Foundations of Computing, II

CSE 312: Foundations of Computing II, Spring 2012

important announcements

Here is the calendar for the course. Almost all information (such as lecture materials and assignments) is/will be linked from the calendar.

course information

Lectures time and place: MWF 9:30-10:20am, in MOR 230
Sections time and place: AA: Thursday 1:30 -- 2:20 in SAV 138; AB: Thursday 2:30 -- 3:20 in MGH 389

Instructor: Anna Karlin, CSE 594, tel. 543 9344
Office hours: Mondays 4-5pm, Tuesdays from 9:00-10:00am, Fridays from 11:30 -12:00, CSE 594, and by appointment -- just send email.

Teaching assistants: Cyrus Rashtchian and Mark Bun
Office hours: Tuesdays, 5:00 -- 6:30pm, CSE 216, and by appointment -- just send email.

Course evaluation and grading:

Rough breakdown: Daily problems (5-10%), weekly problem sets (altogether 35-455%), midterm (15-20%) and final (30-35%).
Daily problems will be graded as credit/no-credit, with credit received for a credible effort. We will be grading a random subset of the homework problems.
Late homework will be accepted (but penalized 30%) up to the start of the next lecture; not accepted thereafter, barring major emergencies. Late daily problems will not be accepted (but you have a pass on turning them in four times during the quarter).

Textbooks:

Introduction to Probability (2nd edition), Dimitri P. Bertsekas and John N. Tsitsiklis, Athena Scientific, 2008 (Available from U Book Store, Amazon, etc.)
Algorithms, Dasgupta, Papadimitriou, and Vazirani. (Required, but you can use the free, online version.)
[Optional] Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2007. No direct use of this, but if you already own a copy, keep it for reference. Some students have said they like its coverage of counting (Chapter 5 and 7.5, 7.6) and discrete probability (Chapter 6)).

Learning Objectives:

Course goals include an appreciation and introductory understanding of (1) methods of counting and basic combinatorics, (2) the language of probability for expressing and analyzing randomness and uncertainty (3) properties of randomness and their application in designing and analyzing computational systems, (4) some basic methods of statistics and their use in a computer science & engineering context, (5) the distinction between tractable and (apparently) intractable computational problems and (6) methods and appropriate reasoning for showing tractability (e.g. dynamic programming) and intractability (reduction).

Class mailing list:

The mailing list (cse312a_sp12@u.washington.edu) is used to communicate important information that is relevant to all the students. If you are registered for the course, you should automatically be on the mailing list.

The mailing list is also a very useful tool for collaboration and interaction between students. You are encouraged to post questions, thoughts, and ideas, that you believe would interest your fellow students.

Academic Integrity and Collaboration:

Homeworks are all individual, not group, exercises. Discussing them with others is fine, even encouraged, but you must produce your own homework solutions. Follow the "Gilligan's Island Rule": if you discuss the assignment with someone else, don't keep any notes (paper or electronic) from the discussion, then go watch 30+ minutes of TV (Gilligan's Island reruns especially recommended) before you continue work on the homework by yourself. You may not look at other people's written solutions to these problems, not in your friends' notes, not in the dorm files, not on the internet, ever. If in any doubt about whether your activities cross allowable boundaries, tell us before, not after, you turn in your assignment. See also the UW CSE Academic Misconduct Policy, and the links there.

acknowledgements

Thanks to previous instructors of this course (James Lee, Larry Ruzzo and Pedro Domingos) for the use of their slides and other materials. We have also drawn on materials from "Mathematics for Computer Science" at MIT, and "Great Theoretical Ideas in Computer Science" at CMU.