• Admin has scheduled this section of 5800 to be online and asynchronous. This means that in order to learn the material you will rely primarily on pre-recorded videos rather than regularly scheduled (synchronous) meetings.
• On the Resources page you can find screen recordings of the lecture notes, with narrations. Those are your primary resource.
  You will also find older videos of in-person lectures. It is not expected that you will watch those (except for a couple of topics without the newer screen recordings), but they remain available in case you prefer that format. The content isn't significantly different.
• You are expected to keep up with the schedule that can be found on the course Schedule page. If any updates are made they will be announced in our course forum (EdStem).

Non-required textbook: Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd edition, by Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest and Stein.
This is commonly just referred to as ``CLRS". More info at MIT press.
Note: my Resources page refers to this book so you can find relevant chapters if you wish. The course doesn't explicitly rely on the book though. Also, CLRS is massive. We will not cover everything in it. See "Topics" below.

Prerequisites: Discrete math is important. Basic understanding of some data structures will matter too. Overall, you should possess mathematical maturity.
You will probably find this course difficult if you're not comfortable with induction, recursion and proofs, or if big-O seems like a challenging concept. It is assumed that you know the basics about arrays, linked lists and trees, but we can also review these concepts during the first week if you wish (there's not that much you need to know).
See the Resources page and search for the word "prerequisite" to see when you will need to know specific prerequisite material.

Topics: This is an introduction to the design and analysis of algorithms, which involves discussing a few basic data structures as well. Many topics could fit in such a course, and not all intro courses cover exactly the same material.
We will place all emphasis on theory instead of programming. This course is about figuring out how to solve a problem before you start coding.
To see more about what is taught in this course, please visit the Resources page.

• In Canvas you will find an invitation and access code for our EdStem site (aka Ed Discussion). Your name in EdStem should match your name in Canvas. Feel free to add a nickname in parentheses.
• Before posting a message in EdStem, make sure that it hasn't already been answered (either in EdStem itself, or on the course website).
• If you have a question that does not affect other students, or that may reveal answers to homework or extra problem sets before solutions are posted, please use my course gmail address instead. Avoid asking questions like "I'm trying to solve homework X like this but I'm not sure it's correct". That kind of question should be asked during office hours, or by email.
• In general, do not use EdStem as a substitute for sending me private messages that relate only to your own situation.
• I strongly recommend setting EdStem email preferences so that you receive notifications instantly, or at least relatively frequently. It is your responsibility to be aware of any announcements that I make there. You should also check your email at least daily.
• Zoom links for all office hours (or any online session that might take place) can be found in EdStem.

Evaluation (TENTATIVE)

• Homework assignments will be provided. Submission is non-mandatory. If you submit it, we will grade and provide feedback, but this is done purely so that you can practice and understand where you might have incorrect reasoning. It is not factored into your final grade in any way.
  
  
• There will be 4 exams.
  Exams will last approximately up to 75-80 minutes.
  Once exam dates are settled, the Schedule page will be updated and an announcement will be made in EdStem.
  
• I do not create large time windows for exams. Based on the last four times that this course was offered asynchronously, 7pm was a suitable hour for most students, so I will tentatively use that start time again. If you have a serious conflict at that hour, let me know as soon as possible, after exam dates are posted.
  
  
• On exams you may need to describe algorithms, proofs of correctness or time complexity analysis, for topics found in the course notes, or for slightly modified versions. You will also need to be familiar with homework problems and other problem sets that are handed out. Occasionally there are questions that require developing algorithms for brand new problems.
  
  
• Exam format: online, typed, open book. Exams will appear directly in Gradescope, precisely at the announced start time.
• It will help to become familiar with very basic LaTeX, to type certain mathematical expressions. (I will explain and offer assistance if needed).
• You may refer to my course notes and videos, the textbook, and generally any resource that I have provided. You may not use the internet in any other way. This also means that you may not refer to your own notes if they were based on material found online or other sources besides those listed above. (No caching the internet).
  
  
• Exam supervision: you will need to use full screen recording, as well as record the surrounding area with two cameras (e.g. using your laptop and a cell phone). All of the above can be saved in one file if done via Zoom. Detailed instructions will be provided.
• Any form of academic integrity violation on exams will result in an F in the course and a report to administration. There will be no exceptions.
  
  

• If you have a serious reason for not taking an exam, you should notify your academic advisor and/or Health Services, and of course you may CC me as well. This needs to be done before the exam if at all possible.
• I cannot arrange a makeup exam if you have a predictable conflict that could be reasonably avoided. Check the exam schedule before making plans.

