CS620: Topics in Programming Languages

Syllabus

Logistics

When: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2pm to 3:15pm
Where: Gould-Simpson Room 942
Instructor: Michelle Strout, mstrout@cs.arizona.edu
Office Hours: Thursday 3:30-4:30pm in Gould-Simpson 707

Class Webpage

URL: http://www.cs.arizona.edu/classes/cs620/spring16/

Class Communication

We will be using Piazza https://piazza.com/arizona/spring2016/csc620/home. Please post all questions on piazza and share interesting things you have learned about parallel programming models.

Grading

Grades will be posted at D2L.

Weekly critical reviews of papers, 30%
Project, 40%
Programming Model Demonstrations, 10%
Presenting and leading a discussion on a paper, 10%
Reading Quizzes, 10%

Paper Reviews

Each student will be responsible for writing one critical review of one of the papers covered each week. You need to turn in 7 reviews througout the semester. The reviews should be one to two pages and cover the following questions about the paper:

What problem did the paper address? Who is the audience?
Is it important/interesting? What was the context for the paper? Why should the audience care?
What is the approach used to solve the problem?
How does the paper support or otherwise justify the conclusions it reaches?
What problems are explicitly or implicitly left as future research questions?
How does the paper address the questions we are asking about programming models this semester?

You are expected to follow the guidelines put forth in the provided example review.

You can resubmit a review within 24 hours of the discussion about the paper, however your review grade will be based at least 50% on the initial review submitted. If you submit the first review within 24 hours of the discussion, you will receive a 25% late penalty.

Paper Presentation

Each student will be presenting and leading the discussion for one paper. See the detailed guidelines for the paper presentation at http://www.cs.arizona.edu/classes/cs620/spring16/paper-present.html.

Programming Model Presentations

Each student will select a programming model, select a paper that is primarily about that programming model (paper approval from the instructor is needed), and present some examples of using that programming model to the class. See the Program Model Demonstration Guidelines page for more detail.

Project

Each student will do an individual semester-long project. The project will consist of the following deliverables:

Preliminary project proposal
Proposal presentation (5 minutes)
Written proposal (2-3 pages)
Verbal status report (15 minutes)
Final presentation (20 minutes)
Final report (6-10 pages using a conference style file)

Details about the project.

Quizzes

Reading quizzes will be posted on D2L and will be announced at least

Class Participation

Everyone must read each paper. While you are reading each paper, you should develop at least one question or point relevant for discussion of the paper in class. At the beginning of the course, everyone must also indicate some paper preferences.

Course Policies

Students are responsible for the announcements posted on the course website.
The Department of Computer Science is committed to providing and maintaining a supportive educational environment for all. We strive to be welcoming and inclusive, respect privacy and confidentiality, behave respectfully and courteously, and practice intellectual honesty. Disruptive behaviors (such as physical or emotional harassment, dismissive attitudes, and abuse of department resources) will not be tolerated. The complete Code of Conduct is available on our department web site. We expect that you will adhere to this code, as well as the UA Student Code of Conduct, while you are a member of this class.