💻 MemoLearning Programming Languages

OOP, functional, procedural paradigms, language design, and interpreters

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Programming Languages Curriculum

15
Core Units
~190
Language Concepts
6
Paradigms
12+
Languages
1

Language Fundamentals

Understand the basic concepts, history, and classification of programming languages.

  • What is a programming language
  • Language evolution and history
  • Compilation vs interpretation
  • Syntax and semantics
  • Language paradigms overview
  • High-level vs low-level languages
  • Domain-specific languages
  • Language design principles
2

Syntax and Grammar

Learn formal methods for describing and analyzing programming language syntax.

  • Context-free grammars
  • Backus-Naur Form (BNF)
  • Extended BNF (EBNF)
  • Parse trees and derivations
  • Ambiguous grammars
  • Precedence and associativity
  • Lexical analysis concepts
  • Syntax error handling
3

Procedural Programming

Master the procedural paradigm with functions, procedures, and structured programming.

  • Procedural paradigm principles
  • Functions and procedures
  • Parameter passing mechanisms
  • Local vs global scope
  • Recursion and iteration
  • Structured programming concepts
  • Modular programming
  • C language deep dive
4

Object-Oriented Programming

Explore OOP principles including encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.

  • OOP fundamental concepts
  • Classes and objects
  • Encapsulation and data hiding
  • Inheritance and code reuse
  • Polymorphism and dynamic binding
  • Abstract classes and interfaces
  • Method overloading and overriding
  • Java and C++ comparison
5

Functional Programming

Learn the functional paradigm with immutability, higher-order functions, and recursion.

  • Functional programming principles
  • Pure functions and immutability
  • Higher-order functions
  • Lambda expressions
  • Recursion and tail recursion
  • Map, filter, and reduce
  • Currying and partial application
  • Haskell and Lisp examples
6

Data Types and Type Systems

Understand type systems, type checking, and data type design principles.

  • Primitive and composite types
  • Static vs dynamic typing
  • Strong vs weak typing
  • Type inference mechanisms
  • Polymorphic type systems
  • Generic programming
  • User-defined types
  • Type safety and errors
7

Memory Management

Learn how programming languages handle memory allocation and deallocation.

  • Stack vs heap allocation
  • Manual memory management
  • Automatic garbage collection
  • Reference counting
  • Mark and sweep algorithms
  • Memory leaks and dangling pointers
  • Smart pointers and RAII
  • Memory safety considerations
8

Scope and Binding

Understand variable scope, binding, and name resolution in programming languages.

  • Scope rules and visibility
  • Static vs dynamic scoping
  • Block scope and lexical scope
  • Name binding and resolution
  • Variable lifetime
  • Closure concepts
  • Environment and activation records
  • Scope in different languages
9

Control Structures

Master various control flow mechanisms and their implementation across languages.

  • Sequential execution
  • Conditional statements
  • Iteration and loops
  • Unconditional jumps
  • Exception handling
  • Coroutines and generators
  • Pattern matching
  • Control flow optimization
10

Language Interpreters

Build interpreters to understand how programming languages are executed.

  • Interpreter design principles
  • Lexical analysis (tokenization)
  • Parsing techniques
  • Abstract syntax trees
  • Evaluation strategies
  • Environment and symbol tables
  • Error handling and reporting
  • Building a simple interpreter
11

Compilers and Code Generation

Learn how high-level code is translated into executable machine code.

  • Compilation process overview
  • Frontend vs backend
  • Intermediate representations
  • Code optimization techniques
  • Target code generation
  • Register allocation
  • Just-in-time compilation
  • Cross-compilation
12

Concurrent Programming

Explore language features for concurrent and parallel programming.

  • Concurrency vs parallelism
  • Thread-based concurrency
  • Message passing models
  • Actor model programming
  • Synchronization primitives
  • Async/await patterns
  • Race conditions and deadlocks
  • Concurrent language features
13

Logic Programming

Understand declarative programming through logic and constraint-based approaches.

  • Logic programming principles
  • Facts, rules, and queries
  • Unification algorithm
  • Backtracking and search
  • Prolog language features
  • Constraint logic programming
  • Applications and use cases
  • Declarative vs imperative
14

Language Design Principles

Learn the principles and trade-offs involved in designing programming languages.

  • Language design goals
  • Simplicity vs expressiveness
  • Orthogonality principles
  • Readability and writability
  • Reliability and safety
  • Performance considerations
  • Language evolution
  • Domain-specific design
15

Modern Language Features

Explore cutting-edge language features and future programming paradigms.

  • Type inference and checking
  • Pattern matching systems
  • Metaprogramming capabilities
  • Language interoperability
  • Domain-specific languages
  • Quantum programming languages
  • Machine learning languages
  • Future language trends

Unit 1: Language Fundamentals

Understand the basic concepts, history, and classification of programming languages.

What is a Programming Language

Learn the definition and purpose of programming languages as formal notation systems for expressing computation.

Language Evolution and History

Trace the development of programming languages from machine code to modern high-level languages.

Compilation vs Interpretation

Compare ahead-of-time compilation with runtime interpretation and their performance trade-offs.

Syntax and Semantics

Distinguish between language syntax (form) and semantics (meaning) in program specification.

Language Paradigms Overview

Survey major programming paradigms including imperative, declarative, and hybrid approaches.

High-Level vs Low-Level Languages

Understand the abstraction spectrum from assembly language to domain-specific languages.

Domain-Specific Languages

Explore specialized languages designed for specific problem domains and their advantages.

Language Design Principles

Learn fundamental principles that guide programming language design and implementation decisions.

Unit 2: Syntax and Grammar

Learn formal methods for describing and analyzing programming language syntax.

Context-Free Grammars

Master formal grammar notation for specifying programming language syntax rules and structure.

Backus-Naur Form (BNF)

Use BNF notation to precisely define language syntax with production rules and non-terminals.

Extended BNF (EBNF)

Apply EBNF extensions for more concise grammar specifications with repetition and optionality.

Parse Trees and Derivations

Construct parse trees to represent the syntactic structure of programs according to grammar rules.

Ambiguous Grammars

Identify and resolve grammar ambiguities that can lead to multiple valid parse interpretations.

Precedence and Associativity

Handle operator precedence and associativity rules to resolve expression parsing ambiguities.

Lexical Analysis Concepts

Understand tokenization and lexical analysis as the first phase of language processing.

Syntax Error Handling

Implement robust error detection and recovery mechanisms in language processors.

Unit 3: Procedural Programming

Master the procedural paradigm with functions, procedures, and structured programming.

Procedural Paradigm Principles

Understand the core concepts of procedural programming including top-down design and modularity.

Functions and Procedures

Design reusable code units with proper parameter interfaces and return value mechanisms.

Parameter Passing Mechanisms

Master call-by-value, call-by-reference, and call-by-name parameter passing strategies.

Local vs Global Scope

Manage variable visibility and lifetime through proper scoping and namespace design.

Recursion and Iteration

Compare recursive and iterative approaches to problem solving with performance considerations.

Structured Programming Concepts

Apply structured programming principles to eliminate goto statements and improve code clarity.

Modular Programming

Organize code into logical modules with well-defined interfaces and information hiding.

C Language Deep Dive

Explore C as the quintessential procedural language with systems programming capabilities.