Gradescope: How to submit homework and take exams

• All homework and extra problem sets will posted in EdStem. Solutions will be posted there too.
• Homework is to be submitted in Gradescope. The access code can be found in EdStem and Canvas. It is up to you to sign up to Gradescope, using your full name as it appears in Canvas. Feel free to add a nickname in parentheses.
• When submitting homework in Gradescope, there is a straightforward way to tag your pages. You must tell Gradescope which pages of your uploaded file relate to each problem. If you don't do this, we will not evaluate your work. Pages should appear in order and should not be rotated. Leave enough space so we can provide comments. Don't submit pages with unusual dimensions; they should be roughly US-letter sized. Don't use tiny font. Each problem should be on a different page (but subproblems should appear without breaks). Do not submit blank pages if you haven't solved a problem.
• Ideally your submissions should be typed, but you may also submit exceptionally clear handwritten scanned assignments. If your work is not clear, you will be asked to type the rest of your assignments. Either way, you may include figures, in fact you are encouraged to do so. If the figures are photographs or scans of work done on paper, it is your responsibility to make sure that they are clear, with proper contrast and resolution.
• There should be no shadows, coffee mugs, pets, body parts, etc, visible on your submitted work.
  Summary: please respect the effort that your graders will put into grading your work; submit something presentable if not professional looking.
  
• You can make regrade requests within Gradescope in a straightforward way, for homework and exams.
• Instructions for exams in Gradescope will be given when the time comes. All of your answers will be typed. I expect you to become familiar with some basic LaTeX commands, so that you can produce nicely formatted formulas (only applicable for parts of the course). Using LaTeX will make things look much nicer, and could help you catch little bugs in your derivations. Assistance for LaTeX will be given.

Tips for doing well in this course, if you find it challenging:

• Use the full version of the course notes when studying, not the condensed version. Do not rely only on the notes, use video as well.
• When using the notes or videos, don't rush. Pause frequently. If you don't understand something, go back and think about what got you stuck, before proceeding. If the issue remains then get in touch with me or the TAs (or your classmates), in EdStem or office hours.
• Always try to anticipate the next step when reading a derivation. Try to re-prove things. Derive on your own, rather than verifying what is written. When you simply verify what's there, it is easy to overestimate what you've understood.
• Don't cram. The most common reason students don't do well on the exams in this course is that they think they can learn the material for an exam in two days. Spend time on this course regularly. Many students underestimate how much time is required to truly understand some of these topics.
• Use all resources available, if you have time. Prioritize class notes, the summary PDF document at the top of the Resources page, and the videos. The book can be really helpful for some topics, not so much for others, but in general this is subjective. Try to explore links and demos that are provided, if applicable. Do practice problems from the book, starting with the more basic ones. In many cases you can make your own practice problems too (e.g. draw an arbitrary graph and find shortest paths).
• As much as possible, don't memorize. Instead, understand the logic. I do realize that some basic memory is required in any case. But if you think you need to memorize how algorithms work, why they are correct, or what their time complexities are, then you're not approaching this course correctly and should talk to me.
• Pretend that you will have to teach the material that you're reading, to 100 people. They would be asking you why things work, and you should be able to answer correctly.
• Try to do the homework on your own. If you are entirely stuck, get only basic hints from your classmates and TAs, but don't rush to do this if you've only spent an hour or two on a problem. If you have no idea how to approach a problem, then you probably need to study the basics a bit more: take the time to review the material from the corresponding lectures, and solve some easier exercises on your own. Then think about what tools you have just learned about, and whether they might help. If none of this works, then get some hints. Homework sometimes requires multiple hours of work.
• When stuck solving homework problems, see how you'd handle a made-up example. Think about whether your example is oversimplified, whether you've made unnecessary assumptions, and whether your solution is generalizable (if applicable). Also, sometimes it's a good idea to add extra assumptions, thus making the problem easier to solve, and gradually remove the assumptions.
• Read the homework solutions even if you got a good score. Sometimes graders don't notice subtle mistakes on homework submissions. Reading the solutions might help you avoid repeating such mistakes on an exam. Also, even if your ideas worked, the solutions might have a more efficient idea or description that will end up worth knowing about. In any case, it is your responsibility to be familiar with homework solutions, because they might appear on exams.
• Don't hesitate to talk to me and to the TAs.

Everyone involved in this course is to respect the following:

• Northeastern equal opportunity, non-discrimination, non-harassment policy
• Code of Student Conduct
• Basically, be nice to everyone.

• Northeastern academic integrity policy
• If you cheat on an exam, you will get an F in the course and a report will be sent to administration.
• It is not acceptable to copy solutions from any source or to distribute or receive solutions. Do not use AI products for any reason, including improving grammar or sentence structure.

Disability Resource Center:

• If you are student with a disability who is requesting accommodations, please see the information in this link:
  Northeastern DRC