[SPAM] - Re: [GAP] advice on Ada in general programming languages course - Email found in subject

[Ted Baker]

Thanks, Ed!  This is the most useful reply so far.  You are using
the same general PL text we have been using here and similar
prerequisites and objectives.  What you wrote makes sense for my
course, and I will take a look at your materials on the Web for
more detail.  --Ted

On Thu, Apr 21, 2005 at 11:18:48AM -0400, ed schonberg wrote:
> Ted Baker wrote:
> 
> >Dear GAP discussion list members:
> >
> >I'm looking for ideas on how to "hook" students on Ada in the
> >course I am scheduled to teach next fall.  In particular, I am
> >interested in hearing if anyone else has taught a course like this
> >before and how they worked Ada into it, and whether you are aware
> >of any reference materials and Ada software artifacts or tools
> >that would fit this course.  I am also hearing comments/criticisms
> >on some of the ideas I have been considedring.
> >
> > 
> >
> I am currently teaching the MS-level course in Programming Languages, 
> which could very well be an upper division undergraduate course. In 
> general the course has been very well received, even though  (or perhaps 
> because?) they get a good amount of Ada in it. I start with Ada, to 
> cover the basic structure of imperative languages (object-orientation 
> left for later) and discuss the type system in detail. This allows for 
> interesting comparisons when discussing C++, Java, and C# (which are 
> brought in at various points). I.e. all the others can be found wanting 
> in small and large ways, without belaboring the point.
> 
> I discuss inheritance mostly in the context of C++ because for many of 
> them it's the first exposure to the language and as professionals they 
> need it. There is a couple of lectures on concurrency, and Ada comes 
> back, to be contrasted with Java threads. There is a section on generic 
> programming, with Ada
> in detail, C++ templates ditto, and Java more lightly. Then it's on to 
> functional languages (LISP and some ML, mostly for type inference). 
> We've dropped Prolog altogether from the course, but I usually sneak in 
> one lecture on APL and its modern incarnation, J. You can check the 
> current materials for the course at    
> http://www.cs.nyu.edu/courses/spring05/G22.2110-001/index.html
> 
> One assignment that proved very instructive this semester was an 
> implementation of dynamic dispatching in an imperative language without 
> inheritance, i.e. how dispatch tables and access to subprograms work 
> under the covers.  Another one dealt with interfaces and general 
> set-manipulation routines that deal with multiple implementations. In 
> general I find that short assignments on a variety of language features 
> work better than large projects over several weeks, a reflection of the 
> attention span of the new generation?
> 
> Ed Schonberg
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