Notice
As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.
To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.
Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor
Gaurav Gupta
To be advised via iLearn
Lecturer
Daniel Sutantyo
To be advised via iLearn
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above including (COMP2010 or COMP225) and (MATH2907 or DMTH237)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit covers general issues of the theory of computation and algorithm design, including computability and complexity. The general principles are illustrated by designing several very efficient algorithms with applications in telecommunication networks, cryptography and other important fields. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
No extensions will be granted without an approved application for Special Consideration. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late. For example, 25 hours late in submission for an assignment worth 10 marks – 20% penalty or 2 marks deducted from the total. No submission will be accepted after the solutions have been posted.
If you receive Special Consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled after the normal exam period, following the release of marks. By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments. Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. Approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Final Examination | 30% | No | Exam Period |
In-term tests | 20% | No | Test 1: Wk8, Test 2: Wk13 |
Weekly exercises | 10% | No | Weeks 1 to 10 |
Assignments | 40% | No | A1: Wk5, A2: Recess, A3: Wk11, A4: Wk13 |
Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Exam Period
Weighting: 30%
The final examination will be a three-hour examination (closed book) held during the usual University examination period and will cover all topics.
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Test 1: Wk8, Test 2: Wk13
Weighting: 20%
There will be two short in-term tests to assess the understanding of the course material from the preceding weeks. The questions should be similar in nature to the ones that will be discussed during the workshops.
Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Weeks 1 to 10
Weighting: 10%
A set of exercises will be made available online every week to be discussed during the workshop, starting from Week 1. You will be expected to attempt and submit a selection of questions for your homework each week.
For each submission, a mark of out of 1 will be given, and your total mark for this assessment will be the total sum of your submission marks to a maximum of 10 (there may be more than 10 submissions throughout the semester).
Assessment Type 1: Programming Task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 32 hours
Due: A1: Wk5, A2: Recess, A3: Wk11, A4: Wk13
Weighting: 40%
There will be four assignments that assess students' ability to design and implement the algorithms covered during the session.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Materials for COMP3010 will be mainly presented through a combination of online lectures and video presentations. The lectures introduce the weekly topic at a more general level and present an opportunity to have live discussions on the content. The video presentations will cover the topics in greater details, such as the working out of an example or solutions to tutorial problems, and can be watched at your own pace.
Each week, there will also be a two-hour workshop class where you should attempt a set of questions based on the week's topic under the guidance of the tutor. The workshop also gives you a chance to discuss any course-related problem you may have with the tutor and your peers. A submission question will also be made available every week which must be handed in on the Saturday following your workshop. It is important that you keep up with the problems in your workshop classes as doing so will help you understand the material in the unit and prepare you for your assignments, tests and final exam.
The following textbooks are not required for COMP3010, but are highly recommended as we will use them as the basis for most of the course.
Both textbooks are available online via the library website.
The coding component for this course will be presented using the Java programming language using Eclipse IDE as the recommended development environment. You are also expected to use git version control for parts of the course.
The following is the provisional schedule of topics and assessments, which may be subject to further adjustments.
Week | Topic | Readings | Assessment Due |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Algorithm Design and Analysis | CLRS Chapter 1-3, Skiena Chapter 1-2, 10 | |
2 | Algorithm Correctness | Skiena Chapter 1 | |
3 | Brute-Force Methods | Skiena Chapter 7 | |
4 | Dynamic Programming | CLRS Chapter 15, Skiena Chapter 8 | |
5 | Greedy Algorithms | CLRS Chapter 16 | Assignment 1 |
6 | Divide-and-Conquer Algorithms | CLRS Chapter 4 | |
7 | String Algorithms | CLRS Chapters 15-16 and 32 | |
Recess | Assignment 2 | ||
8 | Probabilistic Algorithms | CLRS Chapter 5 | Class Test 1 |
9 | Graph Algorithms | CLRS Chapters 24-26, Skiena Chapter 6 | |
10 | Miscellaneous Topics | (to be advised) | |
11 | Computational Complexity I | Skiena Chapter 9, CLRS Chapter 34 | Assignment 3 |
12 | Computational Complexity II | Skiena Chapter 9, CLRS Chapter 34 | |
13 | Revision | Assignment 4, Class Test 2 |
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Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
In the previous offering there were only two coding assignments but each assignment had multiple components. In this year's offering, we elected to formally break these down into separate assignments to spread the workload over the semester. In terms of material, we are reducing the discussion on computational complexity in order to spend more time on discussing more practical algorithms in earlier weeks.