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Introduction

SENG 201 is a course on data structures and algorithms. It covers fundamental data types and structures like lists, stacks, queues, trees, and graphs. It also covers sorting and searching algorithms. Studying data structures and algorithms is important because they have broad applications in areas like the internet, biology, computer graphics, security, and more. Understanding algorithms and data structures is also key to becoming a proficient programmer. Studying them may also help unlock secrets about life and the universe by enabling new computational models. Their impact is broad and they allow us to solve problems that were previously unsolvable.

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19 views12 pages

Introduction

SENG 201 is a course on data structures and algorithms. It covers fundamental data types and structures like lists, stacks, queues, trees, and graphs. It also covers sorting and searching algorithms. Studying data structures and algorithms is important because they have broad applications in areas like the internet, biology, computer graphics, security, and more. Understanding algorithms and data structures is also key to becoming a proficient programmer. Studying them may also help unlock secrets about life and the universe by enabling new computational models. Their impact is broad and they allow us to solve problems that were previously unsolvable.

Uploaded by

dogan20021907
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SENG 201

DATA AND GAME


STRUCTURES
SENG 201 course overview

What is SENG 201?

・Programming and problem solving, with applications.


・Algorithm: method for solving a problem.
・Data structure: method to store information.

topic data structures and algorithms

data types List, stack, queue, tree, priority queue, graphs

sorting Elementary sorts, mergesort, quicksort, heapsort

searching BST, hash table

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Why study data structures and algorithms?

Their impact is broad and far-reaching.

Internet. Web search, packet routing, distributed file sharing, ...


Biology. Human genome project, protein folding, …
Computers. Circuit layout, file system, compilers, …
Computer graphics. Movies, video games, virtual reality, …
Security. Cell phones, e-commerce, voting machines, …
Multimedia. MP3, JPG, DivX, HDTV, face recognition, …
Social networks. Recommendations, news feeds, advertisements, …
Physics. N-body simulation, particle collision simulation, …
⋮

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Why study data structures and algorithms?

Their impact is broad and far-reaching.

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Why study data structures and algorithms?

Old roots, new opportunities.


・Study of algorithms dates at least to Euclid.
・Formalized by Church and Turing in 1930s.
・Some important algorithms were discovered
by undergraduates in a course like this!

1940s
300 BCE

1920s

1930s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s
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Why study data structures and algorithms?

For intellectual stimulation.

“ For me, great algorithms are the poetry of computation. Just


like verse, they can be terse, allusive, dense, and even mysterious.
But once unlocked, they cast a brilliant new light on some
aspect of computing. ” — Francis Sullivan

6
Why study data structures and algorithms?

To become a proficient programmer.

“ I will, in fact, claim that the difference between a bad programmer


and a good one is whether he considers his code or his data structures
more important. Bad programmers worry about the code. Good
programmers worry about data structures and their relationships. ”
— Linus Torvalds (creator of Linux)

“ Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs. ” — Niklaus Wirth

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Why study data structures and algorithms?

They may unlock the secrets of life and of the universe.

Scientists are replacing mathematical models with computational models.

for (double t = 0.0; true; t = t + dt)


for (int i = 0; i < N; i++)
{
bodies[i].resetForce();
for (int j = 0; j < N; j++)
if (i != j)
bodies[i].addForce(bodies[j]);
}

20th century science 21st century science


(formula based) (algorithm based)

“ Algorithms: a common language for nature, human, and computer. ” — Avi Wigderson

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Why study data structures and algorithms?

They may unlock the secrets of life and of the universe.

“ Computer models mirroring real life have become crucial for most
advances made in chemistry today…. Today the computer is just as
important a tool for chemists as the test tube. ”
— Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
(Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013)

Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, and Arieh Warshel

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Why study data structures and algorithms?

To solve problems that could not otherwise be addressed.

[Link]

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Why study data structures and algorithms?

For fun and profit.

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Resources (web)

14

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