Description:

This course will explore programming language constructs. The course will begin by teaching the Scheme programming language. The course will then examine how Scheme differs from Java and other popular languages, the tradeoffs that were made in designing the languages, and other possible language constructs. Students will understand why languages are designed the way they are, what the strengths and weaknesses of various languages are, and feel confident in deciding what language to use for a given programming project. As part of this exploration, students will write a language interpreter for Java-ish language.

Instructor: Harold Connamacher

• e-mail: hsc
• Office: Palenske 220
• Office hours: Monday, Friday at 11am, or anytime my door is open
• Office Phone: 629-0363

Timetable:

• Lecture: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 2pm in Palenske 221

Course Textbooks:

• Sebesta, Concepts of Programming Languages, Eighth Edition, Addison Wesley, 2007. ISBN 0262560992
• Friedman & Felleisen, The Little Schemer, Fourth Edition, MIT Press, 1996. ISBN 0321493621

Prerequisites:

• CS 173: Introduction to Computer Science II