HNRS 301 Esoteric Programming

Term and Credits

Spring 2024-2025
3 Credits

Room and Time

Section 002
12:30pm - 1:50PM in Bentley Hall (Honors College) Room 157

Instructor

Mark Boady
Electronic Mail Address: mwb33@drexel.edu
Office: 3675 Market Street Room 1063 (10th floor next to snack machine)
Website: https://boady.net
Office Hours: Monday 4-6PM, Wednesday 11AM-12 and 3-5PM
3675 Market Street Room 1063

Course Description

Programming Languages facilitate interaction between humans and computers. Most programming languages are designed to be easy for both the programmer and the computer. Esoteric Languages are different. They are designed to test the boundaries of human computer interaction. This class will look at the minimum requirements to program a computer using Alan Turing's Turing Machine. It will then examine a selection of esoteric languages to show the different ways humans and computers can work together to solve problems. Students will see different ways to computationally solve problems. Students will learn what it means to compute. Students will examine what features are needed to solve any program that can be solved by a traditional computer. Students will design their own Esoteric Language as a term long project.

Course Purpose within a Program of Study

This course is open to any students in the honors college. It teaches foundational concepts of theoretical computation. It does not require any prerequisite knowledge of programming.

Statement of Expected Learning

Students will understand the fundamental abilities of any classic computer.
Students will be able to develop simple programs in esoteric programming languages.
Students will work in groups to design their own esoteric programming language.
Students will understand what is required for a programming language to provide all features both a computer and programmer needs.
Students will be able to apply creative thinking to come up with a language concept that does not already exist.

Honors Program Learning Objectives

Create and defend an idea through dialogue (both written and spoken) and the implementation of constructive feedback.
Construct creative projects that explore elements of cultural, social, and/or scientific practices through self-directed, self-disciplined, and self-corrective thinking.
Develop greater empathy and perspective by participating in discourse with students across multiple disciplines and majors.

Prerequisites
Must be in the Honors College.

What Students Should Know Prior to this Course

Basic Computer Usage Skills.
Programming experience is not required, but is helpful.
The ability to write out detailed plans to solve a problem.

Textbook

No textbook.

Primary Source will be https://esolangs.org/wiki/Main_Page

Course Material

Lectures

Each week will have two lecture periods.
Some lectures will include and activity or discussion portion.

In Class Activities

Students will work in groups on in-class activities.
Activities are due at the end of class.
Activities can be made up within 7 days of a missed class by attending the Professor's office hours.

Homework Assignments

Homeworks will be a combination of written and programming assignments
Homework will be submitted using Gradescope via Blackboard Learn
Homework Assignments are due on Friday at 11:59PM
Homework Assignments are to be completed individually.
Homeworks follow the Late Submissions policy described below.

Late Submissions

Each student has two "late passes".
A student may exchange one of their late passes for an one day extension on any homework.
Contact the Professor to request one of your late passes be used.
You may use both late passes of the same assignment to get a 2 day extension.
A late pass must be requested no later than 24 hours after the original due date for the assignment.
Without late passes, -5 points per day with a max penalty of 50 points on an assignment. Late Submissions may be made until June 7, 2025 at 11:59PM.
SPECIAL NOTE: Late Passes may only be used on homeworks.

Term Project

Students will design their own esotric language during the term.
Students may work in groups or alone. Groups of more than 2 people must explain how all members will contribute.
Presentation 01: In week 6, students will propose their language concept and get feedback from other students.
Presentation 02: In week 10, students will present their final language.
Report: In Finals Week, students will submit a written report on their language.
If a group cannot give their presentation on time, they must contact the Professor within 24 hours of the missed assignment.
The final report will have its own late policy.

Extra Credit

In this course, we value the course survey results. It is important for you to receive grades so you can determine how you are performing in class. We also want to know how we are doing. The course survey is our most important tool for determining how the students feel about the class. We also understand that completing the survey takes time and effort. Due to the importance of the course survey, extra credit will be provided to those students who complete it and provide evidence it has been completed. The extra credit will be 1 point added to the final grade for the class. This will take place at the end of the term.

Special Circumstances

If you have a documented reason why you cannot submit an assignment by the deadline, a special exception may be made. The Professor may also wave the late submission penalty for documented special exceptions.

Course Policies

Grading and Policies

Homeworks 40%
Class Activities 10%
Presentation 01 15%
Presentation 02 15%
Final Report 20%

Final grades will be determined by your total points weighted according to this distribution. Grades may be curved but are generally computed via the formula below. It may be modified at the instructor's sole discretion, but letter grades will generally not be lower than those shown here.

[100-97] A+
(97-93] A
(93-90] A-
(90-87] B+
(87-83] B
(83-80] B-
[80-77] C+
(77-73] C
(73-70] C-
(70-67] D+
(67-60] D
(60-0] F

Academic Honesty Policy

The CCI Academic Honesty policy is in effect for this course. Please see the policy at http://drexel.edu/cci/resources/current-students/undergraduate/policies/cs-academic-integrity/.

