CSC 151.01, Class 01: Introduction to Algorithms

Overview

• Preliminaries
  • Notes and news
  • Upcoming work
  • Extra credit
  • Questions
• Introduction - What is CS?
• Exercise - An everyday algorithm
• Debriefing on exercise (continues next class)

News / Etc.

• Welcome to CSC 151!
• I’m Sam (or SamR)
• Your class mentors are Maddie, Ahn Thu, and Halle.
• Yes, our class is insanely large. (The last time I taught 40+ students, I asked whether they thought I should cap at 32 and they said they’d rather more students have the opportunity to take the course.)
• Since it’s the first day of class, I’ll be taking attendance. (It will take a few weeks for me to learn all of your names.)
  • “Hi, my name is FORENAME SURNAME. You can call me PRIMARY NAME or Mr./Ms./Mx. SURNAME. My pronouns are ….” (You can skip the pronouns.)
• You should have received five handouts at the start of class.
  • A playing card
  • The CS Department Academic Honesty Policy
  • Assignment 1
  • Reading: Linux
  • Reading: Algorithms

Upcoming Work

• Assignment 1 Due Tuesday night.
• Readings (handed out today), due before class tomorrow.
• Signed academic honesty policy due in class on Tuesday.
  • If you are uncomfortable signing it, make an appointment to chat with me.

Extra credit (Academic)

• Thursday extras, Thursday, 4:15 p.m., Science 3821: Summer Research Opportunities in CS

Extra credit (Peer)

• Swim meet a week from Saturday.
• Mock trial in Dubuque on Friday.
• Open practice for crazy improv group 2-4 Saturday “Ritalin Test Squad”

Good things to do

• Get enough sleep while you still can.

Introduction - What is CS?

• The study of algorithms and how they interact with each other on certain platforms.
  • Algorithm: Instructions that are written in order to accomplish a task.
  • We can express the algorithms in different languages
  • The algorithms can be carried out by a variety of devices
    • Phone
    • Desktop Computer
    • Human being
• The course is about how you write instructions that allow people to accomplish tasks.
  • Formalize tasks
  • Assure ourselves that the instructions we come up with are correct in all reasonable situations
  • Express them in a way the computer can understand

Exercise - An everyday algorithm

• Students are challenged to help a clueless faculty member with his morning snack.

Debriefing on exercise (continues next class)

• More realistically, starts next class.