Programming Languages Exam 1
imperative languages
- central features are variables, assignment statements, and iteration
- include languages that support object-oriented programming
- include scripting languages
- C, C++, C#, Go, Java, JavaScript, Python, etc
functional languages
- main means of making computations is by applying functions to given parameters
- in its purest form defined as mathematical function, there is no concept of memory
(variables), time, or state
- a purely functional language has no loops and requires recursion to iterate
- every parameter of a function is bound to a value and remains constant through
evaluation
- no such thing as a variable that models a memory location
- LISP, Haskell, OCaml, Erlang, Racket, Scheme, Clojure
logic languages
- program statements describe facts and rules
- the computer's job is to construct a proof based on the given axioms (facts + rules)
- no imperatives at all
- don't specify the steps to solve a problem
- Prolog
compilation
languages where programs are translated into machine language
-> slow translation
-> fast execution
-> translation occurs only once, but the program can be run multiple times
pure interpretation
languages where programs are interpreted/executed in a stepwise fashion by another
program known as an interpreter
-> no translation into machine language
-> code is executed on the fly
-> rare for traditional high-level languages
-> execution is immediate
-> easier implementation of debugging programs but errors are not found until actually
executed
-> slower execution
-> often requires more space
lexical analysis
step one of compilation: converts characters in the source program into lexical units
syntax analysis
