Understanding Programming Languages

Author : M. Ben-Ari, Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Publication Date : 1996, republished in 2006

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Excerpts from the Preface:

The role of language in programming has been downgraded in favor of software methodology and tools; not just downgraded, but totally repudiated when it is claimed that a well-designed system can be implemented equally well in any language. But programming languages are not just a tool; they furnish the raw material of software, the thing we look at on our screens most of the day. I believe that the programming language is one of the most important, not one of the least important, factors that influence the ultimate quality of a software system. Unfortunately, too many programmers have poor linguistic skills. He/she is passionately in love with his/her "native” programming language, but is not able to analyze and compare language constructs, nor to understand the advantages and disadvantages of modern languages and language concepts. Too often, one hears statements that demonstrate conceptual confusion: "Language L1 is more powerful (or more efficient) than language L2”.

The Aim of The Book:

The aim of this book is to help the student understand programming languages by analyzing and contrasting language constructs:

- What alternatives are available to the language designer?
- How are language constructs implemented?
- How should they be used?

We have not hesitated to be prescriptive: to claim that accumulated experience shows that certain constructs are to be preferred, and others to be avoided or at least used with caution. Of course, any book on programming languages should not be taken as a reference manual for any particular language. The goal is to learn to analyze languages and not to study the peculiarities of any language in depth. Nor is the book a guide to the choice of a language for any particular project. The goal is to supply the student with the conceptual tools needed to make such a decision.

Prerequisites:

The prerequisite for this book is at least one year of programming in some language such as Pascal or C. In any case, the student should have a basic reading knowledge of C. A familiarity with the structure and machine code of some computer will also be helpful.

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