Principles of Programming Languages, 5 cr

Core content

• Phases of translation: lexical analysis, syntax analysis, semantical analysis, abstract syntax tree, symbol table. Basic operating principles of a compiler/interpreter. Implementing the lexical and syntax analysis of a simple programming language.
• Object models and other implementation choices and implementation principles of the most common programming language features. Value and reference semantics.
• Principles of memory management, e.g., the content and importance of activation records.
• Basic knowledge of different programming paradigms.
  Understanding programs written in different paradigms
• Type systems. Differences between static and dynamic typing.

Complementary knowledge

• Implementing semantic analysisa and an interpreter for a simple programming language.
• Detailed implementation of some features in a certain programming language.
• Implementation of activation records in a certain computer architecture.
• Writing small programs in different programming paradigms.
• Type inference. How static/dynamic typing affects other aspects of a programming language.

Specialist knowledge

• Compiler optimization techniques and effect of CPU architectures to programming language performance.
• Writing real programs in a certain paradigm other than the most common ones. The basics of monads in Haskell.
• Genericity and type systems. Higher order types and type classes.