Course

Data Structures & Algorithms

Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Department
Computing Studies & Information Systems
Course code
CSIS 3475
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 Weeks
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Lab
Seminar
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
The purpose of this course is to provide the students with solid foundations in the basic concepts of programming: data structures, data abstraction and algorithms. The main objective of the course is to teach the students how to select, design and implement data structures, abstract data types and algorithms that are appropriate for problems that they might encounter. This course offers the students a mixture of theoretical knowledge and practical experience. It also develops skills of the modular approach to produce maintainable, documented and tested Java applications. Java is the programming language used for implementation.
Course content

  • Review of Java including Classes, Interfaces, Inheritance, Exception handling and Text I/O

  • Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithm using Java

  • Algorithm Analysis

  • Recursion and efficiency

  • Search and Sorting Algorithms

  • Generics, Abstract Data Type and Java Collection Framework

  • List and Linked List

  • Stacks and Queues

  • Trees, Binary Tree, Binary Search Tree and AVL trees

  • Priority Queues and Heap

  • Hashing and Dictionary

  • Graph Algorithms

  • Algorithm Design Techniques

Learning activities

Lecture, seminars and hands-on exercises in the lab (Group work may be involved)

 

 

Means of assessment

Quizzes/Tests

0% – 15%

Project/Assignments (Group work may be involved)

15% – 25%

Midterm Exam

30% – 35%    

Final Exam*

30% – 40%

Total

100%

 

 

 

 

 

*Will contain min 50% practical hands-on computer programming exam

In order to pass the course, students must, in addition to receiving an overall course grade of 50%, also achieve a grade of at least 50% on the combined weighted examination components (including quizzes, tests, and exams).

Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.

 

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, the successful student will be able to:

  • Discuss the fundamentals of algorithmic complexities;
  • Carry out an elementary analysis of algorithms;
  • Determine the space and time complexity of an algorithm;
  • Identify and select the appropriate abstract data types such as queues, stacks for a small but realistic problem;
  • Demonstrate more in-depth applications of other data types such as trees and graphs;
  • Design and implement different Java programs using appropriate data structures;
  • Apply problem solving approaches such as “divide and conquer” in designing algorithms;
  • Explain and compare some of the fundamental searching and sorting techniques and algorithms;
  • Develop the skills of the modular approach to produce maintainable, documented, and tested software of a realistic size using Java.
Textbook materials

Prichard and Carrano, Data Abstraction and Problem Solving with Java: Walls and Mirrors, Latest edition,

Or any alternative textbook approved by the Department.

Requisites

Prerequisites

Min C in (CSIS 1275 or CSIS 2175)

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:

  • No equivalency courses

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers to Other Institutions

Below are current transfer agreements from Douglas College to other institutions for the current course guidelines only. For a full list of transfer details and archived courses, please see the BC Transfer Guide.

Institution Transfer details for CSIS 3475
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU INFO 2315 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG CPSC 1160 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU CMPT 225 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU COMP 2230 (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC CPSC 281 (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV COMP 251 (3)

Course Offerings

Fall 2025

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
7
Remaining seats:
28
On waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N6109
Times:
Start Time
9:30
-
End Time
12:20
CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
15
Remaining seats:
20
On waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N6109
Times:
Start Time
9:30
-
End Time
12:20