Concepts of Programming Languages

Lecture 1 - Introduction

Patrick Donnelly

Montana State University

Spring 2014

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 Textbook

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 Administrivia

Website:

http://nisl.cs.montana.edu/~pdonnelly/CSCI305/

Reading:

Chapter 1

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 A good programming language is a conceptual universe
for thinking about programming.

A. Perlis

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 Reasons for Studying Programming Languages

Increased ability to express ideas

Improved background for choosing appropriate languages

Increased ability to learn new languages

Better understanding of significance of implementation

Better use of languages that are already known

Overall advancement of computing

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 Principles

Programming languages have four properties:

Syntax
Names
Types
Semantics

For any language:

Its designers must define these properties
Its programmers must master these properties

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 Syntax

Definition
The syntax of a programming language is a precise description of all
its grammatically correct programs.

When studying syntax, we ask questions like:

What is the grammar for the language?

What is the basic vocabulary?

How are syntax errors detected?

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 Names
Various kinds of entities in a program have names:
variables
types
functions
parameters
classes
objects

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 Names
Various kinds of entities in a program have names:
variables
types
functions
parameters
classes
objects

Named entities are bound in a running program to:

Scope
Visibility
Type
Lifetime

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 Types
Definition
A type is a collection of values and a collection of operations on those
values.

Simple types: Structured types

numbers Strings,
characters lists,
booleans, . . . etc. trees,
hash tables, . . . etc..

Definition
A language’s type system can help to:
Determine legal operations
Detect type errors

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 Semantics

Definition
The meaning of a program is called its semantics.

In studying semantics, we ask questions like:

When a program is running, what happens to the values of the

variables?

What does each statement mean?

What underlying model governs run-time behavior, such as

function call?

How are objects allocated to memory at run-time?

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 Paradigms

Definition
A programming paradigm is a pattern of problem-solving thought that
underlies a particular genre of programs and languages.

There are four main programming paradigms:

Imperative

Object-oriented

Functional

Logic

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 Imperative Paradigm
Follows the classic von Neumann-Eckert model:

Program and data are indistinguishable in memory

Program = a sequence of commands
State = values of all variables when program runs
Large programs use procedural abstraction

Example imperative languages:

Cobol
Fortran
C
Ada
Perl

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 The von Neumann-Eckert Model

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 Object-oriented (OO) Paradigm
An OO Program is a collection of objects that interact by passing
messages that transform the state.

When studying OO, we learn about:

Sending Messages
Inheritance
Polymorphism

Example OO languages:
Smalltalk
Java
C++
C#
Python

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 Functional Paradigm
Functional programming models a computation as a collection of
mathematical functions.
Input = domain
Output = range

Functional languages are characterized by:

Functional composition
Recursion

Example functional languages:

Lisp
Scheme
ML
Haskell

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 Logic Paradigm

Logic programming declares what outcome the program should

accomplish, rather than how it should be accomplished.

When studying logic programming we see:

Programs as sets of constraints on a problem
Programs that achieve all possible solutions
Programs that are nondeterministic

Example logic programming languages:

Datalog
Prolog

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 Special Topics

Concurrency:

e.g., Client-server programs

Correctness:

How can we prove that a program does what it is

supposed to do under all circumstances?

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 On Language Design
Design Constraints:

Computer architecture

Technical setting

Standards

Legacy systems

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 On Language Design
Design Constraints:

Computer architecture

Technical setting

Standards

Legacy systems

Outcomes and Goals:

1 How does a programming language emerge and become

successful?
2 What key characteristics make an ideal programming language?

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Patrick Donnelly (Montana State University) Concepts of Programming Languages Spring 2014 19 / 46
Patrick Donnelly (Montana State University) Concepts of Programming Languages Spring 2014 20 / 46
 Language Design Trade-Offs

Reliability vs. cost of execution

Example: Java demands all references to array elements be
checked for proper indexing, which leads to increased execution
costs

Readability vs. writability

Example: APL provides many powerful operators (and a large
number of new symbols), allowing complex computations to be
written in a compact program but at the cost of poor readability

Writability (flexibility) vs. reliability

Example: C++ pointers are powerful and very flexible but are
unreliable

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 Compilation

Compiler – translate high-level program (source language) into

machine code (machine language)
Programs are translated into machine language; includes JIT
systems
Slow translation, fast execution
Use: Large commercial applications

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 Compilation

Compiler – translate high-level program (source language) into

machine code (machine language)
Programs are translated into machine language; includes JIT
systems
Slow translation, fast execution
Use: Large commercial applications

Example compiled languages:

Fortran, Cobol, C, C++

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 Compilation
Compilation process has several phases:

lexical analysis: converts characters in the source program into

lexical units

syntax analysis: transforms lexical units into parse trees which

represent the syntactic structure of program

semantics analysis: generate intermediate code

code generation: machine code is generated

Load module (executable image): the user and system code

together

Linking and loading: the process of collecting system program units

and linking them to a user program

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Patrick Donnelly (Montana State University) Concepts of Programming Languages Spring 2014 24 / 46
 Von Neumann Bottleneck

Connection speed between a computer’s memory and its processor

determines the speed of a computer

Program instructions often can be executed much faster than the

speed of the connection; the connection speed thus results in a
bottleneck

Known as the von Neumann bottleneck; it is the primary limiting

factor in the speed of computers

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 Pure Interpretation
Interpreter – executes instructions on a virtual machine

