Module 02552 (2008)

Syllabus page 2008/2009

06-02552
Principles of Programming Languages
Level 3/H

Uday Reddy
10 credits in Semester 2

Links | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus

The Module Description is a strict subset of this Syllabus Page. (The University module description has not yet been checked against the School's.)

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Module Web Page

Outline

The module explains some fundamental principles of programming languages, such as stack, environment, store and type. We do this for a toy language called "call-by-push-value", in which we represent various familiar programming idioms. We see how the meaning of language features can be described precisely using "abstract machines".

Aims

The aims of this module are to:

  • introduce the central ideas and techniques in the theory of programming languages
  • exhibit some of the building blocks from which high-level programming languages are constructed
  • illustrate how concrete languages realise abstract programming language ideas
  • explain ways for defining the semantics of programming language constructs in a rigorous fashion

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, the student should be able to: Assessed by:
1recognize and appreciate fundamental concepts in programming languagesExamination and continuous assessment
2write and understand simple programs using fine-grained primitives Examination and continuous assessment
3write operational semantics for a small programming languageExamination and continuous assessment
4 explain the meaning and behaviour of programs in a precise and rigorous way Examination and continuous assessment
5 recognize and derive types Examination and continuous assessment

Restrictions, Prerequisites and Corequisites

Restrictions:

None

Prerequisites:

None

Co-requisites:

None
However there are some connections to 06-05934 (Models of Computation) and 06-02578 (Compilers & Languages) .

Teaching

Teaching Methods:

3 hrs lectures/tutorials per week

Contact Hours:

35

Assessment

  • Sessional: 1.5 hr examination (80%) and continuous assessment (20%).
  • Supplementary (where allowed): By examination only.

Recommended Books

TitleAuthor(s)Publisher, Date
Programming Language Theory and its ImplementationMichael J. C. GordonPrentice-Hall International, 1988
Concepts in Programming LanguagesJohn C. MitchellCambridge University Press, 2002
Essentials of Programming Languages (2nd edition)Friedman, D P, Wand, M & Haynes, C TMIT Press, 2001
Types and Programming LanguagesBenjamin C. PierceMIT Press, 2002
The Structure of Typed Programming LanguagesDavid A SchmidtMIT Press, 1995

Detailed Syllabus

  1. History and overview
  2. The lambda calculus
    • abstraction and application
    • alpha equivalence
    • substitution
    • reduction
  3. Evaluation strategies
    • Call-by-name, call-by-value, call-by-need
    • Operational semantics
    • Abstract machines
    • effects
  4. Types
    • simple types
    • polymorphic types
    • subtyping
  5. Modularity
    • data encapsulation
    • object-orientation
    • abstract data types

Last updated: 25 Feb 2009

Source file: /internal/modules/COMSCI/2008/xml/02552.xml

Links | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus