Class 24: Project Discussion: Specifications

Held Friday, March 3, 2000

Overview

Today we begin to consider issues in the integration of the various project components. We do this so that we can ensure that everyone understands what everyone else is doing and therefore can rely on their work.

Notes

• Please be careful about spelling. I've seen a lot of misspellings of parameter (and a number of other words) lately.
• Today's outline is both intentionally and unintentionally sketchy. Preparing assignment 3 took much longer than I'd expected.
• Note that I'll be distributing exam 2 next Wednesday. It will be due just hours before spring break.
• Assigned:
  • Prepare revised specifications, based on today's discussion. (Due a week from Monday.) Formal description available this Monday.
  • Assignment 3: Algorithm design and analysis (when do you want this due: next Wednesday, a week from Monday, or a week from Tuesday?)

Contents

• Box Packing, Revisited
• Dynamic Programming
• Project Narrative

Summary

• Box packing, continued
• Project narrative
  • See documents

Box Packing, Revisited

Dynamic Programming

• The idea of putting previously computed values in a table is called dynamic programming.
• There are many times in which dynamic programming is useful in algorithm design.
• Note that you now know four algorithm design strategies:
  • divide and conquer
  • dynamic programming
  • exhaustive search (which is often used in conjunction with dynamic programming)
  • greed

Project Narrative

• We'll attempt to bounce the narrative between the groups, thereby clarifying the various parts of the program.
• Note that I literally wanted many of the groups to write Java interfaces, as in

  public interface Player {
    ...
  }