CSCI 241 Data Structures

Spring 2025 Syllabus

Course Staff and Meeting Information

Jim Deverick, instructor section 01: MWF 1300—1350 Boswell 201

McGlothlin-Street 313 section 02: TR 1100—1220 Blow 333
section 03: TR 1230—1350 Blow 332
Yuchen Wang, instructor
section 04: TR 1400—1520 Blow 332
McGlothlin-Steet 118
Mei Zhang, instructor instructor office hours
McGlothlin-Street 330 M 1430—1600 Wang virtual by appt.
https://cwm.zoom.us/j/9063706629
Chuntian Chi, TA
Chenghao Du, TA W 1430—1600 Wang McGl 118
Afia Farjana, TA
W 0900—1030 Deverick virtual by appt.
Haoyuan Tian, TA
https://cwm.zoom.us/my/jwdeve
Yimeng Wang, TA
R 1530—1700 Deverick McGl 313

TR 1630—1800 Zhang virtual

https://cwm.zoom.us/j/95629993328

The best means of reaching us is through private Piazza posts. We ask that you use
this medium primarily for communications. Email is a particularly unreliable means
of reaching us.

Required Materials

• Goodrich, Tamassia, and Goldwasser. Data Structures & Algorithms in Python.

Wiley, 2013. ISBN 978-1-118-29027-9. This textbook is available online at no
cost to you through Swem Library. If you prefer a hard copy, any legal format
is fine provided you have access all semester. We do not use any digital content
from the textbook that requires paid access.

• Course materials will be distributed through the course website as detailed in

class. A link to the course website will be available from Blackboard.

• Most items will be submitted on paper or electronically through Gradescope.

Follow the instructions for submissions carefully, especially regarding file
names, which must match exactly (including case). Submissions that do not
conform to specifications may not receive credit. Some assignments may have
submission links that take you outside of Gradescope or Blackboard.

• Assuming they don’t require fees, we will use Piazza for class discussion and
questions. Different students often pose similar questions and answering
questions in a public forum benefits more people, including those who might
not have thought to ask the question. You will receive an e-mail invitation to
Piazza; please accept it. Piazza has changed their model to one that asks for
 voluntary contributions. This is a function of Piazza and is not under the control
of the instructors. You are not asked by the instructors nor are required by this
course to contribute to Piazza.

• Programming in this course will be done in Python3 using the Anaconda Python
stack. We will provide instructions and assistance for setting up Anaconda for
Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux on your personal machine. You must not use
Python 2.7, which is often the default on personal computers.

• Programming in this course is done using a text editor and the command line.
You may not use any integrated development environment when
writing code in this course. We suggest VSCode, which is available for free.
Many students choose to purchase Sublime. Some use Notepad++ on
Windows. For command line environments, Mac users will employ Terminal;
Windows users will use PowerShell. Both are installed by default. If the editor
you use provide a “run” or “go” button, please don’t use it.

• In the event that virtual sessions become necessary, we will require that you
sign into Zoom (our domain is cwm) and request that you enable video during
class. For privacy, some choose to use virtual backgrounds or hang a sheet or
other cloth behind their seats, both of which are welcome. Please don’t use
animated avatars or video backgrounds during class. Signing in allows us to
maintain a record of attendance and helps secure our meetings, and we can
teach much more effectively if we can see you. Any virtual sessions will be
recorded and posted to Blackboard for your review.

Exam Information

See the course schedule at the end of this document for exam section details.
Switching exam sections requires approval of an Assistant Dean for Undergraduate
Education.

Readings, Practice Problems, and Quizzes

Regular reading assignments from the textbook and academic papers will appear in
Blackboard alongside lecture content. Reading assignments are very important, as
the textbook often explains things from different perspectives. There is material in
the assigned readings that will appear on quizzes and the exam, regardless of
whether that material is covered in class.

We will issue practice problems and/or practice quizzes in class and may issue
additional practice material for completion outside of class periodically to reinforce
the material we cover in class and in the textbook. Homework is not typically collected
or graded, though we may present it in electronic form that provides correctness
feedback.
You are expected to complete all materials, regardless of point values. There is a
very strong correlation between students who rigorously engage with the
practice materials and those who do well overall in the course.

There will be several short paper quizzes. The initial versions will be completed in
class. If you are not satisfied with your performance, you may retake quizzes (with
different problems) in several evening sessions that will be available throughout the
semester. Quizzes can only be completed during the in-class or retake sessions. We
do not permit individual retakes or make-up sessions.

