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Shrutarshi Basu ’11 (Kolkata, India), who is pursuing a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering and an A.B. with a major in computer science, studied programming languages with Chun Wai Liew, associate professor and head of computer science.Last semester, I pursued an independent study in programming languages under the guidance of Professor Chun Wai Liew of the computer science department. My study was based on the computer science course on programming languages, but extended beyond it.
I looked at various programming languages (including Scheme, ML, Smalltalk, and Prolog) and saw how each language was unique and allowed programmers to solve certain problems in a more efficient or more intuitive way. Besides studying how to use these languages, I also studied how to actually implement the languages themselves.
The study was very hands-on and I spent a lot of time writing code that implemented the ideas I read about. I also made a brief study of a number of newer languages (such as Scala and Clojure) that are not usually covered in the course.
Overall, the study was a very useful experience. I learned a number of concepts and techniques that will be applicable in my future courses and in my related EXCEL research work. Professor Liew was very supportive and our conversations were stimulating and interesting.
There was a lot of discussion of topics that were not directly studied, but interesting nonetheless. I learned as much from the direct interaction with him as I did from my own studies. Furthermore, I learned a number of practical skills (such as self-pacing and organization) that are not as important in a structured course. I will certainly embrace the chance to pursue such opportunities in the future and encourage other students to do the same.