Programming Languages Reading Group
Fall 2023

Augusta University Programming Languages (PL) Reading Group is a regular meeting to discuss exciting recent results in programming languages research. The intent of the group is to learn about various ideas and generally broaden perspectives on PL research topics. We randomly select papers from the major PL conferences.

We meet weekly on Fridays, 2-3 pm, in room UH 117.

We encourage everyone to join our reading group. Even if your primary focus is not PL, this is a chance to learn about various new topics that may become relevant to you later. It is also simply fun to hang out with us.

The PL Reading Group is a regular meeting of ΔΛΔ student organization. In Fall 2023, PL reading group is also the scheduled class activity for CSCI 8970 Research Exposure Section A.

plgroup on Github ↗

Coming Up Next

Winter break, see you in the spring

Semester Papers

  1. Liao, Kevin, et al. “ILC: A Calculus for Composable, Computational Cryptography.” Proceedings of the 40th ACM SIGPLAN Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation, June 2019. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1145/3314221.3314607.
  2. Zhang, Jialun, et al. “Interval Parsing Grammars for File Format Parsing.” Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, vol. 7, no. PLDI, June 2023, pp. 1073–95. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1145/3591264.
  3. Sundararajah, Kirshanthan, et al. “UniRec: A Unimodular-like Framework for Nested Recursions and Loops.” Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, vol. 6, no. OOPSLA2, Oct. 2022, pp. 1264–90. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1145/3563333.
  4. Gopinathan, Kiran, et al. “Mostly Automated Proof Repair for Verified Libraries.” Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, vol. 7, no. PLDI, June 2023, pp. 25–49. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1145/3591221.
  5. Yamazaki, Tetsuro, et al. “Collecting Cyclic Garbage across Foreign Function Interfaces: Who Takes the Last Piece of Cake?” Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, vol. 7, no. PLDI, June 2023, pp. 591–614. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1145/3591244.
  6. Abuah, Chiké, et al. “Solo: A Lightweight Static Analysis for Differential Privacy.” Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, vol. 6, no. OOPSLA2, Oct. 2022, pp. 699–728. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1145/3563313.
  7. Zwaan, Aron, et al. “Incremental Type-Checking for Free: Using Scope Graphs to Derive Incremental Type-Checkers.” Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, vol. 6, no. OOPSLA2, Oct. 2022, pp. 424–48. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1145/3563303.
  8. Lamport, Leslie. “Time, Clocks, and the Ordering of Events in a Distributed System.” Communications of the ACM, vol. 21, no. 7, July 1978, pp. 558–65. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1145/359545.359563.
  9. Ostermann, Klaus, et al. “Introduction and Elimination, Left and Right.” Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, vol. 6, no. ICFP, Aug. 2022, pp. 438–65. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1145/3547637.
  10. Tardieu, Olivier, et al. “Reliable Actors with Retry Orchestration.” Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, vol. 7, no. PLDI, June 2023, pp. 1293–316. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1145/3591273.

Awards

Fall 2023 Award Categories

Get out of Jail Free

The room is cold. How did I even end up here? you wonder. This shouldn’t have happened! This is completely ridiculous. How was I supposed to know licking doorknobs was outlawed in ‘78? It doesn’t matter, you’re here now and there’s no way out. You reach down into your pockets hoping to find some left over gum, when you feel something you don’t remember being there before. You pull the rectangular piece of cardboard out of your pocket and carefully inspect it. –This solves all of my problems! They have to let me go now! This award is for the paper that completely solves the most niche problem you would never expect to have.

The Visual Storyteller

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. The best visuals are not just decorative illustrations, but add informing perspectives to the reading experience. This award recognizes the paper that best leverages the power of illustrations to enhance the author’s story.

Proofs and Toil Make Me Boil

This accolade is for papers that cast a spell of frustration, with each theorem and proof a bewitching yet maddening ingredient in an academic potion. They are like arcane scrolls, bubbling with a complexity that stirs the mind into a cauldron of irritation. Reading them is like a journey through an enigmatic grimoire, where the pursuit of knowledge is more akin to a vexing witch’s toil.

The Sisyphus

For the intellectual odysseys that echo the eternal uphill climb, where understanding feels always a step away. This accolade is for those papers where the journey of learning is arduous yet, with each bear breakthrough leading only to more questions, never quite reaching the peak of comprehension. This is for the journey that leaves you feeling constantly on the cusp of breakthrough, only to realize the only thing that broke was you.

Through the Looking Glass

Bestowed upon works that reveal a world beyond the mirror, where conventional views are turned upside down. This award celebrates papers that lead to unexpected realms of thought, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary and reshaping familiar landscapes into realms of wonder.

The Magician’s Hat

This award is reserved for papers that, like a magician’s hat, manage to fit far more into their pages than seems physically possible. It honors those works where every new paragraph pulls another unexpected yet perfectly relevant concept out of thin air, leaving the reader both baffled and amused by the academic sleight of hand.

Judging a Book By Its Cover

Similar to the title of this award, this category is for the paper where, just by looking at the first page, we can determine how this paper is going to go, for better or for worse.

The Barbenheimer

Barbenheimer: A rare anomaly in pop culture where two seemingly polar opposite films pair together in such a way that compliments one another, in some weird sort of harmony nobody would think would work. Who new atomic bombs would look good in Barbie Pink? This award goes to a pair of papers that, while seemingly entirely different from one another, compliment each other in a way that just makes sense. (Note: A paper must be nominated for one of the other categories to be eligible for this award).

Winners

  • Get out of Jail Free: “Introduction and Elimination, Left and Right”
  • The Visual Storyteller: “Incremental Type-Checking for Free: Using Scope Graphs to Derive Incremental Type-Checkers”
  • Proofs and Toil Make Me Boil: “Solo: A Lightweight Static Analysis for Differential Privacy”
  • The Sisyphus: “UniRec: A Unimodular-like Framework for Nested Recursions and Loops”
  • Through the Looking Glass: “Incremental Type-Checking for Free: Using Scope Graphs to Derive Incremental Type-Checkers”
  • The Magician’s Hat: “Time, Clocks, and the Ordering of Events in a Distributed System”
  • Judging a Book By Its Cover: “Reliable Actors with Retry Orchestration”
  • The Barbenheimer: “Reliable Actors with Retry Orchestration” and “Introduction and Elimination, Left and Right”

Past Semesters

School of Computer and Cyber Sciences Augusta University