Announcements


  • Final assessment paper is available from the tutorial/assignments page.
  • Final Assessment Logistics:
    • Syllabus: Full syllabus
    • Time: Three hours (9am-noon ET) with an additional "penalty window" of 30 minutes (noon-12:30pm ET) which should be used primarily for creating a high-quality PDF.
      • Please note that the additional window is set as a "penalty window" in MarkUs. So any submissions uploaded during this window will generate a warning message stating that a penalty will be applied. However, the penalty is set at 0%, so you can ignore this message.
      • If you upload a PDF larger than 5MB, MarkUs may also generate a warning message. But as far as I have seen, the PDF still gets uploaded. So after you upload, please check if the PDF is uploaded correctly.
      • If all else fails, and only in that case, you should send me an email by 12:30pm ET with a single PDF of your solutions attached (and not linked).
    • Aids allowed: The three textbooks recommended on the course web page, any handwritten notes that you have personally written.
    • Aids NOT allowed: Internet (except for the Q&A zoom call and MarkUs), communications with anyone (except with the instructor and TAs)
    • Distribution of exam paper: A PDF of the exam paper will be made available on the course webpage.
      • Like a physical exam paper, the PDF will include blank space after each question where you can write solution to that question. This is to make it easier for you to print the test paper and write your solutions on it. However, you are also welcome to write your solutions on a blank piece of paper or on a device.
    • Submitting solutions: You must submit a single PDF to MarkUs. If you take a picture or scan, it is your responsibility to make sure that it is legible (illegible scans will risk receiving 0 marks).
    • Q&A Zoom Call: Link with the usual course password
    • Syllabus: Full syllabus
  • Assignment 3 solutions are posted.
  • A correction has been posted to Q3 of Assignment 4. Please check out the updated assignment from the assignments page.
  • Tutorial 10 is posted.
  • Tutorial 9 is posted.
  • The final assessment is scheduled for December 18 from 9am ET to 12pm ET. It will be synchronously conducted through MarkUs like the two midterms.
  • Midterm 1 marks are released. Due to the low class average and high difficulty of the midterm in hindsight, everyone has been awarded 5 bonus marks (handled in MarkUs through a separate marks spreadsheet titled "bonus-midterm1"). When you view your midterm 1 marks, you can mentally add 5 marks to it.
  • Logistical details of Midterm 2 (please read carefully):
    • TL;DR: Everything is identical to Midterm 1, except that the syllabus includes network flow + linear/integer programming + complexity and the exam duration is 4-6pm ET with an extra window of 6-6:20pm ET to help upload your solutions to MarkUs.
    • Syllabus: Network flow, linear/integer programming, complexity
    • Date: Nov 17, Tuesday
    • Time: Two hours (4-6pm ET) with an additional "penalty window" of 20 minutes (6-6:20pm ET) which should be used primarily for creating a high-quality PDF.
      • Please note that the 6-6:20pm window is set as a "penalty window" in MarkUs. So any submissions uploaded during this window will generate a warning message stating that a penalty will be applied. However, the penalty is set at 0%, so you can ignore this message.
      • If you upload a PDF larger than 5MB, MarkUs also generates a warning message. But as far as I have seen, the PDF still gets uploaded. So after you upload, please check if the PDF is uploaded correctly.
      • If all else fails, and only in that case, you should send me an email by 6:20pm ET with a single PDF of your solutions attached (and not linked).
    • Aids allowed: The three textbooks recommended on the course web page, any handwritten notes that you have personally written.
    • Aids NOT allowed: Internet (except for the Q&A zoom call and MarkUs), communications with anyone (except with the instructor and TAs)
    • Distribution of exam paper: A PDF of the exam paper will be made available in your MarkUs repository when the exam begins. While it will be named "midterm2.pdf" for everyone, note that there may be multiple versions of the exam, so make sure that you use the PDF from your own MarkUs repository.
    • Submitting solutions: You must submit a single PDF to MarkUs. If you take a picture or scan, it is your responsibility to make sure that it is legible.
      • Some students uploaded JPEGs for midterm 1, which forced me to check all the repositories, download the JPEGs, put them in a single PDF, and re-upload. This leads to delays in marking, which hurts the entire class. If you do this in midterm 2, you will be risking getting 0 marks.
      • Some students have uploaded PDFs with very low quality photos which make it impossible to read. This will also carry the risk (in fact, near certainty) of receiving 0 marks. You are supposed to stop writing at 6pm, which gives you enough time to take high-quality pictures.
    • Q&A Zoom Call:
      • Link (with the usual course password for zoom)
      • You must login using the same account that you use to attend lectures or tutorials. If you haven't attended any zoom lectures or tutorials so far, please email me ASAP with details of your zoom account so I can make sure you will be able to join this call.
      • Protocol: You are not required to be on this zoom call. But I (and possibly some TAs) will be available here to answer any clarification questions. When you have a question, raise your hand. Someone will take you to a breakout room, where you can unmute yourself and ask the question.
  • Solutions to assignment 2 are posted.
  • Practice midterms for midterm 2 are posted.
  • Assignment 3 is posted.
  • There will be no course activity (lectures, tutorials, or office hours) during the reading week (Nov 9-13). Midterm 2 will be on the Tuesday following the reading week (Nov 17). Details about Midterm 2 will be posted soon.
  • Tutorial 7 is posted.
  • Tutorial 6 is posted.
  • To prevent web crawlers from copying assignments and midterms, the tutorials-assignments page is now protected. The username is "csc373" and the password is the usual password you use to join the zoom calls for this course.
