Principles of

Programming Languages
Topic: Introduction
Professor Louis Steinberg

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 1

 Contacts
Prof. Louis Steinberg
lou @ cs.rutgers.edu
x5-3581
401 Hill
TA:
to be announced
Class web site
http: //www.remus.rutgers/cs314/steinberg

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 2

 Books
Kenneth Louden, Programming Languages
Kenneth Reek, Pointers on C
Kip Irvine, C++ and Object-Oriented
Programming
Clocksin & Mellish, Programming in Prolog

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 3

 Work
Midterm (Friday 3/5 2:50-4:10PM )
Final
3 projects
Homework
In-lab programming test (?)

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 4

 Topics
Introduction
Formal Languages - REs, BNF, context-free grammars,
parsing
Functional Programming (Scheme)
Names, Bindings, Memory management
Imperative Programming (C)
Parameter Passing
ADTs, Object-oriented Design (C++)
Logic Programming (Prolog)
Types
Parallel Programming? Threads and monitors?

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 5

 Course Goals
To gain an understanding of the basic structure of
programming languages:
Data types, control structures, naming conventions,...
To learn the principles underlying all programming
languages:
So that it is easier to learn new languages
To study different language paradigms:
Functional (Scheme), Imperative (C), Object-Oriented
(C++, Java), Logic (Prolog)
So that you can select an appropriate language for a task

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 6

 What is a programming
language?
a language intended for use by a person to express a process
by which a computer can solve a problem -Hope and
Jipping

a set of conventions for communicating an algorithm - E.

Horowitz

the art of programming is the art of organizing complexity -

Dijkstra, 1972

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 7

 Anthropomorphism
Whenever a human term (e.g., language) is used
about computers, ask:
How analogous

How differs

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 8

 Desiderata for PL Design
Readable
comments, names, () syntax
Simple to learn
Orthogonal - small number of concepts combine
regularly and systematically (without exceptions)
Portable
language standardization
Abstraction
control and data structures that hide detail
Efficient

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 10

 Why learn more than one PL?
So you can choose the right language for a given
problem
If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a
nail

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 11

 Why learn more than one PL?
So you can learn a new language more easily later
As your job changes, you may need to used different
languages
As our understanding of programming improves, new
languages are created
To learn new ways of thinking about problems
Different languages encourage you to think about
problems in different ways
Paradigms

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 12

 What is a Paradigm
A way of looking at a problem and seeing a
program
What kind of parts do you look for?
Problem: Print a large X of size n.
E.g., size 5 is X X
X X
X
X X
X X

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 13

 Imperative Paradigm
A program is: A sequence of state-changing actions
Manipulate an abstract machine with:
Variables that name memory locations
Arithmetic and logical operations
Reference, evaluate, assign operations
Explicit control flow statements
Fits the Von Neumann architecture closely
Key operations: Assignment and GoTo

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 17

 Imperative Paradigm
Sum up twice each
number from 1 to N. SUM = 0
DO 11 K=1,N
Fortran SUM = SUM + 2*K
11 CONTINUE

sum = 0;
C for (k = 1; k <= n; ++k)
sum += 2*k;

sum := 0;
Pascal for k := 1 to n do
sum := sum + 2*k;

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 18

 Functional Paradigm
A program is: Composition of operations on data
Characteristics (in pure form):
Name values, not memory locations
Value binding through parameter passing
Recursion rather than iteration
Key operations: Function Application and Function
Abstraction
Based on the Lambda Calculus

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 19

 Functional Paradigm
(define (sum n)
Scheme (if (= n 0)
0
(+ (* n 2) (sum (- n 1)))
)
)

(sum 4) evaluates to 20

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 20

 Logic Paradigm
A program is: Formal logical specification of
problem
Characteristics (in pure form):
Programs say what properties the solution must have, not
how to find it
Solutions are obtained through a specialized form of
theorem-proving
Key operations: Unification and NonDeterministic
Search
Based on First Order Predicate Logic

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 21

 Logic Paradigm
sum(0,0).
sum(N,S) :- N>0,
NN is N - 1,
sum(NN, SS), ?- sum(1,2).
S is N * 2 + SS. yes
?- sum (2,4).
Prolog
no
?-sum(20,S).
S = 420
?-sum (X,Y).
X = 0 = Y

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 22

 Object-Oriented Paradigm
A program is: Communication between abstract
objects
Characteristics:
Objects collect both the data and the operations
Objects provide data abstraction
Can be either imperative or functional (or logical)
Key operation: Message Passing or Method
Invocation

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 23

 Object-oriented Paradigm
class intSet : public Set
Java
{ public: intSet() { }
//inherits Set add_element(), Set del_element()
//from Set class, defined as a set of Objects
public int sum( ){
int s = 0;
SetEnumeration e = new SetEnumeration(this);
while (e.hasMoreElements()) do
{s = s + ((Integer)e.nextElement()).intValue();}
return s;
}
}

