Many programs take a sequence of symbols as input. These sequences almost always have some structure. Examples of such sequences of symbols are: programs in any programming language; a packet of information sent over the Internet; or information written into a file by a program (with the intention of that information being later re-read).

The structure of those sequences is described with the help of grammars (grammatica's). From these descriptions one can automatically generate programs that recognise the corresponding structure, known as parsers (ontleders). This process of recognition is an important component of many programs, for example, a translator from one data type (say, a source code file) into another (the internal structures used by the compiler). The description of the process of translation makes use of a grammar formalism. By using some specific classes of grammars, we can not only express the structure of the sequence, but also ensure that the structure is easy to recognise; for example, that it can be recognised in linear time.

Grammars play a central role in Computer Science, thus this course provides an important conceptual support for the rest of your studies. In this course you learn to design grammars, how to build parsers from those, and how to further use the result of those parser. You will see how to generate code for a subset of the C# programming language. More precisely, after successful completion of this course you will be able to:

• describe structures (formulas, terms, ...) using context-free and regular grammars
• recognize or parse sequences of symbols into structures
• analyze grammars to see whether several properties hold
• put together different components such as parsers, analyzers, and code generators
• apply these techniques in the construction of different kinds of programs
• relate grammar formalisms to different sorts of automata
• understand why some programs may or may not be described using context-free and regular grammars

In this course we use Haskell to describe the different components. Knowledge of this language at the level of the Functioneel programmeren course is thus required.

• Slides from the lectures
• Lecture Notes

• 2 × 2 h. lectures, on Tuesdays and Thursdays
• 1 × 2 h. practicals, on Tuesdays
• 1 × 2 h. practicals, on Thursdays

You are expected to do exercises from the lecture notes, listed on the website, by yourself. In case of questions, address yourself to the lecturer of the course.

• The theory grade is T = 0.4 × grade of mid-term + 0.6 × grade of final exam. You need T >= 5.0 to pass the course.
• The practical grade is P = 0.2 × first practical + 0.3 × second practical + 0.5 × third practical. You need P >= 5.0 to pass the course.

• Passed with grade F (rounded to half points) if F >= 5.5, T >= 5.0, and P >= 5.0.
• Not passed with grade 5.0 if F >= 5.5, but T < 5.0 or P < 5.0
• Not passed with grade F otherwise.

• AANV if F >= 4.0
• NVD otherwise