Questions tagged [algorithms]

This tag is for questions about presenting specific algorithms or general principles of algorithmic design and analysis to students. It IS NOT for questions about writing or fixing algorithms.

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Courses for understanding complexity analysis of algorithms

How do I learn it? Watching lectures haven't been helping a lot. I want to solve "solved problems" but I'm not finding anything that has solved problems. Please guide me. Complexity analysis ...
barnyard9's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
54 views

Is there an online drag-and-drop interactive sort simulator?

When teaching my students about different sort algorithms, I would like to give them a virtual hand of cards to sort so they can try out an algorithm by dragging and dropping to reorder the cards. Is ...
Ellen Spertus's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
59 views

Software for runnable algorithmic organigrams

I teach an algorithmics course at a level equivalent to first year of college. I discovered LARP (sorry it's in french), a software that allows to draw organigrams, run them, debug them step by step ...
Celelibi's user avatar
  • 141
1 vote
4 answers
156 views

Teaching ideas for string algorithm?

When teaching algorithm (high school) I always go with some sorting & searching algorithms and believe that should be enough, or at least lay a good foundation for them. But I have come to realize ...
Qiulang 邱朗's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
93 views

Searching for algorithms using array, stack, queue, List or no data structure solving interesting problems

rI am a teacher in germany (high school) and I am searching for algorithms, that solve interesting problems using no data structure or linear data structures only. The goal is to motivate the students ...
BenBar's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Does anyone know of any reliable summary of the complexity of common data structure operations?

It seems that the most popular source on the internet on this topic is https://www.bigocheatsheet.com/: Wikipedia and basically any other similar table I find on the internet copy this one. There are ...
GermanJablo's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
826 views

Which is the best book for algorithms before I dive into Leetcode?

I am really interested in diving into leetcode. However, I want a solid foundation on data structures and algorithms being used to solve the problems in Leetcode. Please recommend to me some books/...
Nazmus Saqueeb Ashrafi's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
58 views

Accounting and potential methods in amortized analysis

I am still trying to improve the understanding of amortized analysis by students (as in a previous question). In many textbooks such as the CLRS, three methods are presented: aggregate, accounting, ...
Bruno's user avatar
  • 201
4 votes
5 answers
184 views

Suggestions to improve my algorithm coding skills

I have a PhD in computer science (A fresh graduate). My bachelor's major is similar to CS but without algorithms (It's a discipline between business and CS). I am quite good at AI research but my ...
Minions's user avatar
  • 141
4 votes
4 answers
326 views

How to teach algorithms in an interactive way

I am faculty of computer science. Currently, I am teaching a design and analysis of algorithms course to second-year undergraduate students. This is my second semester of teaching before this I have ...
Shi's user avatar
  • 43
0 votes
0 answers
55 views

Resource for practicing algorithms without programming? (migraine sufferer)

Does there exist a resource for exercises and problems of the form "design a program with the following specifications in time/space O(f(n))"? I am aware of competitive programming websites ...
kyary's user avatar
  • 101
1 vote
1 answer
63 views

How to learn asymptotic notations rigorously?

Is there any good tutorial about how to make asymptotic notations rigorously? I think the way from Turing machines to the analysis of pseudocode is quite a big. Or is the situation that there are some ...
guest's user avatar
  • 13
17 votes
9 answers
4k views

Teaching algorithmic thinking without a programming language

I am to teach Algorithms and Data Structures. There are lots of books that teach how to do algorithms in language X or Y. But I would like to teach algorithmic thinking per se, independent of the ...
Gergely's user avatar
  • 345
4 votes
1 answer
90 views

Example of amortized analysis of algorithms rather than data structures

Amortized analysis is often taught in algorithms classes, with the different methods (aggregate, accounting, potential). It is very important when discussing some data structures and their use in ...
Bruno's user avatar
  • 201
3 votes
4 answers
172 views

Greedy Algorithm Approach

One of the popular algorithm design techniques is the Greedy Algorithm. Do we have real-world examples of Greedy Algorithm which we can teach Undergraduate students? I know the famous Djikstra's ...
Goku - stands with Palestine's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
635 views

Divide and conquer for subset sum problem

I want my students (equivalent first-year college students) to work on algorithmic paradigms during a 2 hours practical programming session in OCaml. I chose the subset sum problem since it can ...
Nathaniel's user avatar
  • 150
2 votes
2 answers
90 views

Any tools or frameworks for visualisation of algorithms?

