CS207 – Discrete Structures

Course description – The course is one of the most important building blocks of Computer Science. It teaches you how to think mathematically in terms of detailed proofs. The concepts taught in CS207 are central to the understanding of Computer Science and problem solving. Discrete structures is slightly different from the usual mathematics that students are used to. It involves rigorous proof techniques, theorems and results which are applicable to a wide variety of situations. The main topics include:

1. Proofs and structures
2. Counting and combinatorics
3. Elements of graph theory
4. Introduction to abstract algebra and number theory

Course pattern and logistics – There are 4 quizzes, a midsem and an endsem. The weightages depend on the instructor. Generally, quizzes are 7.5% each (25% overall), midsem is 35% and endsem is 40%. In the past 2 years, it has been seen that quizzes are slightly harder than the midsem and the endsem

Comments on the instructor – Professor Akshay S was the instructor for the course in Fall 2014 and 2015. He is an excellent instructor who has a brilliant understanding of the subject. The best part about him is that he is enthusiastic about the course and he actually wants the students to learn. He personally attends the tutorials and tries his best to ensure that each student is understanding the topic. Definitely, one of the best instructors our department has.

Who will find it interesting – Anyone who has interest in Mathematics and Computer Science will find the course interesting. The course offered by Prof. Akshay isn't open for non-CSE students. The non-CSE students can join the minor course offered separately. Note that this course is a bit heavy and demands your time. So, don't take this course if you are looking for a light course in which you can doze off during the lecture.

MG 401 Marketing Management

Course Description:

Highly interactive and fun course.

As the course continues, there will be a lot of presentations by the students which are really informative

Course Pattern and Logistics:

Course contains a crossword quiz, midsem, endsem, presentation and survey. Exams are very easy if you follow classes and are generally objective (except one essay). Time management is definitely not an issue during the examination. Chill grading!

Comments on the Instructor:

Prof. Arti Kalro taught the course. She is really good instructor who makes sure each and everyone understands the concepts in the class. She makes students present about different companies in almost every class. This will definitely improve your knowledge base.

Who will find it interesting:

Students interested in entrepreneurship will find this course interesting. Course focuses on situation analysis (5C’s), market opportunity identification and formulating marketing strategy. It also involves market segmentation, targeting and positioning, pricing decisions.

CS 317 - Databases

Course Description:

Course is divided into two sections, externals and internals.

Externals mainly deals with SQL which is used to query the information present in the database.

Internals part of the course describes how data is stored in the disks and how a query is processed and optimized which is used to fetch data from the disks.

Course Pattern and Logistics:

Externals is taught in the first half of semester and internals in the latter half with one quiz (7.5% weightage) in each half of the semester. 10% weightage is given to a reading assignment which requires us to read about newly developed database systems. Prof allows us to take printed slides into the examination hall but the exams are generally lengthier and hence, slides are barely useful (you’ll have to study). Attendance isn’t mandatory and chill grading (In our batch, n(AA) > n(x) for all x != AA)

Comments on the Instructor:

Prof. Sarda taught us. He is a very sensible person who teaches very patiently even if a single person in the complete class listens to him.

Who will find it interesting:

Students who are interested in developing different apps must (and should) find the first half of the course interesting as SQL is widely used in applications. Students who are interested in the following questions will find the 2nd half of the course interesting.

1. How is data stored in the disks ensuring reliability and speed?
2. How can two tables joined while answering a query which contains JOIN?
3. How can we optimize complex queries to reduce the number of seeks and block transfers from the disk?
4. How can we deal with simultaneous bank transactions ensuring consistency?
5. What is the backup mechanism to store all the updates made in the database?

