Calendar

The following table gives the topics we will cover in the class and the approximate number of lectures to be spent on each topic.  The "Reading" column lists the reading material for the class. You should do the reading for a class before attending the class. 

Principles of Programming Languages is a very useful course: in this course you will learn many skills that will be useful to you in using, learning, and evaluating programming languages.  For each topic I've identified certain skills that you should get from that topic.  Approximately 80% of the points on the exams and assignments will be given on these skills.  In other words, if you master all these skills you will get 80% of the points (which in previous years has translated into a B+).  The remaining points will be based on synthesis questions:  i.e., questions that combine multiple topics and are not tied to a single skill. 

As the class progresses, I'll modify this schedule based on the needs of the class; so please don't take this schedule as something that is cast in stone on the first day of class.  In general, lines above the blank red row are polished: they will most likely not change while lines below it are likely to change as the semester progresses.  The midterm dates will not change.

Date	Topic	Skills	Reading
1/15	Introduction Exams, assignments etc. Collaboration policy Goals for the semester
1/17	Evaluating languages: criteria and characteristics	1	Chapter 1 upto and including 1.4, 1.6
1/17	Recitation: Using Table 1.1
1/22	Syntax and semantics Difference between syntax and semantics Describing syntax: BNF and Context-free grammars	2	3.1, 3.2, 3.3 up to and including 3.3.1.6
1/24	Syntax continued Parse trees and derivations Ambiguous grammars Precedence and associativity Assignment 1 due	3	3.3.1.7 till end of 3.3.1
1/24	Recitation: Java grammar
1/29	Names and bindings What is a binding? Examples: Type binding, storage binding Binding times	4	5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
1/31	Types and type checking Strong and weak type checking Type equality: name and structural Assignment 2 due	5	Type checking notes
1/31	Recitation: structural and name equality
2/5	Scoping Static and dynamic scoping Difference between scope and lifetime	6	5.8, 5.9, 5.10, 5.11
2/7	Data types Enumeration type Subrange type Array type Assignment 3 due	7a	6.1 to 6.6 inclusive (skip sections 6.3.5 and 6.5.3 to 6.5.8).  This reading is quite long so please give yourself enough time.
2/7	Recitation: Representations of arrays
2/12	Data types continued Record type Union type	7b	6.7, 6.8
2/14	Data types continued Pointer types and their pitfalls (particularly dangling pointers and memory leaks) Reference counting Mark-sweep garbage collection Assignment 4 due	8	6.9
2/14	Recitation: structural equality (revisited) and union types
2/19	Midterm 1 In class Closed book Please bring blue books
2/21	Expressions Operator versus operand Evaluation order Overloading	9	7.1,7.2, 7.3
2/21	Recitation: manually using reference counting
2/26	Iterative and conditional constructs Selection statement Iterative statement (particularly FOR loop) Guarded commands	10	7.6, Chapter 8
2/28	Subtyping Narrowing and widening conversions Inclusion polymorphism Assignment 5 due	11	Subtyping notes
2/28	Recitation: Procedures returning procedures
3/4	Subtyping continued (arrays, procedures, variables)
3/6	Parameter passing modes.  Understand and distinguish between: Pass by value Pass by result Pass by value-result Pass by reference Pass by name Assignment 6 due	12	Chapter 9 upto but not including including 9.5.3.  Skip 9.2.4.
3/6	Recitation: Cancelled (TA out of town)
3/11	Issues with parameter passing Can we pass subtypes to parameters? Deep and shallow binding	13	9.5.3 up to and including 9.7
3/13	Generic subprograms Motivation:  preserving type information while achieving code reuse  Examples Assignment 7 due	14	9.8 to 9.10, inclusive
3/13	Recitation: passing procedures as parameters in C
3/18	Implementing Subprograms Activation records: a place to put procedure-local data Dynamic links, return address, and static links: what they are and why they are needed What happens on a call and return How to access local and non-local variables on the stack	15	10.1 upto and including 10.4.2
3/20	Abstract data types Motivation: why useful Grouping data and its operations + information hiding Examples in C++ etc. Assignment 8 due	16	11.1 to 11.4.3 inclusive, 11.5.1-11.5.3 inclusive
3/20	Recitation: Help session
4/1	Midterm 2 In class Closed book Please bring blue books
4/3	Object oriented concepts Inheritance: single and multiple Dynamic binding Subclassing = subtyping?	17	12.1, 12.2, 12.3, and this document
4/3	Recitation: OO and dynamic dispatch
4/8	Object oriented concepts Interfaces	18	12.4, 12.5, 12.6 Interfaces (read the pages referred to by the links "What is an interface", "defining an interface", "implementing an interface", "using an interface as a type"
4/10	Introduction to functional languages Concepts: first-class functions, referential transparency, functional forms, recursion instead of iteration Simple examples in SML Assignment 9 due	19	15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.7
4/10	Recitation: Narrowing and widening conversions in Java
4/15	Guest lecture by Devin Coughlin: "Implementing Dynamic Dispatch"	20	12.11
4/17	Standard ML (Type inference) Pattern matching Parametric polymorphism Assignment 10 due	21	Sections 2.1 upto but not including Section 2.6 of the SML/NJ tutorial
4/17	Recitation: Extended SML examples
4/22	Continuing with Standard ML More examples: Polymorphism in SML	21	Sections 2.6 and 2.7 (upto page 39) of the SML/NJ tutorial
4/24	Exception handling Motivation Examples in C++: try-catch Assignment 11 due	22	14.1, 14.3
4/24	Recitation: Exception handling
4/29	Exception handling continued try-finally: why and what checked and unchecked throws clauses and subtyping	22	14.4
5/1	Review, wrap up etc. Assignment 12 due
5/1	Recitations
5/3	Final exam, 7:30 to 10:00 a.m.