CS 3723 Programming Languages

• Instructor: Neal R. Wagner
  Office: 3.02.16 SB.
  Office hours (tentative): MWF 10-11 am, MW 12-1 pm.
  Phone: (210)458-5550.

• Syllabus

Basic information about the course, some of it repeated in more detail below.
• Goals and Objectives

The syllabus mentions course goals and objectives, while this link discusses them in more detail.
• Lectures and Assignments (tentative)

There will be a 6- or 7-part programming project and up to 4 written homework assignments.
• Overview of the Programming Project

This is a project to write a compiler for a small subset of C/C++ (and almost Java).
• Grading Policy

Your grade will depend on a programming project, written homework, an in-class midterm exam, a final exam, and attendance.
• Dishonesty Policy

As a new policy, you will need comments at the beginning of each programming assignment identifying any sources of program code that you did not write yourself.
• Course Handouts

Many handouts for the course will be provided here in several forms: as text-only (".txt" or ".text"), as source programs (".c" or ".cpp" or ".java"), and as a Postscript file (".ps").
• Textbook: Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools

By Alfred V. Aho, Ravi Sethi, and Jeffrey D. Ullman, Addison-Wesley, 1986
This text is a classic in the field, written by the world's leading experts on compiler technology. Written in 1986, the text is dated in a few respects, but this is a mature technology whose underpinnings have not been changing much. (More advanced applications, such as parallelism and code generation have been changing more rapidly, but we won't be dealing with these subjects anyway.) The other disadvantage of the text is that it is written at a fairly sophisticated level. Finally, there were no reasonable competing texts on the market.

 Sites related to purchasing the textbook:

• The UTSA bookstore.
  Consistent with UTSA's ``We will not be oversold'' policy, you probably don't want to buy the text here, but you might get an inexpensive used text. Remember that online prices don't have tax, but do have shipping costs -- it works about even. The book is not yet available at UTSA.
• Amazon.com's listing for the text.
  Our text is priced here at $69.00.
• bookpool.com's listing for the text.
  Our text is priced here at $59.50, much cheaper than amazon.com. Various students have recommended this as a cheap source for technical books.
• Brian's Book's listing for the text.
  Our text is priced here at $65.55. They have additional savings if you order more than one text. I have not used Brian's Book's, so I can't vouch for them.
• Description (From the UTSA Undergraduate Catalog):

3723 Programming Languages
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisites: CS 3233 and 3323 (on-line catalog), CS 2213 and 3233 (printed catalog).
An introduction to the organization of high-level programming languages, including data types, control structures, data flow, and run time environments. Use of formal syntax descriptions. The implications of interpretation versus compilation. Activation records and dynamic storage in block structured languages.

Special Note: The prerequisites for this course are confusing. CS 3233 (Discrete Mathematical Structures) remains unchanged as a prerequisite, but CS 3323 is no longer required for a CS major and will no longer be a prerequisite for this course. Instead, the new course CS 2213 (Advanced Programming) will be one of the new prerequsites. Since CS 2213 is being offered for the first time in the fall 2000 semester, we will not be enforcing this prerequisite.

Because of other changes to our curriculum (in particular, because of our decision to introduce programming with the Java language), we will probably not offer CS 3323 very often (if at all).

• Students in the course
  A list of students in the course along with their runner account.

• Extra Topics:
  • Postscript.
    Postscript Programs
  • Prolog.
    Prolog knowledgebase example
    Example Prolog session
    Other Prolog examples
    Prolog Manual
    (Follow the link and click on the upper left "contents" icon.)
    (This SWI prolog reference is also available directly on the ringer system, under the directory
       /usr/local/lib/pl-3.2.9/Manual/
       If you are on ringer you can open this directory under "File -- Open Page" in Netscape.)

Midterm Exam: Monday, 23 October 2000 (review, answers)
Final Examination: Tuesday, 12 December 2000, 8:00-10:15 pm