CSCI.4430 Programming Languages-- Fall 2026

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Course Description

Pre-requisites

CSCI.2300 Introduction to Algorithms and CSCI.2600 Principles of Software.

Course Themes

Programming Language Essentials. Functional, Concurrent, and Logic Programming Paradigms.

Learning Outcomes

When students have successfully completed this course, they will be able to:

• understand the essential aspects of programming languages, including theoretical foundations such as the lambda calculus, the actor model, and first-order logic.
• design and develop functional, concurrent (including distributed and mobile), and logic (including constraint satisfaction) programs.
• compare multiple programming paradigms and know when to apply them to solve different problems.

Programming Assignments

• Programming Assignment 1

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Course Contents

1. Introduction
• Brief history of programming languages
• Essentials
• Syntax
• Semantics
• Paradigms
• Functional
• Concurrent
• Logic
2. Functional Programming
• Lambda calculus
• Scope of variables
• Expression evaluation orders
• Data abstraction/control abstraction
• Recursion
• Higher-order programming
• Lazy evaluation
• Types
3. Concurrent Programming
• Actor model
• Synchronous vs asynchronous communication, message passing
• Concurrent functional programming and concurrent object-oriented programming
• Named tokens, join blocks, first-class continuations
• Distributed and mobile computing: Universal naming, remote message passing, migration
• Fault tolerant computing
4. Logic Programming
• Predicate calculus, first-order logic, Horn clauses
• Resolution and unification
• Search and backtracking
• Dynamically updating knowledge base and modifying search methods
• Difference lists, definite clause grammars
• Natural language parsing
• Constraint satisfaction

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Tentative Course Syllabus

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Reading Material

• Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming by Peter Van Roy and Seif Haridi.   MIT Press 2004. Chs 1,2,3,4,6,7. (Required Textbook)
• URL:  http://www.info.ucl.ac.be/people/PVR/book.html
• Programming Distributed Computing Systems: A Foundational Approach by Carlos A. Varela.   MIT Press 2013. Chs 2,4,9. (Required Textbook)
• URL:  http://wcl.cs.rpi.edu/pdcs/
• Programming Language Pragmatics by Michael L. Scott.   Morgan Kaufmann Publishers 2009, 3rd Edition.  Ch. 11. (Recommended Textbook)
• URL:  http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/scott/pragmatics/
• Essentials of Programming Languages by Friedman, Wand, and Haynes. MIT Press 2001, 2nd Edition. Ch. 4. (Recommended Textbook)
• URL:  https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262560672/essentials-of-programming-languages/
• A Gentle Introduction to Haskell (GIH) (Recommended Tutorial)
• URL: https://www.haskell.org/tutorial/
• Concurrent Programming in Erlang by J. Armstrong, R. Virding, C. Wikström, M. Williams (Recommended Textbook)
• URL: https://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf

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Software

• Haskell
• Erlang
• SALSA
• Prolog

Grading

The course consists of three main parts, covering respectively functional, concurrent, and logic programming. Evaluation for each part includes a programming assignment and a partial exam.

For functional programming, we will use Haskell. For concurrent programming, we will use SALSA and Erlang. For logic programming, we will use Prolog. You must understand one language per paradigm to be prepared for exams and programming assignments. You may write your assignments on a different programming language provided you get permission from the instructor one week before the submission date (but do not expect help from the instructor or TAs if you choose your own). Programming assignments can be done either individually or in pairs. Do not show your code to any other group and do not look at any other group's code. Do not put your code in a public directory or otherwise make it public. You are encouraged to use the Submitty Discussion Forum to post questions so that other students can also answer/see the answers. There will be three grace days for late submissions throughout the semester, to be used in any combination of PAs, e.g., PA1 may be one day late and PA3 may be two days late, as long as PA2 was submitted on time. Late assignments beyond the three day grace period will receive a grade of 0.

Students may use for reference during exams: physical textbooks, printed course slides, and one personal crib sheet. No electronics will be allowed. All exam answers must be your own. Exam grades may be curved.

We will use the following weighting scheme for grades: The highest two programming assignment grades will have a total weight of 40% (20% each), while the third one will have a weight of 10%. We will use the same weighting scheme for partial exams: the highest two exam grades will be worth 40% of the total grade while the third one will count for 10% of the total grade. Final letter grades will then be assigned as follows:

Academic Integrity

Student-teacher relationships are built on trust. For example, students must trust that teachers have made appropriate decisions about the structure and content of the courses they teach, and teachers must trust that the assignments that students turn in are their own. Acts that violate this trust undermine the educational process. The Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities and The Graduate Student Supplement define various forms of Academic Dishonesty and you should make yourself familiar with these. In this class, all assignments that are turned in for a grade must represent the student's own work. In cases where help was received, or teamwork was allowed, a notation on the assignment should indicate your collaboration.

Violations of academic integrity may also be reported to the appropriate Dean (Dean of Students for undergraduate students or the Dean of Graduate Education for graduate students, respectively).

If you have any question concerning this policy before submitting an assignment, please ask for clarification. In addition, you can visit the following site for more information on our Academic Integrity Policy: Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct..

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