课程概况
[As described below, this is Part B of a 3-part course. Participants should complete Part A first — Part B “dives right in” and refers often to material from Part A.]
This course is an introduction to the basic concepts of programming languages, with a strong emphasis on functional programming. The course uses the languages ML, Racket, and Ruby as vehicles for teaching the concepts, but the real intent is to teach enough about how any language “fits together” to make you more effective programming in any language — and in learning new ones.
This course is neither particularly theoretical nor just about programming specifics — it will give you a framework for understanding how to use language constructs effectively and how to design correct and elegant programs. By using different languages, you will learn to think more deeply than in terms of the particular syntax of one language. The emphasis on functional programming is essential for learning how to write robust, reusable, composable, and elegant programs. Indeed, many of the most important ideas in modern languages have their roots in functional programming. Get ready to learn a fresh and beautiful way to look at software and how to have fun building it.
The course assumes some prior experience with programming, as described in more detail in the first module of Part A. Part B assumes successful completion of Part A.
The course is divided into three Coursera courses: Part A, Part B, and Part C. As explained in more detail in the first module of Part A, the overall course is a substantial amount of challenging material, so the three-part format provides two intermediate milestones and opportunities for a pause before continuing. The three parts are designed to be completed in order and set up to motivate you to continue through to the end of Part C.
Week 1 of Part A has a more detailed list of topics for all three parts of the course, but it is expected that most course participants will not (yet!) know what all these topics mean.
课程大纲
WEEK 1
Introduction, Course-Wide Information, and Software Installation (Start Here)
Welcome! Start here! Learn about this course and how it's organized.
Section 5 and Homework 4 (First Module with Racket)
Let's get started programming with Racket and then learning idioms related to delaying evaluation. The welcome message has a few additional comments about picking up a new language and how to approach the homework assignment, so let's get started...
WEEK 2
Section 6 and Homework 5 (Second Module with Racket)
Welcome to the second week of Part B where we will focus on (a) building data structures in dynamically typed languages and (b) implementing programming languages with interpreters. Most of the programming assignment is focused on (b) -- implementing a small programming language that has function closures. As usual, start with the welcome message and enjoy!
WEEK 3
Section 7 Including a Quiz
In the last module of Part B we will use our experience programming in ML and Racket to compare and contrast static typing and dynamic typing. This is not only the most important difference between these two languages, but it is a fundamental topic in the study of programming languages. Learning it can help you program more effectively in both kinds of languages. After completing this week's quiz, don't forget to watch the Part B Wrap-Up and Part C Preview video.
面向人群
The course assumes students are familiar with programming covered by most introductory courses, but it is explicitly designed not to be a particularly advanced course. Students should be comfortable with variables, conditionals, arrays, linked lists, stacks, and recursion (though recursion will be reviewed and expanded upon), and the difference between an interface and an implementation. Students should be eager to write programs in languages new to them. Part C of the course analyzes basic object-oriented concepts and contrast them with those of other languages, so familiarity with Java or a closely related language (e.g., C#) might be helpful for Part C, but it is not necessary for the assignments. This course is based on a course designed for second- and third-year undergraduates: not a first computer science course, but not an advanced course either. So it certainly will not cover everything in the beautiful world of programming languages, but it is a solid introduction. It is designed to be eye-opening and fascinating both for learners seeking a "third or fourth programming course" and for learners with more experience who are looking for a clear and precise foundation in programming languages. The assignments in the course are designed to be challenging, but with everything you need in the course content. An introductory video and another reading discuss assumed background in some more detail in Week 1 of Part A of the course.