Programming Projects and Slip Days

There is a significant amount of programming in this course. In addition to

implementing the abstract data types that we discuss, you will write small
applications that employ those data types to see how they are used. Most
programming projects will take between two and three weeks to complete and they
increase in complexity as the course moves forward. The submission environment
will provide automated functionality tests; you may submit as many times as you like
until the deadline to improve your functional score. Other aspects of your
programming projects, such as performance, readability, and adherence to
specifications will be evaluated manually. You are required to use Anaconda Python
3.x for this course. Note that many Linux distributions and all versions of Mac OS X
ship with Python 2.7. You must not use that version; it is not compatible with Python
3.x. Always test your submission as your final act before submitting.
Students have lost significant points because of last-minute edits.

Each person will receive an initial allocation of two slip days to adjust project
deadlines without penalty. Each applied slip day extends the deadline for a project
by exactly 24 hours and cannot be divided into smaller extensions. Budget slip days
carefully, as they become valuable at the end of the semester. Unused slip days have
no value. If you submit a project late without using slip days, you will be penalized
25% of the project's total value per 24-hour period or part thereof beginning one
minute past the posted deadline. Finally, you may combine slip days and late
penalties if you wish. Late penalties only apply when you do not apply slip days.

No other student should see the code that you create for this class.

Some programming project submissions also include brief prose sections meant to
illustrate both your theoretical and your practical understanding of the structures we
create and apply. We will provide questions or other prompts to stimulate your
responses, which will constitute a significant portion of your project scores. The
Writing Resources Center, located on the first floor of Swem Library, is a free service
provided to W&M students. Trained consultants offer individual assistance with
writing, presentation, and other communication assignments across disciplines and
at any stage, from generating ideas to polishing a final product. To make an
appointment, visit the WRC webpage www.wm.edu/wrc.
Submission expectations are clearly stated at the end of each assignment. Generally,
we only accept .pdf and .py files that are correctly named. Any deviation from
these specifications, including file names or formats, will void your
submission and you will not receive credit.

We allow you to submit an unlimited number of times, but we only download and
evaluate your most recent submission. Be certain that submissions are
complete. We will not collate files from multiple submissions, so partial
submissions cannot be evaluated.

Attendance, Accessibility, and Honor

You are expected to be present and in good hygienic condition at every class meeting.
We may take roll, including electronically. Please have your ID with you at all class
meetings. Missing more than two meetings is cause for concern and may result in a
grade penalty.

It is the policy of William & Mary to accommodate students with disabilities and
qualifying diagnosed conditions in accordance with federal and state laws. Any
student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a
learning, psychiatric, physical, or chronic health diagnosis should contact us privately
to discuss your specific needs. Students will also need to contact Student Accessibility
Services staff at 757-221-2512 or at [email protected] to determine if accommodations
are warranted and to obtain an official letter of accommodation. For more
information, please see www.wm.edu/sas. You have our word that such matters will
be handled professionally and with sensitivity. We associate no stigma with any form
of disability.

Please keep in mind that you are bound by all aspects of the College's Honor Code,
to which you have pledged your support. Academic dishonesty does not serve your
education well, and we will bring instances of it to the attention of the Honor Council.
We mean this. If you cheat in this class, we will pursue disciplinary action against
you, which may include suspension or permanent dismissal from the College.

Generally, we maintain an empty-hands policy for collaboration. You are free to

discuss concepts with your colleagues currently enrolled in CSCI 241 at W&M, but
you must not have any materials in front of you when you do. No person other
than you, the instructors, the TAs, or the lab instructors or consultants
should ever see your work. This means that relatives, students at other schools,
alumni of the course (other than consultants), and online platforms such as
CourseHero, Chegg, and others are prohibited. If you discuss something with
permitted individuals using a whiteboard or paper or anything electronic, you must
erase or destroy any collaboratively created results immediately when finished and
without recording it in any other form, including photography. The granularity of
collaborative discussions must be coarse enough that two people walking away from
a conversation can reasonably be expected to produce different code. If you see
another student's work or allow your work to be seen by another student,
then you are both liable for an Honor Code violation that we will prosecute.

We reserve the right to employ automated tools to check for plagiarism in both
programming and written work.

Grading Policies

In most cases, quizzes are scored in Gradescope. If you believe we have assigned a
score incorrectly, you may request a regrade from within Gradescope. Be honorable
in your requests; do not ask for credit that you did not earn.

Projects are evaluated using automated functionality tests and manual human
evaluation with written (electronic) feedback. We employ blind grading; the graders
do not know whose work they are evaluating. To enable blind grading, it is important
that you not include any personally identifying marks anywhere in your submission
except where specified.

Your grade in this course will be computed as follows:

Quizzes 40%
Programming Projects 40%
Final Exam 20%

Letter grades are issued based on the following rubric:

A At least 94% C At least 74% but less than 77%

A- At least 90% but less than 94% C- At least 70% but less than 74%
B+ At least 87% but less than 90% D+ At least 67% but less than 70%
B At least 84% but less than 87% D At least 64% but less than 67%
B- At least 80% but less than 84% D- At least 60% but less than 64%
C+ At least 77% but less than 80% F Less than 60%

Letter grades are available in Blackboard throughout the course and are updated as
items are returned.

We do not apply any curves until the end of the semester. We reserve the right
to consider class participation in borderline grade decisions. Any attendance penalties
are applied after your grade is computed.
Mental and Physical Well-Being

William & Mary recognizes that students juggle different responsibilities and can
face challenges that make learning difficult. There are many resources available at
W&M to help students navigate emotional/psychological, physical/medical,
material/accessibility concerns, including:

• The W&M Counseling Center at (757) 221-3620. Services are free and
confidential.
• The W&M Health Center at (757) 221-4386.
• For additional support or resources & questions, contact the Dean of
Students at 757-221-2510.
• For a list of other resources available to students, see:

Covered Topics

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to abstract data representation. You
will learn how to represent data for various programming problems, and how to
analyze the performance impacts of your data representation decisions. Though
algorithms are not the primary focus of this course, we will introduce some well-
known examples in order to illustrate the merits and performance of various data
structures. The general schedule for the course follows.
 Read Practice Submit projects
Course
Content Before Before Progress before 2359
Week
Class Class Quizzes in class
Introductions
0 and Course
Overview
1.1 Python
Variables and
1 Arrays and Ch. 1
Project 1
Overview
1.2 Circular Ckpt.
1 5.1, 5.4, 5.5 P1 Insertion sort complete
Arrays 1.1
1.3
Ckpt.
2 Multidimensional 5.6 P1 Selection sort complete
1.2
Arrays
1.4 Performance Ckpt.
2 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 P1 Writeup begun
Analysis 1.3
Feb. 9 PROJECT DEADLINE Project 1
Ckpt.
3 1.5 Linked Lists 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 Arrays Quiz
1.4
3 1.6 Linked Lists
Project 2
Iteration,
P2 append_element, __str__
4 Exceptions, and
complete with testing
Testing
Overview
 P2 insert_element_at,
Ckpt. get_element_at,
4 2.1 Stacks 6.1, 7.1.1
1.6 remove_element_at complete
with testing
P2 __iter__, __next__
Ckpt. complete with testing;
5 2.3 Recursion Ch. 4 Linked Lists Quiz
2.1 P2 Applications complete; all
bugs fixed
6.2, 6.3,
2.2 Queues and Ckpt.
5 7.1.2, 7.2.2,
Deques 2.3
7.3.2
Mar. 2 PROJECT DEADLINE Project 2
P3 Array_Deque including
Project 3 Ckpt.
6 __grow complete with test Stacks Quiz
Overview 2.2
cases.
P3 Linked_List errors fixed,
2.4 Queue
6 Linked_List_Deque complete
Statistics
with test cases.
Ckpt. P3 Stack, Queue complete
7 3.1 Binary Trees Ch. 8 Recursion Quiz
2.4 with test cases.
3.2 Binary Ckpt.
7 Ch. 8, 11.1
Search Trees 3.1
Project 4 Ckpt.
8 P3 Applications complete.
Overview 3.2
9.1, 9.2,
8 3.3 Heaps
9.3, 9.4
Mar.
PROJECT DEADLINE Project 3
30
P4 insert_element and Expression Trees and
3.4 Huffman Academic Ckpt.
9 in_order complete with Binary Search Trees
Trees Paper 3.3
in_order test cases Quiz
3.5 Balanced 11.3,
Ckpt. P4 pre_order, post_order
9 Binary Search Academic
3.4 complete with test cases
Trees Paper
3.5 Balanced P4 remove_element,
Ckpt.
10 Binary Search get_height complete with
3.5
Trees get_height test cases
Catch
10 P4 remove_element test cases
up/Review
Apr.
PROJECT DEADLINE Project 4 Milestone
13
Catch P4 __balance single rotations
11
up/Review complete with test cases
P4 __balance double rotations
11 4.1 Hash Tables 10.2
complete with test cases
Ckpt. P4 to_list, applications Balanced Binary
12 4.2 B+Trees 15.3
4.1 complete Search Trees Quiz
Catch Ckpt.
12
up/Review 4.2
Apr.
PROJECT DEADLINE Project 4 Final
27
Data Structures
13
in the Wild
 Final Exam
13
Review Session
May 5 Section 03 FINAL EXAM 0900—1200
May 5 Section 01 FINAL EXAM 1400—1700
May 6 Section 04 FINAL EXAM 1400—1700
May
Section 02 FINAL EXAM 1400—1700
12