CS 215 (Data Analysis and Interpretation)

Instructor : Ganesh Ramakrishnan

Course Description : This course deals with various topics including

• Summary statistics
• Relationship between variables
• Regression
• Basics of probability
• Basics of probability and Probability distributions
• Sampling statistics
• Confidence intervals and parameter distribution
• Hypothesis testing

Reference Book - Introduction to probability and statistics by Sheldon Ross

Logistics :

• Three hours of lecture and one tutorial per week
• Grading - 2 quizzes, midsem, endsem, 2 assignments and project (using scilab), class participation
• Difficulty - 2/5
• Closed Notes/books exams

Comments on Instructor : The instructor likes the class to be interactive and there are marks for class participation as well. Good study material and references will be made available by the instructor. The instructor is very punctual but the lectures will run at slightly sluggish pace.

Who will find it interesting : Students who are interested in Machine Learning, NLP, Data mining will find contents of this course useful and relevant.

CS 228 (Logic for CS)

Instructor : Krishna S

Course Description : This course on logic covers various topics which include

• First order logic
• DFA and NFA
• Second order logic
• Soundness and completeness of first order and second order logics
• Propositional logic syntax and semantics
• Natural deduction
• Conjunctive normal forms, satisfiability and validity of propositional formulae
• Horn clauses and satisfiability
• Resolution

Logistics :

• Three hours of lectures and one tutorial per week
• Exams are closed book
• Difficulty - 3/5
• Grading - 3 quizzes, midsem and endsem, few surprise tests

Comments on Instructor : Excellent lecture slides will be made available by the instructor. The instructor likes the class to be interactive, often calls up students to solve some exercises during the class hours. Despite having interest in course and students learning, the course was not managed properly by the instructor (spring 2014), with too much emphasis on some particular topics. Also, lots of extra lectures were scheduled, as the instructor was busy during some originally scheduled slots for lectures. With proper management of course and lectures, this course can become one of the most interesting courses during our four year stay at IIT

Who will find it interesting : This course is relevant to a broad range of pursuits. Almost every cse undergraduate will find the course contents interesting. Some of these course contents will be useful in Artificial Intelligence field as well.

CS 218 (Design and Analysis of Algorithms)

Instructor : Abhiram Ranade

Course Description : This course on algorithms covers various topics which include

• Framework for algorithm analysis, worst case and average case analysis
• Divide and Conquer technique
• Dynamic programming
• Greedy Algorithms
• NP hard and NP complete set of problems
• Reduction of one class of problems to another

Reference books - Algorithm design by Kleinberg & Tardos, Introduction to Algorithms by CLRS (cormen, leiserson, rivest, stein)

Logistics :

• Three hours of lectures per week

• Grading - 3 or 4 quizzes, midsem and endsem, few home assignments
• Closed notes/book examination
• Difficulty - 3/5
• No compulsory attendance, but prof expects everyone to attend classes.
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Comments on Instructor : Instructor is very much interested in students learning and punctual. Proper study material will be made available by the instructor. His teaching will be done at a pace such that even a below par student will be able to grasp most of the things taught, however this makes some students feel that he goes on very slowly in covering the syllabus.

Who will find it interesting : Any student who found Data Structures (cs 213) course interesting, will most probably like this course. Also people who are interested in pursuing algorithm related research can find the area of their interest by the end of this course.

CS 416 - Network security and cryptography

Instructor - Prof Bernard L Menezes

Course Content: This course covers basics mathematical background for Cryptography, Different type of Ciphers , Secret Key Cryptography and attacks on it, Public Key cryptography and attacks on it , RSA , Cryptographic hash , Discrete Logarithms and applications , AES ( advance Encryption Standards) , Different type of authentications , protocols for authentication , Denial of service and Distributed Denial of service , session hijacking and spoofing, buffer overflow, Viruses worms and other malware , Intrusion prevention and detection.

Logistics : Three quizzes(15% each) , One end-sem(40%) and some assignments(15%)

Comments on Instructor: Prof Bernard teaches in a different way. He shows demos of the various attacks. The assignments is designed in such a way that they are solved practically. This way he ensures practical knowledge in his course as well.

Who will find it interesting: People who like to hack and so such stuff will find interesting. People who are attached with puzzles to solves and ciphers to decode and find the cryptography part very interesting.