COMP311

COMP 311: Functional Programming (Fall 2015)

Instructor	Dr. Eric Allen	TAs
Lectures	GRB W212	Lecture times	2:30PM - 3:45PM TR
Course Email		Online Discussion	https://piazza.com/class/ibslot8j6un5p6

Description

This class provides an introduction to concepts, principles, and approaches of functional programming. Functional programming is a style of programming where the key means of computation is the application of functions to arguments (which themselves can be functions). This style of programming has a long history in computer science, beginning with the formulation of the Lambda Calculus as a foundation for mathematics and computer science. It has become increasingly popular in recent years because it offers important advantages in designing, maintaining, and reasoning about programs in many modern contexts such as web services, multicore programming, and cluster computing. Course work consists of a series of programming assignments in the Scala programming language and various extensions.

General Information

Lectures	Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30PM-3:45PM
Grading	Coursework will consist of a series of small weekly programming assignments in Scala
Office Hours	Dr. Eric Allen: Tuesdays 4PM-5PM DH 2161
Syllabus	Course Syllabus
Homework Submissions	Submission Guide
Textbooks	There is no required textbook, but we will draw material from a variety of sources, including: Chiusano and Bjarnason. "Functional Programming in Scala.” Manning Publications Co. August 2014. Available online at http://it-ebooks.info/book/3099/ Coursera: Functional Programming Principles in Scala by Martin Odersky. https://www.coursera.org/course/progfun edX: FP101x: Introduction to Functional Programming by Erik Meijer. https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-functional-programming-delftx-fp101x#.VR1tZVYk_wI Okasaki. "Purely Functional Data Structures.” Cambridge University Press. New York, NY. 1999. The Apache Spark website. https://spark.apache.org

Lecture Schedule

Week	Day	Date	Topic	Work Assigned	Work Due
1	Tues	Aug 25	Overview and Motivation
	Thurs	Aug 27	Course Tools and Setup
2	Tues	Sep 1	Introduction to Scala
	Thurs	Sep 3	Programming with Intention	Hwk 0
3	Tues	Sep 8	Test-Driven Development
	Thurs	Sep 10	Defining and Using Functions and Recursion	Hwk 1	Hwk 0
4	Tues	Sep 15	Referential Transparency and the Substitution Model
	Thurs	Sep 17	Tail Recursion	Hwk 2	Hwk 1
5	Tues	Sep 22	Lists and Functional Data Structures
	Thurs	Sep 24	Types, Type Systems, and Polymorphic Functions	Hwk 3	Hwk 2
6	Tues	Sep 29	Programming with Options and Pattern Matching
	Thurs	Oct 1	Map, Reduce, and Higher Order Functions	Hwk 4	Hwk 3
7	Tues	Oct 6	Comprehensions and flatMap
	Thurs	Oct 8	Programs as Proofs and the Curry-Howard Isomorphism
8	Tues	Oct 13	MIDTERM RECESS
	Thurs	Oct 15	Contracts and Data Integrity	Hwk 5	Hwk 4
9	Tues	Oct 20	Functional Leftist Heaps and Binomial Heaps
	Thurs	Oct 22	Functional Red-Black Trees	Hwk 6	Hwk 5
10	Tues	Oct 27	Strictness and Lazy Evaluation
	Thurs	Oct 29	Stream Processing and Incremental I/O	Hwk 7	Hwk 6
11	Tues	Nov 3	Closures, Effects, and the Environment Model
	Thurs	Nov 5	Programming with Continuations	Hwk 8	Hwk 7
12	Tues	Nov 10	Domain-Specific Languages with Higher Order Functions
	Thurs	Nov 12	Parallelism and Functional Programming	Hwk 9	Hwk 8
13	Tues	Nov 17	Big Data and Distributed Computing with Apache Spark
	Thurs	Nov 19	DataFrames and Spark SQL	Hwk 10	Hwk 9
	Tues	Nov 24	Guest Lecture (TBA)
	Thurs	Nov 26	THANKSGIVING
15	Tues	Dec 1	Pipelines and SparkML (Machine Learning)
	Thurs	Dec 3	Course Wrap Up		Hwk 10

Grading, Honor Code Policy, Processes and Procedures

Grading will be based on your performance on weekly programming assignments.

In this course, all students will be held to the standards of the Rice Honor Code, a code that you pledged to honor when you matriculated at this institution. If you are unfamiliar with the details of this code and how it is administered, you should consult the Honor System Handbook at http://honor.rice.edu/honor-system-handbook/. This handbook outlines the University's expectations for the integrity of your academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process.

Homework Submissions: All submitted homework submissions and presentations are expected to be the result of your team’s effort. All essays are expected to be the result of your individual effort. You are free to discuss course material and approaches to problems with your other classmates, the teaching assistants and the professor, but you should never misrepresent someone else’s work as your own. If you use any material from external sources, you must provide proper attribution.

Accommodations for Students with Special Needs

Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact me during the first two weeks of class regarding any special needs. Students with disabilities should also contact Disabled Student Services in the Ley Student Center and the Rice Disability Support Services.

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