SIGPLAN

SIGPLAN stands for Special Interest Group on Programming Languages, an ACM Special Interest Group dedicated to the theory, design, implementation, and study of programming languages and related systems. It serves the programming languages community by supporting research, education, and professional collaboration through conferences, publications, and governance structures.

The group sponsors and organizes major venues in the field, including POPL (Principles of Programming Languages), PLDI (Programming Language Design and Implementation), ICFP (International Conference on Functional Programming), and SPLASH (Software: Principles and Practice of Programming Languages). These conferences bring together researchers, practitioners, and educators to present advances in language design, semantics, type systems, compilation, verification, and related areas. SIGPLAN also supports workshops and special-interest events that complement these main conferences.

Publications associated with SIGPLAN include ACM SIGPLAN Notices, a newsletter that provides news, conference information, and articles of interest to the community, and ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems (TOPLAS), a peer-reviewed journal covering design, semantics, implementation, and analysis of programming languages and ecosystems. These publications help disseminate theoretical results and practical insights across academia and industry.

Membership and governance are conducted within the broader ACM framework, with elected officers and committees that guide SIGPLAN’s activities, awards, and funding initiatives. The group also maintains resources, tutorials, and education outreach, aiming to support students and early-career researchers while fostering diversity and inclusion in the field.

SIGPLAN plays a central role in shaping the direction of programming languages research, education, and practice by connecting researchers, developers, and educators worldwide.