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<blockquote style="position: relative; padding-left: 55px;"><section><a href="https://hachyderm.io/users/inthehands/statuses/114190479972973528">Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 20-Mar-2025 03:20:49 JST</a><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@inthehands" title="inthehands@hachyderm.io"><img src="https://gnusocial.jp/avatar/53259-48-20231130154634.webp" width="48" height="48" alt="Paul Cantrell" style="position: absolute; left: 0; top: 0;">Paul Cantrell</a><div><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@inthehands/114190457483399695" rel="in-reply-to">in reply to</a></div></section><article><p><a href="https://tech.lgbt/@quephird">@quephird</a> <a href="https://social.belkadan.com/@jrose">@jrose</a><br>The Programming Languages course I teach is built around this idea of tinkering with the unfamiliar as a way of learning underlying patterns, and learning how to learn — as opposed to preparing students specifically for graduate research in programming languages (“this semester, we will build a subset of OCaml in OCaml”) or offering a utilitarian checklist of specific language paradigms and language features. (Both of those can be good courses, but they’re not the one I teach!)</p><p>2/</p></article><footer><a rel="bookmark" href="https://gnusocial.jp/conversation/4759924#notice-9323694">In conversation</a><time datetime="2025-03-20T03:20:49+09:00" title="Thursday, 20-Mar-2025 03:20:49 JST">about a month ago</time> <span>from <span><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@inthehands/114190479972973528" rel="external" title="Sent from hachyderm.io via ActivityPub">hachyderm.io</a></span></span><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@inthehands/114190479972973528">permalink</a><h4>Attachments</h4><ol><li><label><a rel="external" href="https://gnusocial.jp/attachment/4327956">Learning GoalsProgramming languages are far too large a topic to fully cover in an entire graduate program or even an entire career, let alone in a single semester. (I am still learning new things about them all the time!) This is an introductory course, whose goal is to give you an eye for the questions of programming languages, and a solid footing for your future language explorations. In particular, after taking this course, you should:• have a working understanding of many common constructs, patterns, and features that occur across different programming languages in widespread use today;• recognize problems that motivate language features, and tradeoffs those features involve;• be able to recognize familiar constructs in unfamiliar languages;• be comfortable learning unfamiliar languages rapidly, and working with them productively even when your understanding is limited;• have a nascent awareness of how a language’s design choices shape code written in it, and shape the development practices of the people who write that code; and• be able to critically examine the implications of writing software in a particular language.</a></label><br><a href="https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/190/479/832/521/634/original/faa9fee2278d3f8f.png" rel="external">https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/190/479/832/521/634/original/faa9fee2278d3f8f.png</a></li><li><label><a rel="external" href="https://gnusocial.jp/attachment/4327957">Note that nowhere do these learning goals mention gaining deep expertise in any particular programming language! On the contrary, this course is about learning to work effectively in languages of which you know very little. At the end of the semester, having encountered a dozen or so new programming languages, you will not know any of those languages well — but you will be prepared to encounter the next dozen new languages that come your way with greater ease and confidence.
It will sometimes be frustrating to work in languages you barely know. When this happens, remember that learning to be comfortable working with the unfamiliar is the point! Intro CS classes build up programming knowledge for you in small, logical pieces, like Legos. You are moving beyond that now. Experiment, explore, and embrace the unknown.</a></label><br><a href="https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/190/479/927/322/725/original/8906584146a6adfd.png" rel="external">https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/190/479/927/322/725/original/8906584146a6adfd.png</a></li></ol></footer></blockquote>

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Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 20-Mar-2025 03:20:49 JST Paul Cantrell
in reply to
@quephird @jrose
The Programming Languages course I teach is built around this idea of tinkering with the unfamiliar as a way of learning underlying patterns, and learning how to learn — as opposed to preparing students specifically for graduate research in programming languages (“this semester, we will build a subset of OCaml in OCaml”) or offering a utilitarian checklist of specific language paradigms and language features. (Both of those can be good courses, but they’re not the one I teach!)
2/
In conversationabout a month ago from hachyderm.iopermalink
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1. Learning Goals Programming languages are far too large a topic to fully cover in an entire graduate program or even an entire career, let alone in a single semester. (I am still learning new things about them all the time!) This is an introductory course, whose goal is to give you an eye for the questions of programming languages, and a solid footing for your future language explorations. In particular, after taking this course, you should: • have a working understanding of many common constructs, patterns, and features that occur across different programming languages in widespread use today; • recognize problems that motivate language features, and tradeoffs those features involve; • be able to recognize familiar constructs in unfamiliar languages; • be comfortable learning unfamiliar languages rapidly, and working with them productively even when your understanding is limited; • have a nascent awareness of how a language’s design choices shape code written in it, and shape the development practices of the people who write that code; and • be able to critically examine the implications of writing software in a particular language.
  https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/190/479/832/521/634/original/faa9fee2278d3f8f.png
2. Note that nowhere do these learning goals mention gaining deep expertise in any particular programming language! On the contrary, this course is about learning to work effectively in languages of which you know very little. At the end of the semester, having encountered a dozen or so new programming languages, you will not know any of those languages well — but you will be prepared to encounter the next dozen new languages that come your way with greater ease and confidence. It will sometimes be frustrating to work in languages you barely know. When this happens, remember that learning to be comfortable working with the unfamiliar is the point! Intro CS classes build up programming knowledge for you in small, logical pieces, like Legos. You are moving beyond that now. Experiment, explore, and embrace the unknown.
  https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/190/479/927/322/725/original/8906584146a6adfd.png

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