Programming Language Structures

Programming Language Structures deals with the structures of programming languages and introduces the reader to five important programming languages: Algol, Fortran, Lisp, Snobol, and Pascal. The fundamental similarities and differences among these languages are discussed. A unifying framework is constructed that can be used to study the structure of other languages, such as Cobol, PL/I, and APL. Several of the tools and methodologies needed to construct large programs are also considered. Comprised of 10 chapters, this book begins with a summary of the relevant concepts and principles about algorithms, flowcharts, and computation that a student is expected to know from the first course. The discussion then turns to the semantics of procedure and function call as well as argument-parameter matching with various kinds of parameters; recursion and its relation to tree traversal; syntax formalism for context-free languages; and ALGOL 60 and block structuring. Case study programs are presented to reinforce the reader's understanding of ALGOL 60 and Fortran semantics. The remaining chapters deal with Lisp, Snobol, and Pascal. This monograph is intended for working programmers and students in computer science who have an interest in the subject of programming.