OVERVIEW

Programming languages ​​and functional and object-oriented programming are tools and concepts at the basis of software development.

The course provides the main notions necessary for the design, understanding, use, and implementation of a programming language: syntax, static and dynamic semantics, interpreters.

Functional and object-oriented programming techniques and methodologies are also explored in depth through learning the F# and Java languages.

The course allows students to apply the more theoretical concepts acquired in class through various practical laboratory experiences and the development of a medium-sized final project.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will extend their skills with foundational notions on design and principles of programming languages and on theory and practice of the object-oriented and functional programming paradigms.

They will learn how to develop simple applications starting from informal requirements with the support of an integrated development environment and a collaborative version control system.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, students will be able to

• apply the basic concepts of the object-oriented paradigm to model data and develop small and medium-sized Java programs, organized modularly to promote code reuse
• understand, apply and correctly implement some common design patterns of object-oriented programming
• apply the basic concepts of the functional paradigm to develop small-sized F# programs based on the most common functional and generic programming techniques
• understand the specification of a programming language and the issues underlying the implementation of an interpreter for a programming language
• manage their social relationships with a collaborative attitude and constructive communication in different environments, developing a software project with the help of the collaborative tool GitHub Classroom
• demonstrate decision-making autonomy, collaborative attitude, management of human
  and material resources and coordination during the group development of a software project

PREREQUISITES

Basic notions on imperative programming, algorithms and data types and structures.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures in classroom devoted to theory, demos and discussions on individual homework assignments for learning self-assessment.

Team lab assignments on programming in F# and Java.

Team development of a final Java project.

The team lab assignments and final project are developed with the GitHub Classroom collaborative version control system.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Principles of programming languages: overview, programming paradigms; syntax, static and dynamic semantics, development of a semantics-driven interpreter.
Object oriented paradigm (Java language): objects, classes, interfaces, inheritance and dynamic dispatch of methods, casting, overloading, exceptions. Advanced features: generic classes and methods, hints of functional programming in Java. Examples of use of the standard API, iterator, decorator and visitor design patterns.
Functional paradigm (F# language): higher-order and polymorphic functions, inference of polymorphic types, currying, functions on lists, tail recursion and accumulation parameters, user-defined types.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Davide Ancona, Giovanni Lagorio, Elena Zucca. Linguaggi di Programmazione. Città Studi Edizioni
  Raymond Gallardo, Scott Hommel, Sowmya Kannan, Joni Gordon, Sharon Biocca Zakhour. The Java Tutorial: A Short Course on the Basics (Sixth Edition), Oracle (limitatamente alla versione 8 di Java)
  For documentation and books on F# see the page at https://fsharp.org/learn/
  Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John Vlissides. Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software. Addison-Wesley. (approfondimento)

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

In accordance with the teaching schedule approved by Consiglio dei Corsi di Studio in Informatica e Computer Science.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Written test. Final Java project and individual interview on it.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Learning and ability of application of the basic concepts of object-oriented programming: development of the final software project and individual interview on it; Java comprehension and programming exercises in the written test. 

Comprehension, use and implementation of the iterator, decorator and visitor design patterns: development of the final software project and individual interview on it; Java programming exercises in the written test. 

Learning and ability of application of the basic concepts of functional and generic programming: F# programming exercises in the written test. 

Comprehension of the specification of a programming language and the issues concerning the implementation of its interpreter: development of the final software project and individual interview on it; exercises on regular expressions and context free grammars in the written test. 

Collaboration within a software development team with the aim to implement a thousand LOC project; interaction with the other team members and instructors: development of the final software project and individual interview on it.