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Graduate Programs in Programming Language Design

3 points by shubhamharnal ↗ HN
I have a passion for Programming Language Design; designing compilers, languages and dreaming up functional code; I just finished undergraduate studies from Purdue University (BS: Computer Engineering) and would like to pursue the above for further studies...which schools and deptt. that humble readers of HN may know of, would you recommend? It doesn't have to be in US necessarily but that helps...just a bit more on myself; so far, I've not done anything ingenious; just followed standard compiler texts and replicated their code to understand what's going on...in this way, I've implemented compilers for very simple subsets of Java and C. There's obviously so much to do! PS: planning to start with graduate studies in Fall '10 (currently working as .NET developer with an IT Consultancy). Any help/advice greatly appreciated! HN rocks! (and "yes", I DO know what a y-combinator is! (yay!)). Shubham Harnal.

6 comments

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russell
Disclaimer: I dont have a graduate degree or even a CS degree, but I have done language design and implementation. I doubt that you will find a program in language design per se. You should already know the mechanics of language implementation: parsers, code generators, virtual machines, etc. I think the design of general purpose languages has converged on a few design schemes: static typing like Java, dynamic like Python, functional. Granted that it is possible to make huge improvements in Java and other mainstream languages, I think it might make sense to pick an area where most languages dont do it right, such as concurrency, and graft it on to an existing language. Even if your real interest is in the design of languages, I think you need to pick a goal for all this study. Given that, any good program with one or more professors that are working in your area of interest will work for you.
shubhamharnal
Hey thanx Russell...yup, concurrency definitely seems to be one of the "hot" issue wrt language design; the thing is, I was hoping I could be in an environment(academic or otherwise) with like-minded people where I could be in the midst of good ideas and also position myself well for commercial work in the field; therefore, still looking out for academic programs...Thanks again though.
russell
That was what I was suggesting. A few years ago I was very interested in language design from the perspective of generative programming and type system. I did an extensive literature search, reading the papers and all that. as a side effect I found out which university departments were actively exploring what I was interested in. Out popped Don Batory at U Texas, Krzystof Czarnecki, and work done at CMU and MIT. I recommend this as a way to focus in on what you are interested in and who to work with.
shubhamharnal
Thanks again Russell...this looks like the way to go! I really appreciate your advice, Shubham Harnal.
raffi
University of Saarbrucken in Saarland Germany seems to have a lot going on in this area. I'm probably spelling all that wrong. Also look for the LASER summer program that is in Italy each year. Finally, www.lambda-the-ultimate.org is a much better place to ask this question.