Tucker's approach is based on the conviction that a formal treatment of syntax and semantics, a consistent use of the mathematical notations learned in discrete mathematics, and a hands-on treatment of the principles of language design are centrally important to the study of programming languages. The result is a two part organization. Part I focuses on principles using a formal model and a hands-on laboratory suite that uses a Java interpreter to implement the formal model. Part II covers six language paradigms, imperative, object-oriented, functional, logic, concurrent, and event-driven. Based on response from users, The Second Edition provides a more accessible presentation, while the remaining formal sections are optional.