Assignment 1, CSCI 5535

Due date: September 18th (or September 25th for CATECS students)

1. The C# reference links at this site describe a new language proposed by Microsoft as an alternative to Java.  Compare the type system of C# to that of Java.  When the type systems differ discuss the possible reasons behind the difference and the possible repercussions to the programmer or implementation.  For this assignment focus only on the non-primitive types (e.g., don't devote any effort to comparing the behavior of reals in the two languages).  You will need to read at least Chapters 4 and 6 to answer this question.  In addition you will most probably need to browse other parts of the language definition.  Since the language definition is quite long (approx. 250 pages) please print only the parts that you really need.  Please limit your answer to 2 typed pages in 9 point or greater font.
2. The Modula-3 subtyping rules are simpler than the narrowing and widening conversions for Java.  Discuss what Java features are responsible for the more elaborate conversion rules for Java.