CECS 524     Advanced Topics in Programming Languages      
                                          Syllabus     Fall 2006

Dr. Art Gittleman  ECS 534 (310)985-1530  artg@csulb.edu
Office Hours: M 5-6 pm, 7-8 pm, W 7-8 pm
Code: 10354 lecture MW 8-9:15 pm ECS 308 
Grading: Midterm  exam                               Mon. Oct. 23,           100 points 
         Final exam                                  Mon. Dec. 18, 7:15-9:15 100 points
         Ruby Library group presentation and wiki                            100 points  
         Ruby open source group presentation and wiki                        100 points   

Text:   See the course site at www.cecs.csulb.edu/~artg/524/
             Course materials may be found online.  We will use a course wiki to submit 
             reports on Ruby libraries and on Ruby open source projects.

Topics:  
      Ruby basics (quickly), blocks, and methods.  Ruby gems. Ruby built-in classes 
      and modules that support metaprogramming (Class, Method, Module, Object,
      Kernel).  Metaprogramming and domain specific languages examples.  
      Webrick. Group presentations of Ruby standard libraries chosen from dRuby, 
      open-uri, REXML, RSS, SOAP, Test::Unit, and XMLRPC.  Group presentations 
      of Ruby open source projects chosen from ActiveRecord, Rake, XML Builder, 
      Iowa, Nitro, Ruby/ActiveLDAP, Wee, Camping, Mongrel, and RSpec.
          

Goals:  
      To learn advanced programming language concepts in a context of great 
      interest to developers.  Ruby on Rails has captured much interest as a web
      development framework for CRUD applications.  The dynamic flexibility of Ruby
      makes it excellent for metaprogramming (programs that create programs) and 
      creating domain specific languages.  David Patterson, recent ACM president 
      and distinguished researcher, recommends a class in reading open source 
      code.