  • Midterm 1 solutions are uploaded. Check out the tutorials-assignments page.
  • Starting today (10/21), office hours will shift to Wed 10-11am ET and Fri 4-5pm ET.
  • Here are the final logistical details for Midterm 1 today. Please read carefully.
    • Method for distributing test papers:
      • The test paper will be made available in PDF format in your MarkUs repository when the test begins.
      • There may be multiple versions of the test, so do not obtain the test paper from a peer. They may have a different version assigned to them. Your solutions will be graded based on the version assigned to you.
      • When the test begins, login to your own MarkUs account, go to the assignment called "Midterm 1", and there will be a "midterm1.pdf" in your repository.
    • Uploading solutions:
      • Please write your name, student number, and UTORid at the top of the first page of your solutions.
      • Please make sure to upload a single PDF to MarkUs. You can name it whatever you want, e.g., "solutions.pdf".
    • Time:
      • Recognizing additional difficulties that the online nature may present, I am extending the test duration by 10 minutes.
      • The exam will start at 5pm ET and end at 6pm ET. You will then have extra 10 minutes (6-6:10pm ET) to work through any technical difficulties in uploading.
      • Please note that on MarkUs, I will set the deadline as 6pm ET and add a "penalty window" of 10 minutes with 0% penalty. This is to convey that, while you can upload solutions till 6:10pm ET without any penalty, this already includes extra time for any technical difficulties. Please make a first attempt to upload solutions by 6pm ET. If you encounter any difficulties and think you may not be able to resolve them in time, send me an email by 6:10pm ET attaching your PDF solutions (and not just a link to it). No need to email me if you already uploaded on MarkUs. If your solutions are neither uploaded nor emailed to me by 6:10pm ET, you will receive 0 marks.
      • We will end today's lecture (10/20) by 4:45pm ET. The zoom call (below) will start by 4:50pm ET. And the test paper will be made available in your MarkUs repository by 5pm ET.
    • Zoom Call:
      • Link
      • Password: the same as usual
      • You must login using the same account that you use to attend lectures or tutorials. If you haven't attended any zoom lectures or tutorials so far, please email me ASAP with details of your zoom account so I can make sure you will be able to join this call.
      • You can either stay on this call while you write the exam, or you can join only when you have a question. To minimize distraction, please keep both your video and audio muted.
      • When you have a question, raise your hand. You will be assigned to a breakout room (click Join when you receive the invitation). Then, either I or one of the TAs will join the breakout room. At this point, unmute and ask your questions.
      • If any clarifications need to be communicated to the entire class, these will be announced on the zoom call and a post will be made on Piazza.
    • For other details such as the syllabus and allowed aids, see below. Good luck!
  • Assignment 2 is posted.
  • Practice tests for midterm 1 uploaded. Check them out on the tutorial/assignment page.
  • Due to low tutorial attendance, starting Oct 13, we will divide each section into just two tutorials instead of three. Students with birth month in Jan-Jun should attend tutorial A of their section, and those with birth month in Jul-Dec should attend tutorial B of their section. Please do not join the links to tutorial C.
  • Tutorial 5 is posted.
  • Midterm 1 will be held on Oct 20 during the tutorial slot (5:10-6pm Eastern time), which will replace the regular tutorial. Please read the following details carefully. Please note that we are still navigating how to best conduct online exams. So this post will be updated with more details closer to the exam date.
    • Syllabus: Divide and conquer, greedy algorithms, dynamic programming
    • Format: You can keep with you the three textbooks recommended on the course web page along with any handwritten notes that you (and not your friends) have personally written. Accessing the internet (other than to obtain the test and upload your answers) or communicating with anyone (other than instructor/TAs to ask clarifications) is strictly prohibited. You will not be required to be on a zoom call, but there will be a zoom call where you can ask clarifications (see below).
    • Mode of submission: You will create a single PDF of your answers. You can either type them in LaTeX/Word or write them on blank sheets of papers and scan in high quality. You will then submit the single PDF on MarkUs.
    • Time: In addition to the 50 minutes of test time (5:10-6pm Eastern time), you will be given 10 extra minutes (6-6:10pm Eastern time) for scanning and uploading your answers. While you are free to use these additional minutes to also write answers, you are strongly encouraged to start the scanning process by 6pm as unanticipated technical difficulties may arise. You are responsible for managing your time.
    • Q&A: Instructor and/or TAs will be available on a zoom call during the test. If you have any clarification questions, you can join the zoom call and ask your questions. Alternatively, you can just continue to be on the zoom call with your mic muted (and speakers too, if you wish) for the entire test duration. More details will be provided here closer to the test date.
    • Rehearsal: We will conduct a rehearsal in the tutorial session on Oct 13 to make sure that everyone tries writing something, scanning, and uploading. This will help identify possible technical difficulties ahead of the actual exam.
  • Tutorial 4 is posted.
  • The office hour on 9/30 is shifted by 30 minutes to 4:30-5:30pm ET.
  • Assignment 1 is posted.
  • Tutorial 3 is posted.
  • New permanent links for tutorials are now available. Please check them out on the Course Info tab.
  • Tutorial 2 is posted.
  • There was a problem with the tutorial links. Please check Piazza for temporary link for this week's tutorials.
  • Tutorial 1 is posted.
  • Lectures for both sections (LEC 0101 and LEC 0102) will begin on Thursday Sep 10 at 1pm Eastern time. Registered students will soon receive the Zoom link via email.