Courses / Modules / COMP2209 Programming III

Programming III

When you'll study it: Semester 1
CATS points: 15
ECTS points: 7.5
Level: Level 5
Module lead: Julian Rathke
Academic year: 2026-27

Module overview

This module aims to introduce students to recursion and to the principles of recursive, applicative and functional programming. In it, they will use various functional abstractions to control the complexity of programming, and will use abstraction mechanisms in programming. They will also study the principles of program evaluation and explore the evaluation mechanism via a meta-circular evaluator.

Linked modules

Pre-requisites: COMP1202 AND COMP1206

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Understand the concept of functional programming and be able to write programs in this style.
Discuss and perform the decomposition of problems using procedural, data and metalinguistic abstractions
Reason about evaluation mechanisms

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

The principles of evaluation of programming language
The key mechanisms underpinning the functional programming model

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Program in a functional style
Evaluate programs step by step

Learning and Teaching

Study time
Type	Hours
Preparation for scheduled sessions	18
Completion of assessment task	29
Lecture	36
Follow-up work	18
Wider reading or practice	27
Tutorial	12
Revision	10
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Abelson H and Sussman GJ with Sussman J (1996). Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. MIT Press.

Graham Hutton (2016). Programming in Haskell. Cambridge University Press.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Final Assessment	40%
Continuous Assessment	60%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Set Task	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Set Task	100%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External