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 24

 Translation
Compilation: Program is translated from a high-
level language into a form that is executable on an
actual machine
Interpretation: Program is translated and executed
one statement at a time by a virtual machine
Some PL systems are a mixture of these two
E.g., Java
foo.java foo.class
javac bytecode
Source Translator Intermediate code
Input
Intermediate code Virtual Machine Output
CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction
java (JVM) 25
 Compilation

scanner optimizer

parser code generator

intermediate
code assembler
generator

linker

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 26

 Compilation
position = initial + rate * 60;
scanner optimizer
id1 := id2 + id3 * 60
parser code generator

intermediate
code assembler
generator

linker

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 27

 Compilation
:= parse tree
scanner
id1 +
parser symbol table
(position, ...) id2 *
(initial, )
intermediate
(rate, ) id3 int-to-real
code
generator
60
tmp1 = inttoreal (60)
tmp2 = id3 * tmp1
tmp3 = id2 + tmp2
id1 = tmp3
CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 28
 Compilation
tmp2 = id3 * 60.0 optimizer
id1 = id2 + tmp2

code generator
movf id3, R2
mulf #60.0, R2
movf id2, R1
assembler
addf R2, R1
movf R1, id1 move R1, R-base, R-offset
linker

movf R1, 45733

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 29

 History of PLs
Prehistory
300 B.C. Greece, Euclid invented the greatest common
divisor algorithm - oldest known algorithm
~1820-1850 England, Charles Babbage invented two
mechanical computational devices
difference engine
analytical engine
Countess Ada Augusta of Lovelace, first computer programmer
Precursors to modern machines
1940s United States, ENIAC developed to calculate trajectories

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 30

 History of PLs
1950s United States, first high-level PLs invented
Fortran 1954-57, John Backus (IBM on 704) designed for
numerical scientific computation
fixed format for punched cards
implicit typing
only counting loops, if test versus zero
only numerical data
1957 optimizing Fortran compiler translates into code as efficient
as hand-coded

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 31

 History of PLs
Algol60 1958-60, designed by international committee for
numerical scientific computation [Fortran]
block structure with lexical scope
free format, reserved words
while loops, recursion
explicit types
BNF developed for formal syntax definition
Cobol 1959-60, designed by committee in US,
manufacturers and DoD for business data processing
records
focus on file handling
English-like syntax

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 32

 History of PLs
APL 1956-60 Ken Iverson, (IBM on 360, Harvard)
designed for array processing
functional programming style
LISP 1956-62, John McCarthy (MIT on IBM704,
Stanford) designed for non-numerical computation
uniform notation for program and data
recursion as main control structure
garbage collection
Snobol 1962-66, Farber, Griswold, Polansky (Bell Labs)
designed for string processing
powerful pattern matching

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 33

 History of PLs
PL/I 1963-66, IBM designed for general purpose
computing [Fortran, Algol60, Cobol]
user controlled exceptions
multi-tasking
Simula67 1967, Dahl and Nygaard (Norway) designed as
a simulation language [Algol60]
data abstraction
inheritance of properties
Algol68 1963-68, designed for general purpose computing
[Algol60]
orthogonal language design
interesting user defined types

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 34

 History of PLs
Pascal 1969, N. Wirth(ETH) designed for teaching
programming [Algol60]
1 pass compiler
call-by-value semantics
Prolog 1972, Colmerauer and Kowalski designed for
Artificial Intelligence applications
theorem proving with unification as basic operation
logic programming
Recent
C 1974, D. Ritchie (Bell Labs) designed for systems
programming
allows access to machine level within high-level PL
efficient code generated

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 35

 History of PLs
Clu 1974-77, B. Liskov (MIT) designed for simulation
[Simula]
supports data abstraction and exceptions
precise algebraic language semantics
attempt to enable verification of programs
Smalltalk mid-1970s, Alan Kay (Xerox Parc), considered
first real object-oriented PL, [Simula]
encapsulation, inheritance
easy to prototype applications
hides details of underlying machine
Scheme mid-1970s, Guy Steele, Gerald Sussman (MIT)
Static scoping and first-class functions

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 36

 History of PLs
Concurrent Pascal 1976 Per Brinch Hansen (U Syracuse)
designed for asynchronous concurrent processing
[Pascal]
monitors for safe data sharing
Modula 1977 N. Wirth (ETH), designed language for
large software development [Pascal]
to control interfaces between sets of procedures or modules
real-time programming
Ada 1979, US DoD committee designed as general
purpose PL
explicit parallelism - rendezvous
exception handling and generics (packages)

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 37

 History of PLs
C++ 1985, Bjorne Stroustrup (Bell Labs) general purpose
goal of type-safe object-oriented PL
compile-time type checking
templates
Java ~1995, J. Gosling (SUN)
aimed at portability across platform through use of JVM -
abstract machine to implement the PL
aimed to fix some problems with previous OOPLs
multiple inheritance
static and dynamic objects
ubiquitous exceptions
thread objects

CS 314, LS,LTM: L1: Introduction 38

 http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/news/languageposter_0504.html

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