I used this set of slides for the lecture on Models and Languages I gave at the University of Zurich for the 1st year students following the course of Formale Grundlagen der Informatik.

1. Models and
languages
www.tudorgirba.com

2. What is a model?

3. exemplar
example
good example
simulation
role model poser
fashion model
model variety
manakin
sort
mannikin
manikin form
mannequin
theoretical account kind
modeling framework
modelling

5. A model is a simplification of the subject,
and its purpose is to answer
some particular questions
aimed towards the subject.
rbe
Bezivin, Ge

9. Aristotle
384 BC - 322 BC
μετά = after, beyond

10. A meta-model is a model
that makes statements
about what can be expressed
in valid models.
z
Ed S iedewit

12. meta-meta-model
meta-model
model
subject

13. meta-meta-model
instanceOf
meta-model
instanceOf
model
representedBy
subject

15. computation
information information
computer

16. Please, stand up!

17. Please, stand up!
Congratulations, you just executed a program!

18. Va rog sa va ridicati in picioare!

19. Va rog sa va ridicati in picioare!
If you do not know the language,
you cannot interpret it

20. Who’s on first?

21. Who’s on first?

22. -12.34

23. -12.34
Ceci n’est pas un nombre

24. - digit . digit
part = {digit} x
Nonter
decimal_part “.” part
= "x" mi
Termin nal
number = [-] part [decimal_part] x y al
Sequen
x|y ce
Alterna
{ x } tiv
Iteratio e
( x ) n
Binding
[ x ]
Option
y = x.
Definiti
on

25. Please, stand up by sitting down!

26. Please, stand up by sitting down!
Syntactically correct sentences
do not necessarily have a meaning

27. Tudor Gîrba
www.tudorgirba.com
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/