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This assignment achieves the Learning Outcomes of:
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1) Analyse general problem solving strategies and algorithmic paradigms, and apply them to solving new problems;
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2) Prove correctness of programs, analyse their space and time complexities;
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3) Compare and contrast various abstract data types and use them appropriately;
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4) Develop and implement algorithms to solve computational problems.
In addition, you will develop the following employability skills:
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Text comprehension.
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Designing test cases.
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Ability to follow specififications precisely.
Assignment timeline
In order to be successful in this assessment, the following steps are provided as a suggestion.
This is an approach which will be useful to you both in future units, and in industry.
Planning
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Read the assignment specifification as soon as possible and write out a list of questions you have about it.
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Clarify these questions. You can go to a consultation, talk to your tutor, discuss the tasks with friends or ask in the forums.
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As soon as possible, start thinking about the problems in the assignment.
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It is strongly recommended that you do not write code until you have a solid feeling for how the problem works and how you will solve it.
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Writing down small examples and solving them by hand is an excellent tool for coming to a better understanding of the problem.
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As you are doing this, you will also get a feel for the kinds of edge cases your code will have to deal with.
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Write down a high level description of the algorithm you will use.
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Determine the complexity of your algorithm idea, ensuring it meets the requirements.
Implementing
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Think of test cases that you can use to check if your algorithm works.
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Use the edge cases you found during the previous phase to inspire your test cases.
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It is also a good idea to generate large random test cases.
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Sharing test cases is allowed, as it is not helping solve the assignment.
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Code up your algorithm (remember decomposition and comments), and test it on the tests you have thought of.
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Try to break your code. Think of what kinds of inputs you could be presented with which your code might not be able to handle.
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Large inputs
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Small inputs
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Inputs with strange properties
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What if everything is the same?
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What if everything is difffferent?
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etc…
Before submission
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Make sure that the input/output format of your code matches the specifification.
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Make sure your fifilenames match the specifification.
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Make sure your functions are named correctly and take the correct inputs.
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Make sure you zip your fifiles correctly (if required).
Documentation
For this assignment (and all assignments in this unit) you are required to document and comment your code appropriately. This documentation/commenting must consist of (but is not limited to):
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For each function, high-level description of that function. This should be a two or three sentence explanation of what this function does and the approach undertaken within the function.
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For each function, specify what the input to the function is, and what output the function produces or returns (if appropriate).
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For each function, the Big-O time and space complexity of that function, in terms of the input size. Make sure you specify what the variables involved in your complexity refer
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Remember that the complexity of a function includes the complexity of any function calls it makes.
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Within functions, comments where appropriate. Generally speaking, you would comment complicated lines of code (which you should try to minimise) or a large block of code which performs a clear and distinct task (often blocks like this are good candidates to be their own functions!).