I would like to make animation of algorithms in order for students to see the flow of an algorithm in a visual way. Like an alternative to https://visualgo.net/en I want to make custom animations like ...
limitcracker's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
210 views

Textbook or video lectures to develope intuition for solving any unseen Graph Theory problems

Background Hello, I am a third year undergraduate in CS. I am eager to pursue higher education from one of the best institutes in out country. For that I need to write a competitive exam, named GATE ...
Abhishek Ghosh's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
70 views

Algorithm Design challenges

In my course we discuss algorithms (greedy, dp, div & conquer, etc.) and efficiency. Do you have any experience with assignments that consider also time of execution as a criterion for grading? Do ...
Drimades Boy's user avatar
7 votes
6 answers
596 views

What are good, practical labs and activities for loops?

I am teaching some high school students, also the first time programmers, some basic programming concepts and applications. When introducing loop I find that using it to check prime number (and find ...
Qiulang 邱朗's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
388 views

Cormen's "Algorithms" pre-requisites

What to recommend as a pre-requisite reading before Cormen's "Algorithms" to make this book easier to get through for 10-12th graders? Any courseware available for kids, books, courses, etc.?...
paus's user avatar
  • 233
4 votes
1 answer
85 views

Feedback request: an assignment on programming a research paper

I am teaching an elective course on algorithms for 3rd year undergraduates. There are 12 weekly assignments, each of which is worth 1% of the grade, and a final exam which is worth 88%. I would like ...
Erel Segal-Halevi's user avatar
4 votes
5 answers
454 views

First Time Learning Non-Linear Data Structures

I'm looking for effective strategies and projects for introducing non-linear data structures to students. I currently teach linked lists, stacks, and then introduce binary trees. A lot of students ...
guitarcat's user avatar
  • 321
5 votes
1 answer
160 views

Looking for good Master Theorem examples

I'm teaching an Algorithms class (junior/senior level), and we've just proved the validity of the Master Theorem. I'd like some good questions on it, both for homeworks and for exam questions. Problem ...
Adam Smith's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
259 views

Algorithmic Game Theory as an undergrad

I am an undergrad going into my junior year this semester. I really wanted to explore algorithmic game theory, as my university has some excellent professors in that field. However, as my undergrad is ...
xii70523yuoia's user avatar
26 votes
11 answers
4k views

When mentoring individuals, teach clean coding and simple/effective thinking or let them do it their way?

I have a background of 20+ years professional coding, but my heart is really in teaching. About three years ago, I started tutoring ages grade 6 through adult in coding topics. introduction to coding ...
composerMike's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
84 views

Error free solution manual for "Introduction to Algorithms" by Cormen et al. for self study or alternative method to tackle them single handed

I am a CS undergraduate student, strictly speaking I am fond of studying theoretical CS subjects, the corresponding books just attract me. Now in theoretical CS we probably have algorithm design and ...
Abhishek Ghosh's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
138 views

Coding assignments for algorithms and data structures?

Do you know of any online resource with ideas/projects for an Algorithms and Data Structures course? Topics in the course include: basic data structures (array, list, stack, queue, priority queue, ...
Drimades Boy's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
989 views

What are some real life applications of the knapsack problems class?

Students are very happy when they see some real applications of the theory. Any suggestions for interesting examples of knapsack problems?
Drimades Boy's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
167 views

Is it worth to learn to make a MD5-hash cracker?

I found a puzzling site where one puzzle was to find a string whose MD5-hash is given. Is such a puzzles good for learning? I mean, I believe that hash might be cracked by using enough computing ...
guest's user avatar
  • 33
1 vote
0 answers
54 views

How to teach linear programming and reductions?

Do you know any textbook with problems+solutions to support teaching of linear programming and reductions? In particular for: standard and slack forms, formulation of problems as linear programs, ...
Drimades Boy's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
4k views

Solutions to problems from Algorithms Jeff Erickson

Do you know of any website or other source with partial/complete solutions to problems from Algorithms book of Jeff Erickson?
Drimades Boy's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
332 views

Any website/textbook with problems+solutions in algorithms?

