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Back to Programming Languages, Part A

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Programming Languages, Part A by University of Washington

4.9
stars
1,879 ratings

About the Course

This course is an introduction to the basic concepts of programming languages, with a strong emphasis on functional programming. The course uses the languages ML, Racket, and Ruby as vehicles for teaching the concepts, but the real intent is to teach enough about how any language “fits together” to make you more effective programming in any language -- and in learning new ones. This course is neither particularly theoretical nor just about programming specifics -- it will give you a framework for understanding how to use language constructs effectively and how to design correct and elegant programs. By using different languages, you will learn to think more deeply than in terms of the particular syntax of one language. The emphasis on functional programming is essential for learning how to write robust, reusable, composable, and elegant programs. Indeed, many of the most important ideas in modern languages have their roots in functional programming. Get ready to learn a fresh and beautiful way to look at software and how to have fun building it. The course assumes some prior experience with programming, as described in more detail in the first module. The course is divided into three Coursera courses: Part A, Part B, and Part C. As explained in more detail in the first module of Part A, the overall course is a substantial amount of challenging material, so the three-part format provides two intermediate milestones and opportunities for a pause before continuing. The three parts are designed to be completed in order and set up to motivate you to continue through to the end of Part C. The three parts are not quite equal in length: Part A is almost as substantial as Part B and Part C combined. Week 1 of Part A has a more detailed list of topics for all three parts of the course, but it is expected that most course participants will not (yet!) know what all these topics mean....

Top reviews

JF

Mar 14, 2023

Excellent course and teacher. I love that all of it was 100% accessible for free, and that it was both fun and challenging, yet very doable for most people who do their work and had prior experience.

YZ

Dec 2, 2016

I'm just a beginner for CS or SE classes, and find this course really concise and challenging. It opens a door for me to get deeper into programming language. No wonder it got so high average score.

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351 - 375 of 547 Reviews for Programming Languages, Part A

By Raghavendra N

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Sep 30, 2021

Amazing course and lectures, and a wonderful teacher.

By Raghu R

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Apr 6, 2018

Great course... helps with building fundamentals of FP

By Luke L

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Feb 14, 2017

An enjoyable course about programming language theory.

By Nhã H Đ

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Jul 11, 2019

This course was excellent, exceeding my expectations.

By glagidse

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Sep 2, 2017

Made me understand and appreciate lambdas much more.

By Eduardo C R

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Nov 7, 2016

Genius. Marvelous. Astounding. I have no more words.

By Gary

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Aug 13, 2022

A very nice course to learn functional programming!

By Yu Y

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Dec 30, 2020

Learnt a lot! Well organized and clearly explained!

By Mohammad O

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Sep 29, 2023

Significant for understanding the foundation of CS

By 靳阳

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May 22, 2023

Really learned something from this course, thanks.

By V “ n

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Jul 4, 2024

this course is awesome. thank you for free course

By jozon a

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Mar 31, 2022

The course is fabulous. Wanna try the next part.

By Hushan J

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Jun 22, 2017

really helpful for understanding PL fundamentals.

By Hector L

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Aug 13, 2017

a good start for learning functional programming

By Grzegorz C

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Jun 21, 2017

Brilliant course, thank you Dan Grossman et al!

By replper

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Jan 26, 2017

A Great Course. Learned a lot from this course!

By Aleksey K

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Jul 22, 2017

I like this course! it`s realy excelent thing!

By likai

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Feb 19, 2017

It is so much fun . And I learn a lot from it.

By Samson

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Feb 12, 2021

An excellent course!! Really teach me a lot!!

By Hydra

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Feb 2, 2019

The best introduction to functional languages

By Ahmad N

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Sep 12, 2017

Great course, hoping the next one will top it

By Emre E

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Apr 14, 2023

Such an amazing course thanks for everything

By David R B

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Mar 8, 2023

Great instruction on functional programming.

By Daniel F

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Apr 2, 2021

Best introduction to functional programming!

By Paul H

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Sep 28, 2020

Excellent exposition, enriching assignments.