Programs are interpreted by another program known as an

interpreter
No translation
Easier implementation of programs (run-time errors can easily and
immediately be displayed)
Slower execution (10 to 100 times slower than compiled programs)
Often requires more space
Now rare for traditional high-level languages but recent comeback
with some Web scripting languages (e.g., JavaScript, PHP)
Use: Small programs or when efficiency is not an issue

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 Pure Interpretation
Interpreter – executes instructions on a virtual machine

Programs are interpreted by another program known as an

interpreter
No translation
Easier implementation of programs (run-time errors can easily and
immediately be displayed)
Slower execution (10 to 100 times slower than compiled programs)
Often requires more space
Now rare for traditional high-level languages but recent comeback
with some Web scripting languages (e.g., JavaScript, PHP)
Use: Small programs or when efficiency is not an issue

Example interpreted languages:

Scheme, Haskell, Python
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 The Interpreting Process

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 Hybrid Implementation Systems

A compromise between compilers and pure interpreters

A high-level language program is translated to an intermediate

language that allows easy interpretation

Faster than pure interpretation

Use: Small and medium systems when efficiency is not the first
concern

Example Hybrid compilation/interpretation

The Java Virtual Machine (JVM)
Perl programs are partially compiled to detect errors before
interpretation

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Patrick Donnelly (Montana State University) Concepts of Programming Languages Spring 2014 29 / 46
 Just-in-Time Implementation Systems

Initially translate programs to an intermediate language

Then compile the intermediate language of the subprograms into

machine code when they are called

Machine code version is kept for subsequent calls

JIT systems are widely used for Java programs

.NET languages are implemented with a JIT system

In essence, JIT systems are delayed compilers

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 Preprocessors

Preprocessor macros (instructions) are commonly used to specify that

code from another file is to be included

A preprocessor processes a program immediately before the program

is compiled to expand embedded preprocessor macros

A well-known example: C preprocessor expands #include,

#define, and similar macros

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 Characteristics of a Successful Language

Simplicity and readability

Clarity about binding

Reliability

Support

Abstraction

Orthogonality

Efficient implementation

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 Characteristics of a Successful Language

Simplicity and readability

Clarity about binding

Reliability

Support

Abstraction

Orthogonality

Efficient implementation

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 Simplicity and Readability

Small instruction set:

e.g., Java vs Scheme

Simple syntax:
e.g., C/C++/Java vs Python

Benefits:
Ease of learning
Ease of programming

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 Characteristics of a Successful Language

Simplicity and readability

Clarity about binding

Reliability

Support

Abstraction

Orthogonality

Efficient implementation

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 Clarity about Binding
A language element is bound to a property at the time that property is
defined for it.

Definition
A binding is the association between an object and a property of that
object.

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 Clarity about Binding
A language element is bound to a property at the time that property is
defined for it.

Definition
A binding is the association between an object and a property of that
object.

Examples
a variable and its type
a variable and its value

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 Clarity about Binding
A language element is bound to a property at the time that property is
defined for it.

Definition
A binding is the association between an object and a property of that
object.

Examples
a variable and its type
a variable and its value

Early binding takes place at compile-time.

Late binding takes place at run time

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 Characteristics of a Successful Language

Simplicity and readability

Clarity about binding

Reliability

Support

Abstraction

Orthogonality

Efficient implementation

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 Reliability
A language is reliable if:

Program behavior is the same on different platforms

e.g., early versions of Fortran

Type errors are detected

e.g., C vs Haskell

Semantic errors are properly trapped

e.g., C vs C++

Memory leaks are prevented

e.g., C vs Java

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 Characteristics of a Successful Language

Simplicity and readability

Clarity about binding

Reliability

Support

Abstraction

Orthogonality

Efficient implementation

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 Language Support

Accessible (public domain) compilers/interpreters

Good texts and tutorials

Wide community of users

Integrated with development environments (IDEs)

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 Characteristics of a Successful Language

Simplicity and readability

Clarity about binding

Reliability

Support

Abstraction

Orthogonality

Efficient implementation

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 Abstraction in Programming

Data:

Programmer-defined types/classes
Class libraries

Procedural:

Programmer-defined functions
Standard function libraries

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 Characteristics of a Successful Language

Simplicity and readability

Clarity about binding

Reliability

Support

Abstraction

Orthogonality

Efficient implementation

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 Orthogonality

Definition
A language is orthogonal if its features are built upon a small,
mutually independent set of primitive operations.

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 Orthogonality

Definition
A language is orthogonal if its features are built upon a small,
mutually independent set of primitive operations.

Fewer exceptional rules = conceptual simplicity

Example
restricting types of arguments to a function

Tradeoffs with efficiency

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 Characteristics of a Successful Language

Simplicity and readability

Clarity about binding

Reliability

Support

Abstraction

Orthogonality

Efficient implementation

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 Efficient Implementation

Embedded systems
Real-time responsiveness (e.g., navigation)
Failures of early Ada implementations

Web applications
Responsiveness to users (e.g., Google search)

Corporate database applications

Efficient search and updating

AI applications
Modeling human behaviors

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