Greedy Algorithms, Minimum Spanning Trees, and Dynamic Programming (Coursera)

The primary topics in this part of the specialization are: greedy algorithms (scheduling, minimum spanning trees, clustering, Huffman codes) and dynamic programming (knapsack, sequence alignment, optimal search trees).

Who is this class for: Learners with at least a little bit of programming experience who want to learn the essentials of algorithms. In a University computer science curriculum, this course is typically taken in the third year.

Course 3 of 4 in the Algorithms Specialization.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Two motivating applications; selected review; introduction to greedy algorithms; a scheduling application; Prim’s MST algorithm.

Graded: Problem Set #1

Graded: Programming Assignment #1

WEEK 2

Kruskal’s MST algorithm and applications to clustering; advanced union-find (optional).

Graded: Problem Set #2

Graded: Programming Assignment #2

WEEK 3

Huffman codes; introduction to dynamic programming.

Graded: Problem Set #3

Graded: Programming Assignment #3

WEEK 4

Advanced dynamic programming: the knapsack problem, sequence alignment, and optimal binary search trees.

Graded: Problem Set #4

Graded: Programming Assignment #4

Graded: Final Exam