1st October 2007 in room 78.622 (General Purpose South) at 2pm

Afternoon tea will be served at 1:45.

Title:

Why my programming language is better than yours

Speaker:

Leigthon Brough

Abstract:

This talk will discuss my experience in learning how to use the functional programming paradigm and the Haskell programming language in particular. As a dyed-in-the-wool imperative programmer, used to thinking up from the hardware, applying this paradigm has involved substantial reformatting of my head. I hope to convey some of the insights gained and offer a neophyte functional programmer's critique of the the advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches. Starting from a position of skepticism I've come to understand there is considerable power and utility in functional programming.

Format

Each session starts with a short talk (~25 min.) by a developer, which describes current or past work, and gives a personal critique of the usefulness of the software engineering process employed.

An open discussion will follow the talk, during which the attendees will be able to ask questions, make suggestions, or debate the merits of various tools and techniques.

Proceeding each talk, coffee and tea (as well as biscuits) will be available to improve attention, and encourage attendance.

Goals

The central goal of the discussion group is to facilitate sharing of software engineering expertise between developers and provide exposure to new methodologies and techniques. Our aim is to increase the level of software engineering expertise among complex systems modelers.

Talk topics may vary widely: the use of a design notation; the effectiveness of a particular tool; a description of current or past programming work; or a personal critique of the usefulness of a software engineering technique used.

We Need You

We are calling for people interested in presenting to the group to come along to the meeting on Monday or send us a short abstract and likely availability.

We also need interested participants to come along and share in the discussion.

If you have any questions or comments please contact:

Daniel Bradley <daniel@itee.uq.edu.au>

or

Leighton Brough <brough@itee.uq.edu.au>