Language Design and Evolution
- definitions
  - language, tokens, rules, keywords, symbols, identifiers
  - syntax vs semantics
- language transformation
  - role of compiler
- firsts
  - program, language, commercial programming language
- History of Programming Languages
  - Know the general trends over time
  - The Beginnings (FORTRAN, LISP, COBOL, C)
  - 1980 - 1994 (C++, Python, MATLAB)
  - 1995 - 2009 (Java, Javascript, Ruby, C#)
  - 2010 - Present (Dart, Swift, Rust)

Classes of Languages
- Ways to compare languages
  - Declarative vs. Imperative
  - Structured vs. Non-structured
  - Compiled vs. Interpreted
- Modern classes
  - Procedural
  - Functional
  - Object-Oriented
  - Data-Driven/Query
  - Multi-Paradigm

Compiled and Interpreted Languages
- Language Translation Pipeline
  - Know each step, relevant terms
- Running a Program
  - language virtual machine
  - language runtime
- Compilers vs. Interpreters
- Language Definition vs. Implementation
- Performance Differences

Syntax
- definition
- Grammars
- BNF/EBNF
  - Able to read a grammar
  - Able to modify a grammar
  - forcing precedence as additional rule(s)
- Left-most derivation 
- Parse Tree
- Ambiguity

Semantics
- definition
- Attribute grammars
  - synthesized vs. inherited vs. intrinsic attributes
  - examples: type safety for assignment and operations
- Operational Semantics
- Denotational Semantics
  - example: integer string -> integer value
- Axiomatic Semantics
  - Hoare Triple
  - Weakest Precondition
    - examples for sequenced instructions
  - Proof of Program correctness
    - sequence, selection, while-loops
  - Loop invariant
    - definition
    - example
    - identifying WHERE the loop invariant must be true

Types
- Primitives
  - boolean, integer, floating-point
  - reason for name
  - implementations in different languages
- Pointers and References
  - similarities and differences
  - case studies with C++
- Sum Types
  - choice between one of many (or)
  - enumerations vs. optional vs. expected vs. variant
- Product Types
  - aggregation
  - records vs. tuples
  - memory representation
- Strings
  - primitive/built-in vs library
  - immutability
  - descriptors
  - operations
- Arrays
  - formal definition
  - elements vs indices
  - row vs. column major
  - storage categories
  - descriptors
  - shape
  - memory representation
- Associative Arrays
  - formal definition
  - key vs. value
- Lists
  - terms: cons, car, cdr
  - constructing/destructing lists
  - memory representation

OCaml
- The OCaml Trinity
  - type
  - value
  - expression
- Types
  - int, float, string, 'a list
- Operations
  - integer vs floating point (vs string)
- Bindings
  - value store
  - function definition
    - 'rec' keyword
  - how functions are evaluated
    - partial function evaluation
  - local bindings
- Control Flow
  - if-then-else
  - pattern matching
    - _ wildcard
    - in-order check of value, type, expression
- Lists
  - empty list
  - operations: cons, append, hd, tl
- Tail Recursion
  - formal definition
  - transformation to/from a while loop
  - (local) internal recursive function