CSI 3120

CSI 3120 Programming Language Concepts
Fall 2020

Design and evaluation criteria for programming languages. Introduction to syntactic and semantic description of programming languages. Basics of programming language implementation. Scripting languages. A comparison of design choices across programming paradigms: data objects, data types, control structures, sub-programs. Basics of concurrency.

Course Component: Lecture, Laboratory, Tutorial

Prerequisites: CSI 2101, CSI 2120.

Professor
Required Textbooks
- Concepts in Programming Languages, John C. Mitchell, Cambridge University Press, 2003. An ebook version can be purchased.
- Real World OCaml, Yaron Minsky, Anil Madhavapeddy, and Jason Hickey, O'Reilly, 2014. Available on the web.
Other References
- Programming Languages: Principles and Paradigms Maurizio Gabbrielli and Simone Martini, Springer, 2010. Available on the web.
- Programming Paradigms for Dummies: What Every Programmer Should Know, Peter Van Roy, in New Computational Paradigms for Computer Music, G. Assayag and A. Gerzo (eds.), IRCAM/Delatour France, 2009.
- Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming, Peter Van Roy and Seif Haridi, MIT Press, 2004. (An early draft is available online.)
- Programmation: Concepts, techniques et modèles, Peter Van Roy and Seif Haridi, Dunod Éditeur, 2007. (A shorter French version of the previous book. Will be on reserve at the library.)
- Concepts of Programming Languages, Robert W. Sebesta, 12th edition, Pearson, 2019.
- Programming Languages: Principles and Paradigms, Allen B. Tucker and Robert E. Noonan, McGraw Hill, 2nd edition, 2007.

Course Outline

This outline is tentative and subject to change as the term progresses. See Brightspace for class notes.

Topic Reading (See Required Textbooks and Other Resources)

An introduction to programming paradigms and concepts Required: Chapter 1, Mitchell
Required: Chapter 13, Gabbrielli and Martini
Optional: "Programming Paradigms for Dummies" article

An introduction to OCaml Optional: Real World OCaml, Chapter 1
up to end of "Options" subsection

Basics of types
Simple Data: let declarations and tuples Optional: Real World OCaml, Chapter 2
up to end of the "Prefix and Infix Operators" subsection

Inductive Data Types Optional: Real World OCaml, Chapter 3 first 2 subsections:
"List Basics" and "Using Patterns..."

Polymorphic Higher-Order Programming

Defining New Data Types

Modules and Abstract Data Types Optional: Real World OCaml, Chapter 4, subsections:
"Signatures and Abstract Types", "Concrete Types in Signatures",
"Nested Modules", "Opening Modules"

Mutable Data Optional: Real World OCaml, Chapter 8,
from "Mutable Record and Object Fields and Ref Cells"
to end of "Modifying the List"

Syntax and Semantics Required: Chapter 4, Mitchell (except 4.2.3, 4.2.4, and 4.3)

Scope, Functions, and Storage Management Required: Chapter 7, Mitchell

Control in Sequential Languages Required: Chapter 8, Mitchell

Concepts in Object-Oriented Languages Required: Chapter 10, Mitchell
Required: Chapters 11 and 12, Real World OCaml

Combinators, Pipelines, and Scripting in OCaml

Concurrent and Distributed Programming Required: Chapter 14, pages 431-441 and 445-448, Mitchell

Axiomatic Semantics Required: Chapter 3, Section 3.5.3, Sebesta

Topic	Reading (See Required Textbooks and Other Resources)
An introduction to programming paradigms and concepts	Required: Chapter 1, Mitchell Required: Chapter 13, Gabbrielli and Martini Optional: "Programming Paradigms for Dummies" article
An introduction to OCaml	Optional: Real World OCaml, Chapter 1 up to end of "Options" subsection
Basics of types Simple Data: let declarations and tuples	Optional: Real World OCaml, Chapter 2 up to end of the "Prefix and Infix Operators" subsection
Inductive Data Types	Optional: Real World OCaml, Chapter 3 first 2 subsections: "List Basics" and "Using Patterns..."
Polymorphic Higher-Order Programming
Defining New Data Types
Modules and Abstract Data Types	Optional: Real World OCaml, Chapter 4, subsections: "Signatures and Abstract Types", "Concrete Types in Signatures", "Nested Modules", "Opening Modules"
Mutable Data	Optional: Real World OCaml, Chapter 8, from "Mutable Record and Object Fields and Ref Cells" to end of "Modifying the List"
Syntax and Semantics	Required: Chapter 4, Mitchell (except 4.2.3, 4.2.4, and 4.3)
Scope, Functions, and Storage Management	Required: Chapter 7, Mitchell
Control in Sequential Languages	Required: Chapter 8, Mitchell
Concepts in Object-Oriented Languages	Required: Chapter 10, Mitchell Required: Chapters 11 and 12, Real World OCaml
Combinators, Pipelines, and Scripting in OCaml
Concurrent and Distributed Programming	Required: Chapter 14, pages 431-441 and 445-448, Mitchell
Axiomatic Semantics	Required: Chapter 3, Section 3.5.3, Sebesta