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Welcome to CS 261: Data Structures (Online)

The purpose of this course is to develop your knowledge and understanding of data structures. The course was intentionally designed so that, at the end of the term, you will be able to do the following:

• Describe the properties, interfaces, and behaviors of basic abstract data types, such as collection, bag, indexed collection, sorted collection, stack, and queue.
• State the asymptotic time complexity of the fundamental operations associated with a variety of data structures, such as vector, linked list, tree, and heap.
• Recall the space utilization of common data structures in terms of the long-term storage needed to maintain the structure, as well as the short-term memory requirements of fundamental operations, such as sorting.
• Design and implement general-purpose, reusable data structures that implement one or more abstractions.
• Compare and contrast the operations of common data structures (such as linear structures, priority queues, tree structures, hash tables, maps, and graphs) in terms of time complexity, space utilization, and the abstract data types they implement.
• Read an algorithm or program code segment that contains iterative constructs and analyze the asymptotic time complexity of the algorithm or code segment.

We call this list the Course Learning Objectives. We recommend that you periodically revisit this list throughout the term to check your progress on developing your knowledge and these skills.

Course Structure

We structured the course around the Course Learning Objectives above. We will present the material and assess your learning in multiple ways, including the following:

• Weekly readings
• Explorations and Video lectures
• Written and Programming assignments (completed individually)
• Quizzes

Note: There will be no exams in this course that need to be proctored.

Your Instructional Team

Instructor:

Randy Scovil (randy.scovil@oregonstate.edu)                                                                  

Hey there, I'm Randy Scovil and I will be your instructor tonight (and all quarter) for CS 261 - Data Structures.  This is a crucial course that I'm very familiar with and I think you'll find it very valuable!

I recently joined the Ecampus program but I am not new to teaching.  I have been teaching Computer Science in any/all modalities for over 20 years.  I've taught a variety of courses for majors, support courses, GE -  you name it.  I do have to say that this one of my favorites though so I'm pretty excited that they gave me this course!

I've also worked with many students who were preparing to transfer or just had, so I definitely understand that point of view (plus I transferred a couple times during my college years and changed majors.)  I've taught at a university as well as a couple community colleges so I have been fortunate to work with students from a wide range of backgrounds but with common objectives.

I have a M.S. in Computer Science from Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo) where I started my teaching career as a graduate student.  I also have a B.A. in Telecommunications and Film from San Diego State University with a minor in History (I switched from a CS major but returned to it in grad school.)

I also spent many years in the broadcast industry, primarily working in music (rock and alternative) and sports radio.  I was very involved in programming and marketing stations in addition to my on-air work.  I also did radio play-by-play for Cal Poly for many years (that and teaching paid for grad school.)

Therefore it's no surprise that I really enjoy music and sports.  I'm looking forward to adopting the Beavers as my latest team!  My radio work gave me the opportunity to travel and live across the country, and I also enjoy traveling internationally (that's me on Omaha Beach on a rather windy day - I did not wade ashore.)  So wherever you may be, I may have been there.

This course really is the "keys to the kingdom" for Computer Science and is a great on-ramp to your upper division work.  You'll get a great feel for using and choosing data structures.  You'll also get a feel for how they are implemented and start to see the kinds of quality code you are capable of writing.  It will definitely help open up how you see the field and see things not just in terms of tasks but also your data.