.12 (Python recap)
	1/31	Lab Opens
Week 2:	2/7-2/13	More on Dictionaries & Hashing; String Methods & Traversal: Slices, List Comprehension, Formatting String (f-strings)	Lab 2	Programs 3-5, Quiz 2, Code Review 2	Textbook: Sections 1.8.1, 1.9 (Collection Data Types & String I/O)
	2/12	Holiday: Lab Closed
Week 3:	2/14-2/20	File I/0; Introduction to Running Time Complexity	Lab 3	Programs 6-7, Quiz 3, Code Review 3	Textbook: Chapter 2 (running time); ThinkCS (127 textbook): Chapter 11 (files)
	2/19	Holiday: Lab Closed
Week 4:	2/21-3/5	Functions: Parameters, Return Values; Exception Handling; Recursion	Lab 4, triangle.py (trinket)	Programs 8-12, Quiz 4, Code Review 4	Textbook: Sections 1.11 & 1.12 (Exception Handling & Functions), Chapter 4 (Recursion)
	2/28	No Lecture: Classes Follow Monday Schedule
Week 5:	3/6-3/12	Object Oriented Programming; Writing Proper Classes; Using Standard Libraries: Survey of numpy, pandas, plotly, scipy	Lab 5	Programs 13-15, Quiz 5, Code Review 5	Textbook: Chapter 17 (Objects & Classes), ThinkCS: Chapter 19 (Pillars of OOP), Textbook: Section 1.13 (OOP in Python)
Week 6:	3/13-3/19	Linear Data Structures: Array Implementations & Linked Lists; Stacks	Lab 6	Programs 16-18, Quiz 6, Code Review 6	Textbook: Sections 3.1-9 (Linear Data Structures: Stacks)
Week 7:	3/20-3/26	More on Linear Data Structures: Queues & Deques	Lab 7	Programs 19-20, Quiz 7, Code Review 7	Textbook: Sections 3.10-18 (Linear Data Structures: Queues)
Week 8:	3/27-4/2	Map Abstract Data Type: Dictionaries, Maps	Lab 8	Programs 21-22, Quiz 8, Code Review 8	Textbook: Sections 3.19-25 (Linear Data Structures: Lists)
	3/29	Holiday: Lab Closed
Week 9:	4/3-4/9	Searching: Sequential and Binary Search; Searching Running Times	Lab 9	Programs 23-24, Quiz 9, Code Review 9	Textbook: Chapters 3 & 5 (Linear Data Structures & Searching and Sorting)
Week 10:	4/10-4/16	Sorting: 2 Basic Sorts; Using Built-In Python Sort (timsort); Sorting Running Times	Lab 10	Programs 25-26, Quiz 10, Code Review 10	Textbook: Chapter 5 (Searching and Sorting)
Week 11:	4/17-4/21	Tree ADT & Heaps	Lab 11	Programs 25-26, Quiz 11, Code Review 11	Textbook: Chapter 6 (Trees)
	4/22-4/30	Spring Break: No Classes
Week 12:	5/1-5/7	Binary Search Trees & Graph ADT	Lab 12	Programs 27-28, Quiz 12, Code Review 12	Textbook: Chapter 7 (Graphs)
Week 13:	5/8-5/14	More on Graphs; Current Topics in Algorithms	Lab 13	Programs 29-30, Quiz 13, Code Review 13
Week 14:	5/15	Review
Finals	5/22, 9-11am	Final Exam

(This file was last modified on 26 April 2024.)