CIS 400 Programming Languages Syllabus

• Examination of factors influencing the design of programming languages.
• Comparative study of several languages, new to you, illustrating these design factors.

Materials:
Text:

• Sebesta, Robert W. 1996. Concepts of Programming Languages, third edition. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

Suggested references: (first two general, last three language-specific)

• MacLennan, Bruce. 1995. Principles of Programming Languages, second edition. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
• Marcotty, Michael, and Henry F. Ledgard. latest. Programming Language Landscape. New York, New York: Science Research Associates.
• Winston, Patrick Henry, and Berthold Klaus Paul Horn. 1989. LISP, third edition. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley.
• Covington, Michael A., Donald Nute, and Andre Vellino. 1988. Prolog Programming in Depth. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company.
• Cohen, Norman H. 1996. Ada as a Second Language, second edition. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill.

  Course Outline:

  Topics and Text Chapter

  Overview	Chapter 1
  what are we studying, and why?
  how is a language judged?
  Historical backgrounds	Chapter 2
  Formally defining a language	Chapter 3
  syntax
  semantics
  Data types	Chapters 4 & 5
  atomic
  non-atomic
  Computations	Chapter 6
  Flow of control
  within a program unit	Chapter 7
  between program units	Chapters 8 & 9
  LISP, a functional language	Chapter 13
  PROLOG, a logic language	Chapter 14
  Smalltalk, an object-oriented language	Chapter 15
  ADTs [review] and Ada	Chapter 10
  Concurrency	Chapter 11
  Exception handling	Chapter 12

  Administration:

  • Homework problems 10%
  • Three small programs (LISP, PROLOG, Smalltalk) each 10% 30%
  • Midterm examination 30%
  • Comprehensive final examination 30%

  The class runs under the honor code governing all College of Engineering classes. Examination questions will require writing expository paragraphs, not true/false, multiple-choice, or fill-in-the-blank questions. You will have at least a week's notice of each examination date (no unannounced tests).

  Availability of help

  • Office hour before class in the Science Building computer laboratory (Computer Wing)
  • Email williame@umdsun2.umd.umich.edu
  • Day telephone (313)-592-2374