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Programming Languages: An Introduction

The document discusses several topics related to programming languages: 1. It outlines different application domains for programming languages including scientific, business, systems programming, artificial intelligence, scripting, and special-purpose languages. 2. It provides examples of some well-known programming languages like FORTRAN, ALGOL, COBOL, C, LISP, and PROLOG. 3. It discusses important criteria for evaluating programming languages including readability, writability, and reliability. Factors like simplicity, orthogonality, control constructs, and data types impact a language's readability.

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58 views5 pages

Programming Languages: An Introduction

The document discusses several topics related to programming languages: 1. It outlines different application domains for programming languages including scientific, business, systems programming, artificial intelligence, scripting, and special-purpose languages. 2. It provides examples of some well-known programming languages like FORTRAN, ALGOL, COBOL, C, LISP, and PROLOG. 3. It discusses important criteria for evaluating programming languages including readability, writability, and reliability. Factors like simplicity, orthogonality, control constructs, and data types impact a language's readability.

Uploaded by

segun odugbesan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Programming Languages: An Introduction

Application domains
• Scientific applications

– typically require simple data structures but a large number of


flating-point operations
– typical data structures: arrays and matrices;
typical control constructs: selection and loop
– earliest high-level language: FORTRAN
other language: ALGOL 60

• Business applications

– requires preparation of detailed, complex reports and precise


ways of handling decimal numbers and character data
– most popular language: COBOL

• Systems programming applications

– systems software is used almost continuously and so a lan-


guage for systems programming must have fast execution.
– a language used for systems programming must have low-level
featurs to access external devices.
– popular language: C (almost the whole of UNIX is written in
C)

• Artificial intelligence applications

– requires symbolic rather than numeric processing


– typical data structure: linked list
– popular languages: LISP, PROLOG

1
• Scripting languages

– these languages put a list of commands, called a script, in a


file to be executed
– initially scripts performed simple utilities, e.g, file filtering;
example sh
– variables, control structures, functions added, creating a com-
plete programming language; example: ksh

• Special-purpose languages

– a variety of application-specific languages (or software tools);


example: RPG (business report generator), GPSS (systems
simulation)
– many computer scientists do not consider these to be program-
ming languages

Names of some languages


FORTRAN: FORmula TRANslation
ALGOL: ALGOrithmic Language
BASIC: Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
COBOL: COmmon Business Oriented Language
LISP: LISt Processing
PROLOG: PROgramming in LOGic

Language evaluation criteria


• Readability (maintenance vs. coding in software life cycle)

• Writability

• Reliability

Readability
• Simplicity

2
– Too many constructs may cause problems
– Mulitiplicity of features does not help
Example: i = i + 1;
i+ = 1;
i + +;
+ + i; (l-value and r-value problems)

– Inefficient use of operator overloading


– Too much simplicity is bad (ex: assembly language)

• Orthogonality

– Orthogonality requires every possible combination of primi-


tives to be legal
– Example: VAX assembly language addition: ADDL op-1, op-
2
IBM assembly language addition:
A register-1, memory-cell-1
AR register-1, register-2
– Too much orthogonality is bad;
Example: a conditional appearing on the left side of an as-
signment
– Functional languages provide a good mix of simplicity and
orthogonality

• Control constructs

– the 3 basic constructs


– controlled branching: break, continue
– uncontrolled jump: go to
– restricted jump:
∗ use forward go to’s only
∗ do not jump very far
∗ use as few go to’s as possible
– structured programming; proper programs; Mills’ theorem

3
• Data types supported
Example: A language with no boolean variable
• Other features supported
Example: SORT, MERGE verbs in COBOL
• Sysntax issues
– identifier length restrictions: FORTRAN, COBOL
– reserved words

Writability
• Simplicity
• Orthogonality
• Abstraction support
• Expressivity (being cryptic is not necessarily a virtue)

Reliability
• Type checking
• Aliasing
• Exception handling

Cost
• Cost of training programmers
• Cost of writing programs
• Cost of compilation
• Cost of execution vs. cost of compilation: student environment and
production environment
• Costs arising out of unreliable performance
• Costs of program maintenence

4
Main factors affecting language design
• The von Neumann architecture: imperative programming

• Methodologies:

– 1950s and 60s: focus on machine efficiency; simple applica-


tions
– Late 60s: focus on programmer productivity; better control
structures
– Late 70s: data abstraction
– mid-80s: object-oriented programming

Language categories
• Imperative

• Functional

• Logic

• Object-oriented

Language implementation strategies


• Compilation

– slow translation
– fast execution

• Interpretation

– no translation
– slow execution

• Hybrid methods

– moderate translation cost


– medium execution speed

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