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):
    - Wed 1-2:30
    - Fri 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% Midterm
• 50% 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
• The use of parsing and compilation aids such as lex/flex and yacc/bison

  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
• with regards to parsing and compilation tools, be able to write/apply lex(flex) and yacc(bison) appropriately in parsing and analyzing simple language constructs, including building and utilizing simple symbol tables
• 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
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++, plus the use of lex/flex and yacc/bison (to be introduced in lab). 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 five programming exercises, each introduced in one of the lab sessions and carried out independently over the space of roughly two weeks.

Labs start in the second week.

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

Resources
A wide range of other supporting resources are provided by the institution, including:

• Faculty of Science and Technology
• VIULearn
• Library
• Academic Advising
• Writing Centre
• Math Learning Centre
• Services for Aboriginal Students
• Counseling Services
• Accessibility
• Registration
• VIU Students' Union

Accessibility
Vancouver Island University recognizes its legal duty to provide educational opportunities that enable students with a documented disability to access courses, programs, facilities, and services.

The Policy and Procedural Guidelines apply to all students who have identified themselves to the institution as having a documented disability who are inquiring about, applying to, or registered in credit or non-credit courses in both on and off-campus programs.

• Policy 32.02 - Services Available to Students with a Documented Disability

Academic Integrity
Integrity in academic work is a central element of learning and is the basis of intellectual pursuits in any academic community. It is also your responsibility to abide by the Student Conduct Code and Student Academic Code of Conduct

• Academic Integrity

Links to University Policies, Standards, and Guidelines
Below are links to many of the official VIU policies, procedures, and guidelines.

• University Policies
• Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
• Student Conduct and Care
• Student Academic Code of Conduct
• Student Affairs
• Academic Regulations
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)