← Analysing an area of computer science
The other areas, and what each needs to score
One deeply, one as insurance.| Area | Foundations to nail | The algorithms to be able to explain |
|---|---|---|
| Formal languages | DFA five-tuple; terminals vs non-terminals | Regex matching; CFG derivation; FSM traversal |
| Computer graphics | Pixels as a discrete grid; homogeneous coordinates | Bresenham's line; translation/scaling/rotation matrices |
| Computer vision | Images as intensity arrays; noise | Canny (5 steps); Sobel gradients; stereo disparity |
| Complexity & tractability | Growth vs runtime; P vs NP informally | Binary search; TSP brute force; a named heuristic |
| Network protocols | Layering; packets | TCP three-way handshake and retransmission; UDP |
| Big data | The 3 Vs; structured vs unstructured | Distributed storage; stream processing; sampling |
Whichever you choose, part (d) is always about people — so have a benefit, a harm, and a defensible position ready for your area.