CS7470  Seminar in PL: Influential Ideas in Programming Languages (Spring 2026)

Announcements

Course Information

Time & Place

Mondays and Wednesdays 2:50-4:30pm in Hayden Hall 321

Professor

Amal Ahmed
Office: WVH 328
Email: amal at ccs.neu.edu
Office hours: by appointment (email me)

Course Description

The primary goal of this course is to understand some of the major influential ideas in the area of Programming Languages and how they evolved. For the first two lectures, the instructor will present, focusing on type abstraction, theorems for free, and representation independence. For subsequent lectures, students will choose an influential idea that they wish to present.

This course is intended primarily for PhD students. However, MS students and undergraduates are welcome; they should contact the instructor to discuss their background in programming languages.

Prerequisites

CS 5400 (PPL) or CS 7400 (Intensive PPL), or permission from instructor.

Process

  1. Students should propose three “influential ideas” of interest, ordered from most preferred to least preferred, each supported by at least one central citation. (See suggested papers for potential starting points.)

    Due date: Send the list by January 12. Have a 15-minute meeting with the instructor on January 14 or 15 to discuss the topic. Topics will be approved by January 16.

  2. Once a topic is approved, compile a list of three to six major publications that capture the evolution of the idea. Read the introductory part of each article so that you can explain its role in the evolution of the influential idea.

    By January 20, submit a list of references to the instructor. Each reference should consist of the author(s), the title, a PDF link, and a sentence or two explaining your understanding of the role of the paper.

    Set up a meeting with the instructor to discuss the proposed sequence of articles. This meeting will decide which articles to use.

  3. Write a short abstract that explains the basics of the influential idea and its evolution, as represented by the chosen papers.

    Due date: Send the lecture title and abstract to the instructor as soon as possible after the selection meeting and before the presentation to the class.

  4. Study the selected papers. Prepare an annotated bibliography of the chosen articles. Prepare a blackboard/whiteboard presentation.

    Due date: Please have a draft of your presentation ready one week before your presentation. Then meet with the instructor if there are any questions about how to present the material, so changes can be made in a timely fashion.

  5. If you are not presenting, you will assess the lecture given by the student presenting and submit your Assessment to the instructor. The assessments provide feedback on both the lecture content and presentation.

  6. The schedule for the first round of lectures will be set up by roughly January 23rd. Everyone will present once before we repeat the above steps for the second presentation.

Lectures

Date Topic Presenter
W 1/7
Title
Abstract
 Amal
M 1/12 No class – POPL
W 1/14 No class – POPL
M 1/19 No class – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
W 1/21
Title
Abstract
 Amal
M 1/26
Title
Abstract
W 1/28
Title
Abstract
M 2/2
Title
Abstract
W 2/4
Title
Abstract
M 2/9
Title
Abstract
W 2/11 No class
M 2/16 No class – Presidents’ Day
W 2/18
Title
Abstract
M 2/23
Title
Abstract
W 2/25
Title
Abstract
M 3/2
Title
Abstract
W 3/4
Title
Abstract
M 3/9
Title
Abstract
W 3/11
Title
Abstract
M 3/16
Title
Abstract
W 3/18
Title
Abstract
M 3/23
Title
Abstract
W 3/25
Title
Abstract
M 3/30
Title
Abstract
W 4/1
Title
Abstract
M 4/6
Title
Abstract
W 4/8
Title
Abstract
M 4/13
Title
Abstract
W 4/15
Title
Abstract
M 4/20 No class – Patriots’ Day

Amal Ahmed
Last modified: Wed Jan 7 03:08:44 EST 2026

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