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CS 431Data-Intensive Distributed Analytics

Units
0.50
Faculty
Mathematics
Subject
Computer Science

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Introduces non-CS major students to infrastructure for data-intensive analytics, with a focus on abstractions, frameworks, and algorithms that allow developers to distribute computation across many machines. Topics include core concepts (partitioning, replication, locality, consistency), computational models (MapReduce, dataflows, stream processing, bulk-synchronous parallel), and applications.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • CS230 - Introduction to Computers and Computer Systems (0.50)
      • CS251 - Computer Organization and Design (0.50)
      • CS251E - Computer Organization and Design (Enriched) (0.50)
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • CS231 - Algorithmic Problem Solving (0.50)
      • CS234 - Data Types and Structures (0.50)
      • CS341 - Algorithms (0.50)

Antirequisites

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 001635666 / 80TTh 11:30–12:50

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00159920 / 75TTh 14:30–15:50
LEC 701235051 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Resources

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Reviewed on UW Flow

82% liked it63% easy75% useful

From 17 ratings and 7 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Really interesting content that would be super useful on the job. Assignments were dead easy and worth 60% of the total grade.
    However, if you want to get a good mark in the class (rather than just sliding by with a 60) then please for the love of God attend the lectures. The slides posted on Learn are so bare-bones and the final (worth 40%) covers so much content. If you skip lectures, you WILL miss important information that will be tested.
    (Taught by Khaled Ammar, Winter 2025)

    Apr 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The slides used for lectures were poorly made, and I had to constantly upload them to ChatGPT for better clarity and understanding. The prof had cracked experience, but his lectures were boring and not engaging and I never learnt anything in class. I was looking forward to this course as it seemed to have a lot of good knowledge for data engineering, but I was left disappointed

    Apr 2025 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Easy course disguised as a hard course because a lot of information is presented and barely any is tested on the final. Final is fair, the prof told us what to study and some questions were basically the assignments. Assignments 2 and 3 took a couple days, the rest were easy. Grading scheme is 60% assignments, 40% final. Overall decent 4th year CS course.

    Dec 2024 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Didn’t have final yet. But easy overall. Mainly, u can learn pyspark. Also, assignments are fairly easy except for some questions.

    Nov 2022 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Took the in-person session over co-op remotely. A heavier course (Assignments 2 and 3 took awhile) but the later assignments were reasonable. Final is hard to study for as lots of content is covered, but Dan posts a list of topics that are most important to review. Exam was not like what I expected (not a ton of stuff was covered, but what I was tested on was quite in depth) and was curved. Dan's slides are funny and you can study off of them.

    Dec 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

102 posts and comments in 79 threads mention CS 431, November 2017 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

cs 431/cs451 final 9 points, 2 comments

u/volibear1ca: “Anyone did cs 431/cs451 in the past terms can give some idea about the final of it? Dan didnt give any information about it until now.”

u/Nakanomid: “Did CS 431, I say focus on stuff that what was taught in depth in lectures but wasn’t covered in assignments”

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Spring 2024

Bird CS for Minor Computing 5 points, 10 comments

“Hi, I need 2 more CS courses (need 1 from 3xx/4xx and the other one is just any CS) for my minor Computing. Can someone suggest what CS bird courses that I can take? Thanks so much.”

u/AHpache182: “Are you in faculty of Math?”

u/AHpache182: “CS 230 and 431. They aren't the most bird, but they are pretty useful. They are not challenging IMO. If you want to, you can take CS 200 as a super bird course, but I don't know how useful that'll be for you.”

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CS Minor Possible? (Math) 18 points, 12 comments

“I’m entering my 2A term for Math and want to pursue a Stats major and continue seeing CS minor as an option on the Math Faculty page. …”

u/Intelligent-Show-815: “Cs230 cs234 cs246 cs371 cs436 cs487 cs476 cs475 cs479 cs431 cs338 cs330 cs136 cs135”

u/ClarkeVice: “CS 230, CS 234, CS 330, CS 338, CS 431, and CS 436 don’t count toward the minor requirements.”

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Winter 2024

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar