URLs

Purpose

The purpose of this course is twofold: to give you a deeper understanding of how conventional languages work, and to introduce you to a broad range of other programming paradigms. These two goals are quite different, so you are actually getting two courses in one.

Because you need Java, this course will introduce you to as much Java as we can cram in; but bear in mind that Java is a huge language, and we can really only get started. However, times change, languages change, and what's "in" today will be "out" tomorrow. I've had to use many different programming languages over the years, and you probably will, too. The practical goal of this course is provide you with the knowledge you will need in order to learn new languages quickly and well.

Assignments and tests

Experience is the best teacher. The way to get experience with programming languages is to program in them. Accordingly, you will be expected to write at least one program in each of four languages. The languages I expect to cover are:

• Prolog, because it's very different and a lot of fun.
• Java, because it's a good object-oriented language (and you need to know it).
• Lisp, because it's the standard functional language.
• ML, because it's purely functional and very high level.
• Some Perl, so we can discuss regular expressions.
• Little bits of FORTRAN, Algol 60, Ada, BASIC, Perl, etc.
• Application-Specific Languages (ASLs).
• Some non-programming languages, such as BNF, HTML, UML, and maybe XML.

Of these, Java is the only really "practical" language. However, this is not primarily a Java course; if you want a good working knowledge of Java, this course will do little more than get you started.

There will be four quizzes, and no final exam. Each quiz will cover one language (Prolog, Java, Lisp, and Perl) along with some theoretical material.

Grading

Each program will be worth 100 points. Programs that don't work at all (for example, they still have syntax errors) are worth zero points. Unless specified otherwise, programs are due at the beginning of class three weeks after they are assigned. Late programs will lose 5 points per week (not counting weeks that we do not have class).

You can get extra credit on any programming assignment by doing more than is required. To get extra credit, you must

• Clearly indicate what additional work you have done (in a readme.txt file). The grader for this course will have a lot of programs to grade, and can't spend a lot of time figuring out what extra work you may have done. For the same reason, if you include a readme.txt file, please keep it short and to the point.
  
  
• Turn the program in on time. In general, late programs will not receive extra credit points.

Each quiz will be worth 100 points. This means that not turning in a program is equivalent to getting zero on a quiz. The programs are important in determining your final grade.

In previous courses I have typically given about half As (including A-) and half Bs (B- to B+), with just a few lower grades. Although this is not any kind of guarantee, I will most likely do the same in this course.

Textbooks and other materials

The Java textbook that I recommend is Essential Java 2 Fast, by John Cowell, ISBN 1852330716. I really like this book; it does what the title promises. However, if you prefer another book, that's fine, too. Here are some additional recommendations for books and online Java materials.

The Burks 5 CD set is a fantastic resource; it contains documentation, tutorials, and compilers for over 20 languages, including all those that we will be covering in this course. But please do not use Villanova resources to print out materials; either read them on-line, or find somewhere else you can legitimately print them.

The Burks CD set is also available online (http://burks.bton.ac.uk/), but the CDs are inexpensive and much more convenient. The only change that might affect this class is that Burks can no longer distribute Sun's Java compiler, so Burks 5 has IBM's Java compiler, Jikes. Jikes has a very good reputation: it's said to be better than Sun's compiler. It's the same language and the only difference should be in how you run the compiler, not in what it does.

Ethics

Students are expected to conduct themselves in an ethical, professional manner. You are expected to abide by the Villanova Policy on Academic Integrity. All projects and homework assignments should be done on an individual basis unless explicitly stated otherwise by the professor. All questions about projects or homework should be directed to the professor or the graduate teaching assistant.