You will each give two class presentations on programming languages of historical or current interest. Each presentation should include PowerPoint or HTML visual aids and should last approximately twenty minutes.

In your programming language presentation, you should:

• Provide some historical context, e.g.,
  • When was the language developed?
  • By whom?
  • Why?
  • What languages preceded or influenced this language?
  • What languages were influenced by this language?
• Show a short, illustrative sample of the language, explaining the key features of the sample program or program fragment.
• List the key features, innovations, or influential features of the language. The specific features you cover will depend on the language, but some examples of features you might address are:
  • Rules for making declarations
  • Scoping
  • Binding
  • Expression evaluation
  • Control structures (conditionals, iteration, recursion, etc)
  • Types (primitive types, user-defined types, type equivalence)
  • Support for data abstraction
  • Parameter passing
  • Generic methods or types
• List weaknesses of the language.

Some other tips to keep in mind as you prepare your presentations:

• Start preparing enough in advance so that you have time to:
  • Find books, articles, or online materials on the programming language.
  • Read and understand the material you are presenting well.
  • Plan out what you want to say and organize your presentation.
  • Develop your visual aids (HTML or PowerPoint).
  • Practice your presentation with a friend or roommate.
• In 20 minutes you won't have time to present everything about the language. Choose carefully the points that you want to get across and give yourself time to explain and support those points. If your language went through several versions, focus on the early version and give a brief summary of the changes made in later versions.
• Remember that you can come ask me for help if you have difficulties at any stage.

The grade for your presentations will be based on:

• content
• structure
• clarity
• supporting materials (e.g., visual aids, code sample)