Maharishi University of Management
Computer Science Department

Computer Science 505

Advanced Programming  Languages

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Course Creator: Gregory Guthrie, Ph.D.
DE Instructor: Helmuth Trefftz

College of Science and Technology
Computer Science Faculty

Spring 2005
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Prerequisites:  COMP 350, COMP 380

Duration:  12 weeks / 4 units

Goals of the Course:

To provide an understanding of the fundamental concepts and principles of programming languages and how these are formulated and described in formal methods, and reflected in existing computer languages.

Course Objectives:  
	1)  Gain an understanding of the basic formalisms used to define programming languages.
	2) Gain an appreciation of the usefulness of the formal specification of programming languages.
	3) Gain an understanding of the relation between syntax and semantics in programming language theory.
	4) Gain an understanding of the basic concepts of representation and abstraction in programming languages.
	5) Gain experience with the use of some programming language paradigms: functional and logic programming.
	6) Gain an understanding of the important concepts in functional programming, such as, higher order functions, referential transparency, equational reasoning, pattern matching and polymorphism.
	7) Gain an appreciation of the role and value of type checking and type systems in programming languages.
	8) Gain a deeper appreciation of the perfection of the language of nature -- the Ved.  

MAJOR THEMES

• Theme 1:	Formal Syntax

• Theme 2:	Functional Programming

• Theme 3:	Denotational Semantics: Principles

• Theme 4:	Denotational Semantics: Applications

• Theme 5:	Denotational Semantics: Theory

Evaluation Criteria:

All elements of the course are considered in evaluation, and a student must do satisfactorily in all areas.  An approximate weighting of the areas is as follows:

	Homework & Labs	25%
	Midterm	30%
	Final 	35%
	Newsgroup Participation	10%

Text:

• Programming Language Syntax and Semantics, David A. Watt, Prentice-Hall, 1991
  

References:

• Principles of Programming Languages, R. D. Tennent, Prentice-Hall 1981

Readings:

• Logic Programming and Prolog: A Tutorial
  R. Davis
  IEEE Software, Sept, 1985, pp. 53-62.

• Languages: Three Interviews
  Peter Brown
  Communications of the ACM, April, 1984, Vol. 27, N. 4, pp.352-355.

• Can Programming be liberated from the Von Neuman Style? A Functional Style and its algebra of programs.
  J. Backus
  Communications of the ACM, Aug. 1978, Vol 21, No. 8, pp. 613-641.

Supplementary Readings:

• [Watt]
  Programming Language Concepts and Paradigms
  David A. Watt
  Prentice-Hall, 1990

• An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus
  Greg Michaelson
  Addison Wesley, 1988

• Bibliography:
  A Practical Introduction to Denotational Semantics
  Lloyd Allison 
  Cambridge, 1986.

• The Denotational Description of Programming Langugages - An Introduction,
  Gordon,
  Springer-Verlag, 1979.

• Denotational Semantics; A Methodology for Language Development,
  D. S. Schmidt,
  Allyn & Bacon, 1986.

• Denotational Semantics: The Scott-Strachey Approach to Programming Language Theory,
  Stoy,
  MIT, 1977.