Milestone map
Milestone map
2 milestones
Do the course work in public
4–8 weeks (4–8 hrs/week)
Take Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 1 for free and do the programming problems: sorting, divide and conquer, graph search, shortest paths. Keep everything in one public repo or notebook as you go. Certificates cost money. Audit is free; you never need the certificate here.
Proof required
Link your public repo or notebook with the programming problems: sorting, divide and conquer, graph search, shortest paths, and a screenshot or log showing the self-check passed.
What gets checked
- Each implementation passes the test cases.
- Running time is stated and matches the code.
- Code is yours (history, comments).
Common mistakes
- Copying posted answers: verifiers read the history.
- Skipping the self-check, then asking for review too early.
Powstik Guide
A public repo or notebook with the programming problems: sorting, divide and conquer, graph search, shortest paths.
Steps
- Make a public repo or notebook first.
- Do one unit at a time and commit after each.
- Run the self-check: Run your code on the book site's test cases before the big inputs.
- Write a short README: what is here and how to run it.
- Ask three people who know the topic to check it.
Template
README Course: Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 1 (Stanford on edX (free videos also at algorithmsilluminated.org)) What is here: How to run it: Self-check result: What was hardest:
What gets sent back
- No history, just one big upload.
- Self-check not shown.
- Code that does not run from the README.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Each implementation passes the test cases.
- Running time is stated and matches the code.
- Code is yours (history, comments).
- Ask one question about a choice in the code; the answer should be clear.
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
Use an algorithm on a real problem
1–3 weeks (5–8 hrs/week)
Use what you learned. Make a program that uses one of these algorithms on real data (route finding on a real map, ranking a real list) with timing results. Keep it small enough to finish in about two weeks.
Proof required
Link a program that uses one of these algorithms on real data (route finding on a real map, ranking a real list) with timing results, with a README that says how to run or read it.
What gets checked
- It solves the stated problem.
- Timings match the expected growth.
- The data source is named.
Common mistakes
- A project too big to finish.
- A demo that only works on your machine.
Powstik Guide
A program that uses one of these algorithms on real data (route finding on a real map, ranking a real list) with timing results.
Steps
- Write one line: what it does and for whom.
- Build the smallest version that works.
- Test it on someone else's machine or with someone else reading it.
- Write the README.
- Ask three people to check it.
Template
README What it does: Who it is for: How to run it: What I would do next:
What gets sent back
- Does not run from the README.
- Not clearly the person's own work.
- Claims more than it does.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- It solves the stated problem.
- Timings match the expected growth.
- The data source is named.
- Check that the work is the person's own.
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.