Concepts in Programming Languages

Concepts in Programming Languages elucidates the central concepts used in modern programming languages, such as functions, types, memory management, and control. The book is unique in its comprehensive presentation and comparison of major object-oriented programming languages. Separate chapters examine the history of objects, Simula and Smalltalk, and the prominent languages C++ and Java. The author presents foundational topics, such as lambda calculus and denotational semantics, in an easy-to-read, informal style, focusing on the main insights provided by these theories. Advanced topics include concurrency, concurrent object-oriented programming, program components, and inter-language interoperability. A chapter on logic programming illustrates the importance of specialized programming methods for certain kinds of problems.

This general textbook on programming languages is designed for undergraduate andbeginning graduate students with some knowledge of basic programming. It teaches the concepts that appear in programming languages, issues that arise in their implementation, and the way that language design affects program development. Each chapter contains an extensive list of homework exercises, tested at several universities.A unique feature of the book is the comprehensive presentation of and comparison between major object-oriented programming languages. Separate chapters examine the history of objects, Simula and Smalltalk, and the prominent languages C++ and Java, giving the reader a solid understanding of the design goals for each of these languages and the central trade-offs between programming expressiveness and implementation efficiency.