Comparative Programming Languages (International Computer Science Series)

Computer programmers (and students learning to become programmers) now need to have a wide range of experience of different languages and programming 'paradigms'. In this book the authors survey many of the major programming languages by comparing and contrasting the essential concepts underlying each type of language.

This book identifies and explains the essential concepts underlying the design and use of programming languages and provides a good balance of theory and practice. The author compares how the major languages handle issues such as declarations, types, data abstraction, information hiding, modularity, and the support given to the development of reliable software systems. The emphasis is on the similarities, rather than the differences, between languages, and primarily covers modern, widely used object-oriented and procedural languages such as Java, C++, C, Pascal (including its implementation in Delphi), Ada 95, and Perl, with special chapters being devoted to functional and logic languages. The new edition has been brought fully up to date with new developments in the field: the increase in the use of OO languages as a programmer's first language; the growth in importance of graphical user interfaces (GUIs); and the widespread use of the Internet. This book is suitable for readers with a Java or procedural-language background who want to get into the theory of programming-language development and utilization. /*@ISBN = 0-201-71012-9 @MAINCAT = Programming Languages @DATALINE1 = 2001, 384 pages, 7 1/4 x 9 1/8 @DATALINE2 = Paper, $50.00k*/