IMC011 Semantics and Domain Theory Spring 2013

Teacher

Herman Geuvers: home page

Introduction

Denotational Semantics is about assigning a mathematical meaning to syntax (in particular, that of programming languages) which is, in some sense, independent of how the syntax is presented, or what computational rules it may obey (which are properly the subject matter of Operational Semantics).

Domain Theory is the mathematics of the objects, sets-with-structure, and mappings between them, which serve as a vehicle for denotational semantics.

Material

  1. Lecture Notes on Denotational Semantics by Andy Pitts and Glynn Winskel, abbreviated to DENS for now. (Available via internet: PDF file)
  2. Grondslagen van de Informatica 2 course notes by Erik Barendsen, August 1988, abbreviated to GI2 for now
  3. Possibly Selected sections (Ch. 3.1 and 3.2) from Domains and Lambda Calculi by Roberto Amadio and Pierre-Louis Curien, Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp: 484
  4. Possibly Selected sections (Ch. 13) from Formal Semantics of Programming Languages by Glynn Winskel, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1993.
  5. Possibly Selected sections (Ch. 2 and Ch. 8 until page 260) from Semantics of Programming Languages: Structures and Techniques, by Carl Gunter, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1992.
Background material, notably on operational semantics can be found in Hanne Riis Nielson en Flemming Nielson: Semantics with applications, Wiley 1999 (now freely available).

Structure

The course is divided roughly into 3 parts:

Set up

The course consists of 2 hours hoorcollege" TUESDAY, 15:45--17:30 HG 00.065, plus "self study" and a "werkcollege" (exercise class) on FRIDAY, 12:35--13:30 (in the lunch break) in the vicinity of HG 00.065.

The course by week

The following gives a rough schedule.
  1. February 5: Chapter 1 of DENS: notes and exercises.
  2. February 19: Chapter 1 of DENS, exercises, exercise class on Friday.
  3. February 26: Chapter 2 of DENS, until page 13, exercises, exercise class on Friday.
  4. March 5: Chapter 2-3 of DENS until Proposition 3.1.1, page 21, exercises, exercise class on Friday.
  5. March 12: Chapter 4 of DENS until slide 21, exercises, exercise class on Friday.
  6. March 19: Chapter 4 of DENS until page 36, exercises, exercise class on Friday.
  7. March 26: No Lecture
  8. April 2: This is not an official lecturing week Chapter 5 of DENS, exercises, NO exercise class on Friday.
  9. April 9: This is not an official lecturing week Chapter 6 of DENS, exercises, exercise class on Friday.
  10. April 16: Chapter 7 of DENS exercises NO exercise class on Friday.
  11. April 23: No Lecture.
  12. May 3: additional exercise class on Friday.
  13. May 7: Chapter 8 of DENS exercises, NO exercise class on Friday.
  14. May 14: Stable models, see notes and exercises. Exercise class on Friday.
  15. May 21: The notes of Berline and Section 3.1 of GI2, exercises, exercise class on Friday.
  16. May 28: Sections 3.2 and 3.3 of GI2, exercises, exercise class on Friday.
  17. June 4: Chapter 4 of GI2, exercises, exercise class on Friday.
  18. June 11: Chapter 4 of GI2 and hand out of test exam, exercises, exercise class on Friday.
  19. June 18: Recap of part 2, answers of exercises and test exam

Exam

Tuesday 15:30 -- 17:30, July 2, HG 00.108, written exam.
(Second chance: Monday 15.30 -- 17.30, August 10, HG 02.032 written exam.)
herman at cs dot ru dot nl