| Semester 1, 2021 On-campus Toowoomba | |
| Short Description: | Principle Programming Language |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences |
| School or Department : | School of Sciences |
| Student contribution band : | Band 2 |
| ASCED code : | 020101 - Formal Language Theory |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite: CSC2402 or enrolled in CSC2402 at the same time as CSC8503 or Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GDTI or GCSC or MCTN
Other requisites
Students who do not meet the pre-requisite requirements must obtain approval of the examiner and the program coordinator to be enrolled in this course.
Students who have enrolled in or completed CSC3403 Comparative Programming Languages cannot not enrol in this course.
Students will require access to e-mail and have internet access to UConnect for this course.
Rationale
Programming languages are the fundamental means of communication between humans and computers. The number of available programming languages is large and it continues to increase. However, programming languages are more alike than different. In order to learn and grasp new languages with minimum time and effort, computing professionals need to know the structure, the semantics and the elements that are common in all programming languages. They also need to understand the design principles of various programming languages and be familiar with the similarities and differences between programming languages and programming language paradigms. This course covers the basic design principles of programming languages which forms the basis for analysing and evaluating programming languages.
Synopsis
This course addresses the basic principles of programming languages. It emphasises the structure and the semantics of programming languages. It covers the major elements of languages such as types, objects, names, scopes, expressions, functions, procedures, parameters, control structures and run-time storage management. This course introduces aspects of programming language translation such as lexical analysis, parsing, interpretation, and compilation. Students will gain a deep understanding of semantics of programming languages as well as their implementation and apply this knowledge to analyse and evaluate existing programming languages.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course students will be able to:
- Read and write a formal description of programming language syntax;
- Identify major features of programming languages, with a particular focus on imperative language features;
- Understand the advantages of different language paradigms, with a particular emphasis on functional and logic programming languages;
- Critically evaluate the design features of common programming languages;
- Build simple programming language translators.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Language evolution and evaluation | 5.00 |
| 2. | Formal description of languages | 10.00 |
| 3. | Programming language translation | 15.00 |
| 4. | Variables and data types | 10.00 |
| 5. | Expression and statements | 6.00 |
| 6. | Subprogram design and implementation | 15.00 |
| 7. | Functional languages | 15.00 |
| 8. | Abstract data types | 3.00 |
| 9. | Exceptions | 3.00 |
| 10. | Object oriented languages | 3.00 |
| 11. | Logic languages | 15.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2021&sem=01&subject1=CSC8503)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
(ISBN 9781292100555 or alternatively eBook version from .)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Assessments | 42.00 |
| Lectures | 26.00 |
| Private Study | 64.00 |
| Tutorials | 26.00 |
| Workshops | 8.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1 | 10 | 10 | 30 Mar 2021 | |
| Assignment 2 | 20 | 20 | 04 May 2021 | |
| Assignment 3 | 20 | 20 | 31 May 2021 | |
| Open Examination - Online | 66 | 50 | End S1 | (see note 1) |
Notes
- This will be an online exam. Students will be provided further instruction regarding the exam by their course examiner via StudyDesk. The examination date will be available via UConnect when the Alternate Assessment Schedule has been released.
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To complete each of the assessment items satisfactorily, students must obtain at least 50% of the marks available for each assessment item. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S1 2021 are:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
Requirements after S1 2021:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must obtain at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course (i.e. the Primary Hurdle), and have satisfied the Secondary Hurdle (Supervised), i.e. the end of semester examination by achieving at least 40% of the weighted marks available for that assessment item.
Supplementary assessment may be offered where a student has undertaken all of the required summative assessment items and has passed the Primary Hurdle but failed to satisfy the Secondary Hurdle (Supervised), or has satisfied the Secondary Hurdle (Supervised) but failed to achieve a passing Final Grade by 5% or less of the total weighted Marks.
To be awarded a passing grade for a supplementary assessment item (if applicable), a student must achieve at least 50% of the available marks for the supplementary assessment item as per the Assessment Procedure (point 4.4.2). -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the weighted aggregate of the marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course. -
Examination information:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S1 2021 are:
An Open Examination is one in which candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination.
Requirements after S1 2021:
An open examination is one in which candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Normally Deferred and Supplementary Examinations are held in the next Examination period. In S1 2021 selected courses will pilot an early Deferred and Supplementary Examination period held within 30 business days of results release. The list of courses involved can be found at . -
University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Other requirements
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Students will require access to e-mail, internet access and access to UConnect for this course.
-
Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.