CS 201: Data Structures (Spring 2017)

Reading

About reading

To post a comment on a class reading, visit the Readings Forum on Moodle.

There are two different kind of assigned readings.

The column labeled Topics and textbook reference has all of the readings in the textbook that are relevant for what we'll be doing in class. I highly recommend that you do all of those readings (before or after class). They will reinforce the idea we discuss in class, with a different voice, and will also convey ideas we don't cover. That said, the textbook is quite large for a 10-week course, and so we will regularly be skipping material within it.

Many research studies on learning have shown that getting some of the basic ideas into your memory before class can have a pretty dramatic impact on what you can learn, as opposed to seeing those ideas in class for the first time. Therefore, in the Read before class column, I have picked a shorter reading that I expect (i.e., require) you to read before class. After you have read the material, post a question or comment about it in the Readings Forum on Moodle. Do this two hours before class so I have time to look at them and address concerns in class. These readings will not comprehensively contain everything you need to know for the course, which will be represented by what we cover in class. My goal in assigning these readings is to help get your brain primed for some of the content before class, and so I will try to keep these readings short. If they get excessively long (occasionally they do), you should feel empowered to skim long portions. Your key goal in reading this material before class is to begin getting familiar with the ideas before class.

Of course, schedule is subject to change.

The first two reading assignments are posted below. The rest will usually simply be posted on the schedule.

Week 1 Wednesday Reading

Read the section on the environment (including Social Rules) in Recurse Center manual.

Please be respectful of each other on the Moodle forums, in class, and outside of class.

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Read Lambert's From Python to Java from beginning through "Assignment, Parameters, and Casting."

Some notes:

• Numeric Data Types: Python 2 has int and long, they are unified in Python 3.
• Program Comments: Do not use /* ... */ to write multi-line comments. See Segment A.5 in the textbook.
• Comparisons: Java uses true and false not True and False.
• Terminal Input: Scanner.nextLine() and friends do not accept arguments.
  String s = keyboard.nextLine("Enter your name: ");
  should be written as
  System.out.print("Enter your name: "); String s = keyboard.nextLine();
• for Loops: i++ is the same as i += 1 and i = i + 1.

Week 1 Friday Reading

Read Lambert's From Python to Java "Defining Classes" section from "Class Structure" through "Defining Equality."

Some notes:

• Class Structure: The code here is dissected in the following sections. I recommend you skim through this one, read the rest, and come back and read this again. See below for typo in toString.
• Instance Variables and Constructors: Technically, self is not a reserved word in Python, merely a naming convention.
• Defining a String Representation:
  for (String grade : this.grades)
  does not work since this.grades is an array of ints. The following works:
  for (int grade : this.grades) result += "" + grade + ' ';
• Defining Equality: While
  System.out.println(s1 == s3);
  displays false, more importantly is the fact that
  System.out.println(s2 == s3);
  also displays false, despite the fact that
  System.out.println(s2.equals(s3));
  displays true.