I'm trying to find an online source or textbook with problems+solutions for problems in dynamic programming, number theory, graph theory, greedy algorithms, etc. Do you know of any?
Drimades Boy's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
82 views

Is there any series of videos in which all the main algorithms are discussed without going into things like time complexity and space complexity

The course should be discussed in c language. I am presently learning basic computer programming through a book and while doing the questions from the book from a chapter say array, I found out most ...
Piesquareisg's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
1k views

Fun way to teach algorithms

I will teach algorithms for 4 days for some students. It will be their first course in computer science before learning coding with Java. My fear is to bore them as I was bored at the university :( ...
alk01771's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
175 views

Understanding Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd Edition

I'm taking a course on data structures and algorithms and it follows the book Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd Edition (ISBN-10: 9780262033848) by Charles E. Leiserson, Clifford Stein, Ronald Rivest, ...
SelfStudy22's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
685 views

What are competitive programming problems that require a tree data structure to solve them?

I want to practice my problem-solving skills that involve the usage of a tree data structure (e.g. Binary Search Tree, Heap, <...
mercury0114's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
385 views

System to validate run time complexity requirements

TL;DR: Do you know of a method/system that can determine the run time complexity of code automatically? At our university we have a system in place that allows students to submit their code and get ...
MrHug's user avatar
  • 221
3 votes
1 answer
157 views

What is the closest pair problem useful for?

The closest pair problem is the famous problem of finding out the closest pair of points given an arbitrary set of points on a plane. This problem has a divide and conquer algorithm and often is used ...
Agnishom Chattopadhyay's user avatar
3 votes
6 answers
14k views

A real world example for the divide and conquer method

Can someone give a real world example for the divide and conquer method? For example, I've heard the boomerang used to explain the idea of a loop back address. What is a real world example we can use ...
happy's user avatar
  • 31
3 votes
2 answers
175 views

How should one go into learning algorithms and data structures? What do you think is an efficient way to do so?

Should one first understand its logic and see its implementation? Or should one try to implement it first oneself? How should one learn so that one can quickly implement the algorithm or data ...
Sankalp1999's user avatar
24 votes
12 answers
797 views

Is it a good idea to teach algorithm courses using pseudocode instead of a real programming language?

I am a young professor teaching a data structures course for the first time. I'm teaching at an engineering college that provides an academic degree, but the focus is preparing future computer ...
Zur Luria's user avatar
  • 341
1 vote
2 answers
85 views

How to introduce problem solving to primary school pupils?

I'm interested into knowing your experiences about introducing problem solving to primary school pupils. I'm a PhD candidate in Operations Research and, together with my University or my public ...
Alice Raffaele's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
264 views

Pedagogical issues with Stack Implementation

I am new to teaching the particular syllabus I have been asked to teach and I am confused by the approach given for several of the algorithms. For example the stack implementation based on the course ...
Robin Andrews's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
413 views

How to learn to solve trees, graphs questions for competitive programming

I learnt about trees and graphs from my textbooks (undergraduate level) last year. But now I'm doing competitive programming and unable to solve questions involving these concepts. I fail to ...
asn's user avatar
  • 151
3 votes
2 answers
231 views

Project based on game 2048

I'm thinking about an assignment based around the game 2048. This would be towards the end of a first programming course at the university level and assumes the students have been introduced to at ...
Fritz Sieker's user avatar
  • 1,133
8 votes
4 answers
1k views

First project in my second year data structures intro

I am currently teaching the pretty much normal second year Data Structures and Algorithms course. In this course there are four programming projects, with the first project completed the automated ...
Ilkka Kokkarinen's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
157 views

How to structure a Predictive Keyboard project similar to GBoard

Many are now familiar with GBoard, the Google / Android predictive Keyboard. I don't actually know how it works. Obviously it must gather usage data on the device where it is being used, but it ...
Scott Rowe's user avatar
18 votes
4 answers
727 views

Difficulty of algorithms homework problems

I have a question for educators, from the perspective of a TA. I'm happy to post my question elsewhere if it's not appropriate for this site. Homework problems in algorithms classes often involve ...
guest's user avatar
  • 181
8 votes
4 answers
713 views

Will you tell students that Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs now(21st century)?

Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs occurs in 1976 (in Niklaus Wirth's book). In the past, we (teachers) may usually cite this equation to emphasize the importance of algorithms/data structures. ...
Chen Li's user avatar
  • 267