Programming and Computation II: Data Structures

Catalog description

This course builds upon the foundations of programming and computation by introducing and studying the data structures and programming language features that support the design and construction of large-scale software systems. It introduces the foundations of object-oriented programming, the design and analysis of efficient algorithms using important data structures, and programming techniques that support reusable and modular program components, including data abstraction, polymorphism, and higher-order functions. Topics from object-oriented programming include classes, objects, inheritance, methods, message passing, static and dynamic type checking. These topics form the core of most object-oriented languages and provide a foundation for learning more advanced language topics. Data structures capture the common organization of many kinds of data arising in the design of efficient solutions to computational problems. Specific data structures covered include stacks, queues, trees, graphs and linked lists. The design and analysis of efficient algorithms using these data structures provide a foundation for the study of computing, where understanding the complexity of a problem and the availability of efficient solutions are essential skills. Finally, topics including higher-order functional programming, data abstraction and parametric polymorphism, as well as principles from object-oriented programming, come together to support the design and implementation of modular, reusable and robust code.