Module 02552 (2011)
Syllabus page 2011/2012
06-02552
Principles of Programming Languages
Level 3/H
Hayo Thielecke:5
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.)
Relevant Links
Outline
It can be argued that the development and study of high-level programming languages is a central task for computer science research, and enormous progress has indeed been made from the machine-level coding of the 40s to today's functional and object-oriented languages. In this module, we will study the features that have emerged as recurring themes in high-level languages, though they are expressed in a variety of ways. We will use the lambda calculus as a meta language to express theses features concretely and precisely. At this level of abstraction, 'computation' becomes 'evaluation' of expressions, rather than the execution of machine instructions. We will look at ways to specify this process in a precise fashion and thus discover some key design decisions that have to be made when developing a concrete language. Types can be used to constrain the range of valid programs and thus help the programmer to develop well-structured code. We will see how polymorphism and subtyping extend the expressivity of simple type disciplines without sacrificing semantics.
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: | |
| 1 | demonstrate fluency in reading, constructing, and manipulating expressions in the lambda calculus | Examination and continuous assessment |
| 2 | execute specific evaluation strategies for lambda calculi with effects | Examination and continuous assessment |
| 3 | relate features of concrete programming languages to abstract principles | Examination and continuous assessment |
| 4 | assign types from various type disciplines to program expressions | Examination and continuous assessment |
Restrictions, Prerequisites and Corequisites
Restrictions:
None
Prerequisites:
06-05934 (Models of Computation), or equivalent
Co-requisites:
None, but 06-02578 (Compilers & Languages) will be an ideal complement
Teaching
Teaching Methods:
2 hrs of lectures and one exercise class per week, two revision lectures
Contact Hours:
Assessment
- Sessional: 1.5 hr examination (80%) and continuous assessment (20%).
- Supplementary (where allowed): By examination only.
Recommended Books
| Title | Author(s) | Publisher, Date |
| Programming Language Theory and its Implementation | Michael J. C. Gordon | Prentice-Hall International, 1988 |
| Concepts in Programming Languages | John C. Mitchell | Cambridge University Press, 2002 |
| Essentials of Programming Languages (2nd edition) | Friedman, D P, Wand, M & Haynes, C T | MIT Press, 2001 |
| Types and Programming Languages | Benjamin C. Pierce | MIT Press, 2002 |
| The Structure of Typed Programming Languages | David A Schmidt | MIT Press, 1995 |
Detailed Syllabus
- History and overview
- The lambda calculus
- abstraction and application
- alpha equivalence
- substitution
- reduction
- Evaluation strategies
- Call-by-name, call-by-value, call-by-need
- Operational semantics
- Abstract machines
- effects
- Types
- simple types
- polymorphic types
- subtyping
- Modularity
- data encapsulation
- object-orientation
- abstract data types
Last updated: 5 May 2009
Source file: /internal/modules/COMSCI/2011/xml/02552.xml
Links | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus