In this innovative book, Professor Robert Harper offers a fresh perspective on the fundamentals of programming languages through the use of type theory. Whereas most textbooks on this subject emphasize taxonomy, Harper instead emphasizes genetics, examining the building blocks from which all programming languages are constructed. The result is an introduction to programming theory that is both accessible and practical.

Robert Harper has been a member of the faculty of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University since 1988. His main research interest is in the application of type theory to the design and implementation of programming languages and to the development of systems for mechanization of mathematics. Professor Harper is a recipient of the Allen Newell Medal for Research Excellence and the Herbert A. Simon Award for Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Mellon and is a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery.