Course motivation and overview

This course is meant to give students a broader understanding of the nature of existing programming languages, and the benefits and drawbacks associated with features and implementations of these programming languages.

We will consider the fundamental concepts of programming languages - looking at potential language constructs, and the design decisions and implications associated with each.

The course will be a mix of theory and practical application - the former to be achieved through the lectures and readings, the latter through a series of labs/tutorials and detailed technical problems to be solved in a variety of programming languages.

Contact information

• Lecturer: Dave Wessels, David.Wessels@viu.ca

• Office hours (building 315 room 222):
    - Mon/Wed 11:30-12:30
  For appointments (out of office hours) please send me an email (David.Wessels@viu.ca) to arrange a time.

Resources

• Textbook: none (see the note below on web material)

• Web material: online material on the course site may include online books and language reference material, supplementary lecture notes, assignments, sample programs, practice problems, etc, accessible through http://csci.viu.ca/~wesselsd/courses/csci330/

• Software resources we will be using on the csci server will include gcl (for lisp), gcc/g++ (for C/C++), lex/yacc, make, git, ssh

Timetable

• Lectures (Bldg 210, Rm 240)
    - Mon/Wed 10:00-11:30
• Labs (Bldg 315, Rm 115)
    - Mon 1:30-2:30, 2:30-3:30

Assessment

• 30% Labs
• 20% Quizzes
• 15% Midterm
• 35% Final exam

Topics
The planned topic set for the course is shown below. The order will vary considerably, and some changes in topics may take place during the semester.

Functional languages (using lisp)

• functional languages and lambda calculus
• dynamic scope
• higher order functions and closure
• macros

  Language parsing

• Parsing, interpretting, and compiling programming languages
• Regular expressions
• Context free grammars
• Augmented context free grammars

  Language features and implementation (using C and C++)

• language types and history
• static versus dynamic binding of attributes
• keywords, identifiers, operators, and expressions
• primitive versus compound data types
• types, checking, and casting; static versus dynamic typing
• static versus dynamic scope
• labels, branching, iteration, selection
• subroutines and macros
• memory organization, the heap and the stack
• abstract data types, structures and records
• classes, inheritance, dynamic binding, generic classes
• pointers, dynamic memory allocation, garbage collection, and smart pointers
• functions as data, function pointers

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the coruse, the student should be able to:

• describe the key features of the following programming language paradigms: functional, object oriented, imperative, and logic programming
• study a new language and recognize which key language features would be associated with each paradigm
• program effectively in a functional programming language (common lisp this semester), with an emphasis on the application of the following language features:
  • dynamic scope
  • higher order functions and closures
  • macros
  • language parsing
• with regards to programming languages, be able to discuss the limitations and practical applications of regular grammars, context free grammars, and augmented context free grammars
• explain the purpose and typical implementation approaches for the following language features, and be able to compare/contrast their use in an object oriented language (C++) and a function language (common lisp)
  • primitive versus compound data types
  • types, checking, and casting; static versus dynamic typing
  • static versus dynamic scope
  • labels, branching, iteration, selection
  • subroutines and macros
  • memory organization, the heap and the stack
  • abstract data types, structures and records
  • classes, inheritance, dynamic binding, generic classes
  • pointers, dynamic memory allocation, garbage collection, and smart pointers
  • functions as data, function pointers

Programming languages, labs, lab quizzes
While we will discuss theoretical aspects of a range of languages, the applied portions of the course will focus heavily on common lisp, C, and C++. Students will be expected to program heavily in each of these languages, applying and evaluating advanced features of each.

The lab assessment will consist of a collection of programming exercises and in-lab quizzes.

Labs start January 15th.

VIU's Disability Access Services provides services to students with Learning Disabilities, mental health disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, chronic medical conditions, and impairments in mobility, hearing, and vision.

If you have a disability requiring academic accommodations in this course but are not yet registered with Disability Access Services, please contact them at disabilityaccessservices@viu.ca. If you are already registered with DAS, please provide me with your accommodation letter (David.Wessels@viu.ca).

Appeals of Grades:

Any exercise or examination grade may be appealed. However, the appeal must be made to the instructor, in writing and attached to the work in question, and within 7 days of the grade being made available to the class. The instructor reserves the right to re-grade the entire piece of work submitted on appeal, not necessarily just the component that the student believes is in error.

Grade Conversion:

The standard VIU grading scale will be in use.

90-100	85-<90	80-<85	76-<80	72-<76	68-<72	64-<68	60-<64	55-<60	50-<55	< 50
A+	A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	C-	D	F

Lab and Computer Usage Rules:

See http://www.viu.ca/computerscience/resources.asp#Lab_and_Computer_Usage_Rules

Student Academic Code of Conduct (VIU policy 96.01)
All VIU students are required to familiarize themselves with, and adhere to, the Student Academic Code of Conduct.

EDI Statement
VIU values human diversity in all its dimensions and is committed to achieving and ensuring learning and working environments that are equitable, diverse, and inclusive.