Prerequisite courses: Algorithms (CST students) or Data Structures and Algorithms (Diploma)
This course is a prerequisite for Computer Graphics and Image Processing, Complexity Theory, Artificial Intelligence I.
Aims
The aim of this course is to give further insights into the design and
analysis of non-trivial algorithms through the discussion of several
complex algorithms in the fields of graphs and computer graphics,
which are increasingly critical for a wide range of applications.
Lectures
Graph algorithms. Graph representations. Breadth-first and
depth-first search. Topological sort. Minimum spanning tree.
Kruskal and Prim algorithms. Shortest paths. Bellman-Ford and
Dijkstra algorithms. Maximum flow. Ford-Fulkerson method.
Matchings in bipartite graphs. [Ref: Ch 22, 23, 24, 25, 26] [4-5
lectures]
have a good understanding of how several elaborate algorithms
work
have a good understanding of how a smart choice of data
structures may be used to increase the efficiency of particular
algorithms
be able to analyse the space and time efficiency of complex
algorithms
be able to design new algorithms or modify existing ones for new
applications and reason about the efficiency of the result
Recommended reading
* Cormen, T.H., Leiserson, C.D., Rivest, R.L. & Stein, C. (2001). Introduction to Algorithms. MIT Press (2nd ed.). ISBN 0-262-53196-8
Sedgewick, R. (2004). Algorithms in Java, vol 2. (note that C and C++ editions are also available and are equally good for this course). Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-201-36121-3.
Kleinberg, J. & Tardos, É. (2006). Algorithm design. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-321-29535-8.
Students are expected to buy and make extensive use of one of the
above references: those not doing so will be severely disadvantaged.
The easiest and recommended choice is Cormen et al. which
covers all the topics in the syllabus: the pointers in the syllabus
are to chapters in that book. The other textbooks are all excellent
alternatives and are sometimes clearer or more detailed than Cormen,
but they are not guaranteed to cover every item in the syllabus. Their
relative merits are discussed in the course handout.
