UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

CS 105 Introduction to Scientific Computing (2-2-3) This is a first course in 
computer programming for students with no prior experience. Students will learn 
the core process of programming: given a problem statement, how does one design 
an algorithm to solve that particular problem and then implement the algorithm 
in a computer program? The course will also introduce elementary programming 
concepts like basic control concepts (such as conditional statements and loops) 
and a few essential data types (e.g., integers and doubles). Exposure to 
programming will be through a self-contained user-friendly programming 
environment, widely used by the scientific and engineering communities, such as 
Matlab. The course will cover problems from all fields of science, engineering 
and business.

CS 115 Introduction to Computer Science (3-2-4) An introduction to the basic 
concepts of computer systems and programming for students with prior exposure to 
imperative programming. The course focuses on algorithmic thinking and problem 
solving. An intensive lab augments the classroom exercises with hands-on 
programming projects. Topics covered include: the concept of an algorithm; 
typing and type checking; how elementary data types are represented inside a 
computer; how a program executes (fetch-execute cycle, activation records, 
pointers); recursion and induction; elementary data structures (string, array, 
stack, list); introduction to sorting and searching; time and space complexity; 
concepts of object-oriented programming: object, reference, method, class and 
inheritance; software design concepts: modularity, encapsulation, interface; and 
formal reasoning about programs. There will be regular programming assignments 
to be done in Java. Prerequisite: substantial high school exposure to C++, Java, 
or some other major imperative programming language.

CS 181 Introduction to Computer Science Honors I (3-2-4) Getting acquainted with 
C++: data types, input and output, functions, writing simple C++ programs, flow 
control, Boolean expressions, decision statements, if/then, switch/case. Loop 
operations, while, do/while and for loops. Arrays and pointers. Defining structs 
and classes, constructors and destructors, operator overloading using an example 
String class. Templates. Abstract data types: vectors, lists, stacks, queues, 
priority trees with applications. Trees, simple sorting with searching 
algorithms. By invitation only. Students who complete this class are exempt from 
CS 115 and CS 284.

CS 182 Introduction to Computer Science Honors II (4-0-4) An overview of the C++ 
language. Algorithm design and computational complexity. Abstract data types. 
Review of fundamental data structures: vectors, lists, stacks and queues. Trees 
and binary trees. Heaps and priority queues with applications. Dictionaries with 
applications. Implementation of dictionaries using binary search trees, AVL 
trees and red-black trees. Sorting algorithms. Graphs and networks with 
applications. Graph implementations, depth-first and breadth-first searching 
with applications. Other graph algorithms. Students who complete this class are 
exempt from CS 385. Prerequisite: CS 181 and permission of the instructor.

CS 284 Data Structures and Algorithms (3-0-3) This course is a continuation of 
CS 115, focusing on data structures and algorithms, including their design, 
analysis and implementation. Students will learn elementary and intermediate 
data structures like priority queues, heaps, and binary trees. The course 
provides a more in-depth, rigorous coverage of basic design principles like 
recursion. The course will also cover asymptotic run-time analysis and present, 
in that context, more advanced sorting and searching algorithms. Emphasis will 
be placed on implementation in Java. Prerequisite: CS 115 or CS 181. 
Corequisite: Ma 134.

CS 335 Computational Structures (3-0-3) This course uses functional programming 
to study discrete mathematics, building on Ma 134. It begins with an 
introduction to a small subset of a functional language used in the course to 
explore examples and implement some basic algorithms. Operations on relations 
are explored by the use of lists to represent finite sets, functions and 
relations, as well as operations of composition, transitive closure, direct 
image, etc. Some algebraic structures, such as monoids and semirings, are 
introduced; lists and relations are used as primary examples of monoids; and 
trees are introduced as inductive data types. Other topics: structural recursion 
and induction; abstract syntax as data type; interpreters for simple languages 
(monoid expressions; Boolean expressions; integer expressions; relational 
expressions) without variable binding; inductively defined relations; transition 
rules for configurations of simple machine; partial orders and lattices; simple 
abstract interpretations of expressions; equational logic. Prerequisite: Ma 134.

CS 381 Switching Theory and Logical Design (3-0-3) Digital systems; number 
systems and codes; Boolean algebra; application of Boolean algebra to switching 
circuits; minimization of Boolean functions using algebraic, Karnaugh map and 
tabular methods; design of combinational circuits; programmable logic devices; 
sequential circuit components; design and analysis of synchronous and 
asynchronous sequential circuits. Cross-listed with CpE 358. Prerequisite: CS 
115 or CS 181.

CS 383 Computer Organization and Programming (3-0-3) Basic structure of the 
stored program computer, addressing methods and program sequencing, instruction 
sets and their implementation, the CPU and microprogrammed control, input/output 
organization, peripherals and interfacing and main memory. Detailed study of a 
small machine. Assignments are devoted to assembly language programming. 
Prerequisite: CS 181 or CS 284.

CS 385 Advanced Data Structures and Object Oriented Design (3-0-3) This course 
will cover advanced data structures like sets, balanced trees and graphs, and 
their associated algorithms, while also focusing on essential principles of 
object oriented programming like classes, inheritance and polymorphism. Students 
will learn how to design classes for implementing advanced data structures and 
their operations. Students will also learn how tools of objected-oriented design 
provide for safe code reuse when implementing new data structures. The course 
will provide a more in-depth, rigorous presentation of asymptotic run-time 
analysis. Emphasis will be placed on implementation in C++. Prerequisite: CS 
284.

