1. CSE 341 Programming Languages Autumn 2003
Instructor: Steve Tanimoto
Teaching assistants:
Jessica Miller
Aiman Erbad
Purpose: To gain a broad view of programming languages and learn fundamental concepts that relate to them.
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

2. Reasons to Study Programming Languages
Improve our understanding of computation and problem solving; our thoughts are shaped by our language (Whorfian hypothesis).
Be able to choose the best language for the task.
Gain facility at learning new languages.
Gain access to great programming “literature”.
Build an appreciation for rich programming environments and libraries.
Be able to create “little languages” for specific purposes.
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

3. Languages and Major Topics to be Covered
Lisp ML
(Java*)
Prolog
Perl
visual languages
Functional programming
“ “ with static typing
(Object-oriented design*).
Logic programming
Scripting.
Visual programming
*optional implementation language for projects.
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

4. Detailed Topics with Lisp
Interactive programming
Functional programming, referential transparency, recursive functions
Functions as first-class objects, closures
List processing, uniformity of programs and data
Polymorphism
Macros
Web-based interaction (optional)
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

5. Detailed Topics with ML
Static types
Type inference
More functional programming
Pattern matching
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

6. Detailed Topics with Java
Object-oriented design
Inheritance, interfaces, information hiding.
Security and exception handling
Portable graphics library: AWT
Support for multiple threads
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

7. Detailed Topics with Prolog
Specification as programming
Predicate logic
Horn clauses
Unification, resolution
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

8. Detailed Topics with Perl
Scripting languages
Pattern matching with regular expressions
Associative arrays.
CGI programming for web-based services
Integration with operating system and databases.
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

9. Detailed Topics in Visual Programming
History of visual programming
execution models: control flow, data flow, visual rules, direct manipulation, algorithm animation
Example systems: Agentsheets, Prograph, Stagecast Creator, ToonTalk, Data Factory
Representation and learnability
Scalability
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

10. CSE 341 -- S. Tanimoto Introduction
Textbooks
Steven Tanimoto: Symbols, Programs, Interaction: An Introduction to Common Lisp (Spring 2003 version).
(OPTIONAL!) Patrick Niemeyer and Jonathan Knudsen: Learning Java.
Robert Sebesta: A Little Book on Perl.
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

11. CSE 341 -- S. Tanimoto Introduction
Evaluation (Approx)
Assignments: 30%
Participation: %
Project: %.
Midterm 1: %.
Midterm 2: %.
Final exam %.
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

12. History of Programming Languages
FORTRAN numeric
ALGOL numeric
COBOL business
APL vector/matrix math
LISP symbols
SNOBOL strings
PL/ general
BASIC educational
PASCAL educational
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

13. History of Prog. Languages (continued)
PROLOG AI/logic with rules
C general
Scheme educational
Ada general
Smalltalk applications/objects
C general/objects
CLOS LISP/objects
Perl scripting
Java applets, general/objects
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction

14. CSE 341 -- S. Tanimoto Introduction
Orthogonality
Every combination of two constructs of a language is meaningful.
The meaning of a construct does not depend on its context.
Pro: Makes learning a language easier, since there tend to be fewer constructs and there are fewer special cases.
Con: Because every combination of constructs must be allowed, nonsensical combinations will compile without error.
arithmetic expressions
arguments to functions
CSE S. Tanimoto Introduction