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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
1,876 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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226 - 250 of 546 Reviews for Programming Languages, Part A

By Ruchita S

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Mar 4, 2021

Amazing! The course really broadens your perspective towards programming language and

I would highly

recommend it.

By Maximilian P

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Nov 24, 2020

Awesome! Finally wrapped my head around some concepts that I had been trying to understand prior to this course.

By Vinicius G

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Aug 25, 2024

Good course. Goes through fundamentals to build some simple programs, leveraging functional programming powers.

By Maria L V

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Mar 19, 2018

Great course, learned a lot. Dynamic videos and writen support. First experience with coursera very positive :)

By kojo

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Jan 8, 2022

Very good teacher, super useful concepts. you should definitely take this course as well as part B and part C

By Kachan O V

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May 3, 2020

Very good!Knowledge provided by this course is really useful and lecturer explains everything very accessibly!

By Jürgen B

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Aug 13, 2019

Great course. Quite useful even for knowledgeable programmers to learn about functional programming concepts.

By Tan S X A

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Oct 17, 2017

Dan Grossman is a lovely person, and a good lecturer. His materials are good, and the homework is challenging.

By Raquel K

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Sep 17, 2019

Wonderful course! Really expanded the way I think about programming and I'm looking forward to parts B and C.

By Chinmay

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Oct 12, 2016

Awesome course. Learned a lot on the way. Concepts were presented very well. Looking forward to part B and C.

By Andrea T

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Oct 21, 2021

Very interesting insights into programming in general. Good course structure, well explained, easy to follow

By Luiz C

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Jul 22, 2018

A fantastic Course. Before this Course I thought I knew how to Code. Now I know I still have to learn a lot

By Deleted A

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Mar 10, 2023

Joyful, elegant, no nonsense information and simply provides insights on how to do proper computer science.

By Yusong S

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Feb 11, 2017

Learn many fundamental concepts about functional programming! Course material is challenging but rewarding.

By James L

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May 13, 2021

I'm so hilarious I thought this was going to be all review of things I already knew. Don't skip this one.

By John G

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Feb 1, 2017

This is a really fun course. I'm glad that it was split into A-B-C because I just don't have time for B.

By Mustaqim M

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Sep 26, 2020

Really tough and engaging but none the less very helpful in understanding the intricacies of programming

By Lei F

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Dec 13, 2018

This is a wonderful lesson. Bring a lot of new concepts to me. Functional programming is a big surprise.

By Shen C

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Apr 6, 2018

I should say thanks Dan's work on this MOOC. I have learned many knowledge about functional programming

By Deleted A

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Oct 30, 2017

Very insightful and logical presentation of ideas that I now see everywhere when I learn new languages.

By Pritesh S

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Aug 6, 2020

Arguably the best MOOC on Coursera. I wish professor Dan Grossman would upload more such MOOCs soon !!

By Caleb

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Apr 25, 2020

Great intro to ideas behind programs and also a fun way to learn some functional programming concepts.

By Daniel K

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Aug 31, 2022

Even if this is only the first part of PL, I already learned a lot. Looking forward to PLB and PLC!

By Robert M

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Sep 2, 2016

Excellent coverage of the topic. Must see if you want to grasp the functional programming paradigm.