The purpose of this course is to introduce the theory and practice of functional programming (FP). The characteristic feature of FP is the emphasis on computing by calculation. The traditional distinction between program and data characteristic of imperative programming (IP) is replaced by an emphasis on classifying expressions by types that specify their behavior. Types include familiar (fixed and arbitrary precision) numeric types, tuples and records (structs), classified values (objects), inductive types such as trees, functions with specified inputs and outputs, and commands such as input and output. Execution of imperative programs is generalized to evaluation of well-typed expressions by a smooth extension of mathematical experience to programming practice.
The advantages of FP are significant:
Prerequisites: COMP 211. Some basic mathematical background, such as the ability to do a proof by mathematical induction, will be helpful.
There will be two lectures per week, Tu-Th 10:30am-noon in Exley 109. This time will be used for chalk-board lectures, for interactively coding as a whole class, and possibly for small-group or individual work. Lectures will be your primary source of information for the course, and attendance is strongly encouraged.
There will be weekly lab sessions held on Wednesdays, times TBA, in Exley 72/74. The intention of labs is for you to practice the skills introduced in lecture, under the supervision of the TAs, to prepare you for the week’s homework. The lab assignment will be handed out on Tuesday or Wednesday; you are expected to familiarize yourself with the assignment and with related lecture material before lab. Because different students work at different rates, we do not expect everyone to finish all of the problems in the lab handout. We do expect you to put in a good-faith effort to work on the provided problems and learn something. For guidance, the lab handout will identify how far we expect most students to get. Labs will be graded on a scale of 0/1: you will receive a 0 if you do not attend lab at all, you leave early, or you do not engage with the material (e.g. please check Instagram later). You will receive a 1 if you put in a good-faith effort and the TAs determine that you have made satisfactory progress.
There will be weekly written and programming assignments, due at the beginning of your lab on Wednesday (unless otherwise specified). Homeworks are designed to help you internalize the course material; they consist of written problems and short to medium-sized programming tasks. No credit will be given for homework handins that do not compile. If you cannot make lab for some reason, you may drop the HW off at Dan's office, Exley 633. No late homeworks will be accepted, except by permission of instructor.
There will be an in-class midterm and final exam. As the only completely non-collaborative type of assignment in the course, exams account for a significant portion of your grade. However, lest that sound too scary, the exams will not ask you to learn new skills or be very creative, just to demonstrate that you have acquired the skills we ask you to practice in homeworks and labs.