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From: kend@data.UUCP (Ken Dickey)
Newsgroups: comp.theory
Subject: Re: "Models of Computation" course syllabus
Message-ID: <428@data.UUCP>
Date: 14 Nov 90 19:29:49 GMT
References: <18679.9011131440@olympus.cs.hull.ac.uk>
Organization: Microcosm, Beaverton, OR
Lines: 31

rst@cs.hull.ac.uk (Rob Turner) writes:
>We are trying to quickly put together a syllabus for a course entitled
>    "Models of Computation"

>It will include discussions of the various programming language
>paradigms, such as imperative, functional, logic, and object-oriented.
>It will also deal with semantics.

>Does anyone have any opinions about what should go into this course,
>and are there any books which cover all the areas I mentioned above.
>In particular, books should have adequate discussions of operational
>semantics, which seems to be largely ignored in many of the books I
>have seen in favour of denotational and axiomatic semantics (why?).

I would recommend Abelson & Sussman: "Structure and Interpretation of
Computer Programs", MIT Press, 1985.  It deals with all the paradims you
mention.  David Schmidt's "Denotational Semantics" (Allyn & Bacon,
1986) might be a good companion.

As to models, are you asking about Von Neuman's extension of the
Turing Model vs the Lambda Calculus Model?  I am not sure what you
mean here.

If you want to get into operational semantics (why?), you might look
at Bauer & Wossner: "Algorighmic Language and Program Development",
Springer Verlag, 1981 and the related project CIP transformation
system for "wide spectrum" language development (Springer lecture
notes #183 and #292).  I believe Pepper has a newer text along this
line (also SpringerV), but I forget the title.

-Ken Dickey				kend@data.uucp