COMP3610: Principles of Programming Languages
Semester 1, 2003

Principal Lecturer: Dr. Clem Baker-Finch

New news

Information about the final exam:

• 3 hours duration, plus 15 minutes reading;
• You may take in one A4 sheet with hand-written notes on both sides;
• The paper has 6 questions:
  1. Functional Programming (25 marks)
  2. Fixpoint Theory of Functions (10 marks)
  3. Operational Semantics (15 marks)
  4. Denotational Semantics (15 marks)
  5. Logic Programming (25 marks)
  6. Lambda Calculus, Static Analysis (10 marks)
• With the exam paper you will also be given some supplementary materials. For example, if a question refers to the semantics of Imp or Proc, the relevant definition will be included. So, don't waste precious space on your A4 sheet copying out this kind of stuff.
• Here is the 2002 paper. Apparently it's not available from the library. Of course, you should ignore the questions on parsing.
• Good luck!

Old news

• There is another version of the rule of signs abstract interpreter (Sign.lhs) that uses overloading to further emphasis the correspondence between the standard and abstract interpreters.

Course Structure

• The vital details of comp3610 are to be found in Faculty handbook for 2003 and on Dept website.
• A comprehensive specification of comp3610 in the standard department format is available on-line.

Assessment Scheme

• There will be three assignments with a combined weight of 40%. Each will have a fixed deadline and they will be due during or near weeks 6, 9 and 12 respectively.
• There will be a 3 hour final examination with a weight of 60%. You will be permitted to take two A4 pages of hand-written notes (in fact, both sides of a single A4 sheet according to examinations section) into the exam session, but no printed materials.
• Because assignment marks may not be a reliable indication of achievement, combined marks will be capped at 10 above your exam mark (out of 100). (For example, if you get 65/100 for your exam, your final combined result cannot exceed 75%, irrespective of your assignment marks.)