Course Summary

Design and analysis of algorithms is an important part of computer science today. This course introduces students to advanced techniques for algorithm design and analysis, and explores a variety of applications.



We will devote about a couple of weeks each to several major areas of algorithms research: data structures, online algorithms, maximum-flow, linear programming, Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), algorithms in machine learning, internet algorithms and algorithms for large data sets. Enroute, we will encounter various useful ideas, including randomization, probabilistic analysis, amortized analysis, competitive analysis, eigenvalues, high dimensional geometry, and random walks.



Prerequisite: One undergraduate course in algorithms, or equivalent mathematical maturity. Listeners and auditors are welcome. There will be 5-6 homeworks during the term, and a take-home final exam. We may read a few research papers and have a few "field trips" (attending interesting talks on cutting edge algorithms research). There is no official text. Instead, we will use assorted online resources.





Administrative Information

Lectures: MW 1330-1450 Room 301, CS Bldg.

Professor: Moses Charikar - 305 CS Building - 258-7447 moses [AT] cs.princeton.edu

Office hours by appointment



Graduate Coordinator: Melissa Lawson - 310 CS Building - 258-5387 mml [AT] cs.princeton.edu



CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE MAILING LIST FOR THIS CLASS.



Take-Home Final

The take home final will be posted here on Jan 17. You must finish the final 48 hours after first reading it. The last day to submit your solutions is Mon, Jan 22. You can use any notes/handouts from the class and can quote any results from there. You are not allowed to use any other sources.

To get an idea of what the final might be like, take a look at last year's final .

This is the final exam (ps,pdf). Do not read it before you are ready to work on it. Send Moses email to let him know you have started the test in case any clarifications need to be made.

All the best !

Homeworks

Homework 1 (ps,pdf) due: Wed, Oct 4 in class.

Homework 2 (ps,pdf) due: Wed, Oct 18 in class. (Note: 4th problem has been added)



Homework 3 (ps,pdf) due: Wed, Nov 22 in class.

Homework 4 (ps,pdf) due: Wed, Dec 6 in class. (Note: 5th problem has been added)



Homework 5 (ps,pdf) due: Tue, Jan 16.

Lecture outlines and assigned readings

Resources and Readings

Further reading (books)