Academic Honesty Violations will be reported to the University. Punishment will be determined by the severity of the incident. Punishments include, but are not limited to,

Failing grade for class
Deduction of one letter grade
Zero on Assignment/Exam Violation took place on

University Policies

In addition to the course policies listed on this syllabus, course assignments or course website, the following University policies are in effect:

Academic Integrity: https://drexel.edu/studentlife/community-standards/code-of-conduct/academic-integrity-policy
Official Final Exam Schedule: http://www.drexel.edu/registrar/scheduling/exams/
Students with Disability Statement: https://drexel.edu/disability-resources/support-accommodations/student-family-resources
Course Drop Policy:https://drexel0.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/DrexelOfficialPolicyCatalog/EetetJandsVLjye92irme4UBB18gYhbXxiDUqOK0YQX_4w
Course Withdraw Policy: https://drexel0.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/DrexelOfficialPolicyCatalog/EYzUxrAB32xNqp4UuwGIiOYB7P3lm1TrQPY1WXMbPorqjQ
The instructor may, at his/her/their discretion, change any part of the course during the term, including assignments, grade breakdowns, due-dates, and the schedule. Such changes will be communicated to students via the Blackboard Learn Announcements page. This page should be checked regularly and frequently for such changes and announcements. Other announcements, although rare, may include class cancellations and other urgent announcements.
Initial Course Participation: Under Title IV (“Student Assistance”) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, institutions of higher education are required to verify that students receiving financial aid have begun Initial Course Participation (ICP). ICP refers to the student’s attendance in class during the term for which they are receiving financial aid In order to comply with Title IV, a new process requires that instructors verify whether each enrolled student has begun attendance in a course prior to Week 3. Students should be aware of the following: Initial Course Participation (ICP): Class attendance is critical to your success as a student. Missing classes may impact your class success and your federal financial aid.

Class Disruption Policies

According to the student handbook (Code of Conduct section), Disorderly Conduct is defined as behavior that disturbs academic study:

Behavior that disturbs the peace, academic study, or sleep of others both on or off campus is prohibited. Examples of disorderly conduct as it pertains to class/research settings includes, but is not limited to the following:

Excessively leaving and entering a classroom without authorization.
Making loud or distracting noises.
Persistently speaking without being recognized such that it interferes with the learning environment.
Repeatedly dominating online discussion boards or forums such that it interferes with the learning environment.
Resorting to personal insults.

Students are responsible to comply with a reasonable request from a professor, instructor, or other University official regarding appropriate behavior.

Students disrupting online office hours will be asked to stop the disruptive behavior. If they do not stop, the student will be asked to leave the online session, and a formal complaint will be filed with the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

CCI faculty believes and embraces diversity for it fosters innovative, transformative classrooms where optimal learning for students of all identities and backgrounds can occur.

For more information on Diversity and Inclusion in CCI, please visit: https://drexel.edu/cci/about/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-council/

Statement on Recording Lectures

Appropriate Use of Course Materials

It is important to recognize that some or all of the course materials provided to you are the intellectual property of Drexel University, the course instructor, or others. Use of this intellectual property is governed by Drexel University policies, including the IT-1 policy found at: https://drexel.edu/it/about/policies/policies/01-Acceptable-Use/

Briefly, this policy states that all course materials including recordings provided by the given prior written approval by the University. Doing so may be considered a breach of this policy and will be investigated and addressed as possible academic dishonesty, among other potential violations. Improper use of such materials may also constitute a violation of the University’s Code of Conduct and will be investigated as such.

Recording of Class Activities:

In general, students and others should not record course interactions and course activities in lecture, lab, studio or recitation.

Students who have an approved accommodation from the Office of Disability Resources to record online lectures and discussions for note taking purposes should inform their course instructor(s) of their approved accommodation in advance. The recording of lectures and discussions may only be carried out by the students enrolled in the class who have an approved accommodation from Disability Resources with their instructors’ prior knowledge and consent. Students with approved accommodations may be asked to turn off their recorder if confidential or personal information is presented.

If a student has any comments, concerns, or questions about provided class materials and/ or recording, talk to your course instructor first. If this does not resolve the issue, you can also reach out to the Department Head, and use the process described for a grade appeal to move your concern forward. The process described for grade appeals can be found at: https://drexel0.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/DrexelOfficialPolicyCatalog/ET1tL4vqf6lPnz5gFmcpiW8BJNBqVLCrtZBcX4JMvnoOpg

Tentative Course Schedule

Please see the appropriate assignment webpages for a detailed description of course deliverables.

Week	Topic	Assignments
1 (3/31/25)	Lecture 01: What is Computation? Lecture 02: Mechanical Machines and DFAs	Activity 01 HW 1 - Due Friday 4/4 at 11:59PM
2 (4/7/25)	Lecture 03: Alan Turing and the Turing Machine Lecture 04: Programming TMs	Activity 02 HW 2 - Due Friday 4/11 at 11:59PM
3 (4/14/25)	Lecture 04: Turing Completeness Lecture 05: The Cow Language (Part 1)	Activity 03 HW 3 - Due Friday 4/18 at 11:59PM
4 (4/21/25)	Lecture 05: The Cow Language (Part 2) Lecture 06: Working with Minimalism	Activity 04 HW 4 - Due Friday 4/25 at 11:59PM
5 (4/28/25)	Lecture 07: Shakespear (Part 1) Lecture 08: Shakespear (Part 2)	Activity 05 HW 5 - Due Friday 5/2 at 11:59PM
6 (5/5/25)	Lecture 09: Working with Joke Languages Lecture --: Student Presentation 01	No HW or Lecture Activities this week.
7 (5/12/25)	Lecture 10: Minimalistic Language Design Lecture 11: BF as a baseline for languages	Activity 06 HW 6 - Due Friday 5/16 at 11:59PM
8 (4/19/25)	Lecture 12: Piet (Part 1) Lecture 13: Piet (Part 2)	Activity 07 HW 7 - Due Friday 4/23 at 11:59PM
9 (4/26/25)	No Class Monday Lecture 14: Languages designed as challenges	Activity 08 HW 8 - Due Friday 4/30 at 11:59PM
10 (6/2/25)	Lecture --: Student Presentations Lecture --: Discussion on student languages	Activity 09 No Homework this week
11 (6/9/25)	Final's Week	Extra Credit Course Survey Wed 6/11 at 11:59PM Final Report Due Friday 6/13 at 11:59PM