CS 392 Systems Programming (3-0-3) Introduction to systems programming in C++ on 
UNIX. Students will be introduced to GNU tools for compilation, dynamic linking, 
debugging, editing, automatic rebuilding, version control, and parser creation. 
Some aspects of the UNIX system call interface will be studied, drawn from this 
list: process creation, signals, terminal I/O, file I/O, inter-process 
communication, and threads. Style issues to be covered include: naming, layout, 
commenting, portability, design for robustness and debugability and language 
pitfalls. X programming and GUI design will be covered if time allows. 
Programming assignments will be given weekly. Prerequisites: CS 383 and either 
CS 385 or CS 182.

CS 393 Web Programming (3-0-3) Introduction to Internet programming. Covers how 
the Internet works, the basics of HTML, and how to create advanced web sites 
using PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript. The course also places importance on 
presentations and team work. Prerequisite: CS 385 or CS 182.

CS 434 Theory of Computation (3-0-3) Introduction to the mathematical theory of 
computation. A number of models of computation are considered, as well as their 
relation to various problem classes (e.g. solvable problems, polynomial time 
solvable problems). Topics relevant to computer science such as the theory of 
formal languages and low complexity classes are particularly emphasized. 
Prerequisite: CS 335 and Ma 134.

CS 437 Interactive Computer Graphics (3-0-3) A comprehensive introduction to the 
field of Computer Graphics. Students study the conceptual framework for 
interactive computer graphics: transformations, viewing, shading, clipping, 
rasterization, curves and surfaces, selected topics. OpenGL is used as an 
application-programming interface. Prerequisite: CS 385 or CS 182.

CS 442 Database Management Systems (3-1-4) Introduction to the design of 
relational databases and the use of standard relational query languages. Topics 
include: relational schemas; keys and foreign key references; relational algebra 
(as an introduction to SQL); SQL; Entity-Relationship (ER) database design; 
translating from ER models to relational schemas and from relational schemas to 
ER models; functional dependencies; normalization. Prerequisite: CS 385 or CS 
182.

CS 482 Artificial Intelligence (3-0-3) An introduction to the large and diverse 
field of artificial intelligence. Topics include: problem solving by search and 
constraint satisfaction; alpha-beta search for two-player games; logic and 
knowledge representation, planning, learning, decision theory, statistical 
learning, computer vision. Prerequisite: CS 385 or 182.

CS 487 Digital System Design (3-0-3) Digital design concepts, building blocks 
for digital systems and digital system organization. Design of combinational 
logic circuits and arithmetic functions. Approaches to sequential circuit 
design, separation of data and control, the algorithmic state machine. System 
controller design: System controllers using MSI/LSI circuits. Clocks and timing. 
Asynchronous systems design. Metastability and reliability. Cross-listed with 
CpE 487. Prerequisite: CS 381.

CS 488 Computer Architecture (3-0-3) An introduction to the functional level 
structure of modern pipelined processors and the empirical and analytic 
evaluation of their performance. Topics include: empirical and analytic 
techniques for measuring performance (use of various means, Amdahl's Law, 
benchmarks); tradeoff analysis; principles of instruction set design and 
evaluation (memory addressing, operations, types and sizes of operands, 
instruction set encoding, CISC vs. RISC and related compilation issues); 
pipelining (basics, data hazards, control hazards); memory systems. 
Prerequisite: CS 383. Corequisite: Ma 222.

CS 492 Operating Systems (3-0-3) The use and internals of modern operating 
systems. Lectures focus on internals whereas programming assignments focus on 
use of the operating system interface. Major topics include: the process 
concept; concurrency and how to program with threads; memory management 
techniques including virtual memory and shared libraries; file system data 
structures; and I/O. Prerequisites: CS 383 and either CS 385 or CS 182.

CS 494 Compiler Design (3-0-3) Design and implementation of compilers, 
principles of languages translation. Each student implements a complete compiler 
for a small but substantial language. The stages of a compiler. Boot-strapping a 
compiler. Lexical analysis, regular expressions, finite state machines. 
Syntactic analysis, context free grammars, parsers. Semantic analysis, type 
checking, symbol tables. Syntax-directed translation. Data flow analysis, 
peephole optimization. Code generation. Prerequisite: CS 385 or CS 182.

CS 496 Programming Languages (3-0-3) An introduction to programming language 
design and implementation, with an emphasis on the abstractions provided by 
programming languages. Assignments include implementing one or more interpreters 
for simple procedural languages, in a functional language such as Scheme or ML. 
Recursive types and recursive functions; structural induction. Abstract data 
types. Abstract syntax. Implementing languages with interpreters. Static vs. 
dynamic scoping, closures, state. Exceptions. Types: type-checking, type 
inference, static vs. dynamic typing. Object-oriented languages: classes and 
interfaces, inheritance and subtyping. Polymorphism and genericity. 
Prerequisites: CS 335, CS 434, and either CS 385 or CS 182.

CS 498 Senior Research I (0-8-3) Individual research project under the guidance 
of a faculty member of the department, whose prior approval is required. Either 
a written report in acceptable journal format or the completion of a senior 
thesis, as well as an oral presentation, is required at the end of the project. 
Senior students only. CS 498 and CS 499 cannot be taken simultaneously.

CS 499 Senior Research II (0-8-3) Individual research project under the guidance 
of a faculty member of the department, whose prior approval is required. Either 
a written report in acceptable journal format or the completion of a senior 
thesis, as well as an oral presentation, is required at the end of the project. 
Senior students only. CS 498 and CS 499 cannot be taken simultaneously.