Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2025 - CMPT 383 D100

Comparative Programming Languages (3)

Class Number: 5513

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2025: Tue, 8:30–10:20 a.m.
    Burnaby

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2025: Thu, 8:30–9:20 a.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    CMPT 225 and (MACM 101 or (ENSC 251 and ENSC 252)), all with a minimum grade of C-.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Various concepts and principles underlying the design and use of modern programming languages are considered in the context of procedural, object-oriented, functional and logic programming languages. Topics include data and control structuring constructs, facilities for modularity and data abstraction, polymorphism, syntax, and formal semantics.

COURSE DETAILS:

If a majority of programming languages are Turing Complete, why do people use different languages when their expressivities are essentially the same?

In this course, we will explore diffent programming language designs and implementations. We will analyze the core relationships between language design and language implementation, and how these play into the emergent behavior of "good programming practice."



Topics

  • Learn Haskell
    • Fundamental programming ideas and approaches
    • Rich types and type-directed programming
    • Type safety
  • Learn Rust
    • Borrows, copies, and moves
    • Memory management and memory safety
  • Something else?
    • Other fun languages and concepts, if time permits

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

The core objectives for this course are threefold.

  1. Students will learn new programming paradigms that they are unlikely to have previously been exposed to.
  2. Students will learn how to analyze programming paradigms and understand their pros and cons.
  3. Students will learn how to apply these lessons in their everyday development.

Grading

NOTES:

25% weekly exercise-like assignments
35% bi-weekly project-like assignments
20% Midterm 1
20% Midterm 2

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Any textbook used will be freely available online.

You should have access to a computer sufficiently powerful that it can install and run Docker.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

The following are default policies in the School of Computing Science. Please check your course syllabus whether the instructor has chosen a different policy for your class, otherwise the following policies apply.
 
  • Students must attain an overall passing grade on the weighted average of exams in the course in order to get a C- or higher.
  • All student requests for accommodations for their religious practices must be made in writing by the end of the first week of classes, or no later than one week after a student adds a course. After considering a request, an instructor may provide a concession or may decline to do so. Students requiring accommodations as a result of a disability can contact the Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca).

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.