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DD2481 Principles of Programming Languages 7.5 credits

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Information per course offering

Choose semester and course offering to see current information and more about the course, such as course syllabus, study period, and application information.

Termin

Information for Spring 2026 popl26 programme students

Course location

KTH Campus

Duration
16 Mar 2026 - 1 Jun 2026
Periods
P4 (7.5 hp)
Pace of study

50%

Application code

60254

Form of study

Normal Daytime

Language of instruction

English

Course memo
Course memo is not published
Number of places

Places are not limited

Target group

Students from year 3 and students at master's programmes as long as it can be included in your programme.

Planned modular schedule
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Schedule
Schedule is not published

Contact

Examiner
No information inserted
Course coordinator
No information inserted
Teachers
No information inserted

Course syllabus as PDF

Please note: all information from the Course syllabus is available on this page in an accessible format.

Course syllabus DD2481 (Autumn 2021–)
Headings with content from the Course syllabus DD2481 (Autumn 2021–) are denoted with an asterisk ( )

Content and learning outcomes

Course contents

Formal languages, finite automata, context free grammars.

State, scope, extent, static and dynamic information, effects, mutability.

Basic operational semantics.

Abstraction mechanisms, modularity, contracts.

Types, invariants, program equivalence.

Tools for program analysis.

Examples of advanced features of programming languages.

Intended learning outcomes

After completion of the course, the student should be able to:

  • formally describe languages and program behavior,
  • precisely reason about state, effects, and mutation,
  • reason about and use mechanisms for abstraction and modularization,
  • define type systems formally,
  • prove type soundness,
  • reason about program equivalence,
  • define and reason about contracts,
  • discuss open questions about advanced language features and reflect critically over them,
  • write programs that implement various formalisms, mechanisms and language features

in order to

  • be able to take part in deeper discussions about principles of programming languages,
  • be prepared for courses in compiler construction.

Literature and preparations

Specific prerequisites

.

Recommended prerequisites

Programming, algorithms and datastructures correspoding  to one of the courses DD1320, DD1321, DD1325, DD1327, DD1338, DD1339, DD1340, DD1341, DD1346 or ID1020.

Literature

You can find information about course literature either in the course memo for the course offering or in the course room in Canvas.

Examination and completion

If the course is discontinued, students may request to be examined during the following two academic years.

Grading scale

A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Examination

  • LAB1 - Laboratory assignments, 3.5 credits, grading scale: P, F
  • TEN1 - Examination, 2.5 credits, grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
  • UPP1 - Essay, 1.5 credits, grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

Other requirements for final grade

Passed laboratory assignments, thesis and examination

Examiner

Profile picture Philipp Haller

Ethical approach

  • All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
  • In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
  • In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.

Further information

Course room in Canvas

Registered students find further information about the implementation of the course in the course room in Canvas. A link to the course room can be found under the tab Studies in the Personal menu at the start of the course.

Offered by

EECS/Computer Science

Main field of study

Computer Science and Engineering

Education cycle

Second cycle

Supplementary information

Grading criteria will be announced at the start of the course.

In this course, the EECS code of honor applies, see:
http://www.kth.se/en/eecs/utbildning/hederskodex