Influences on Language Design: Computer Architecture
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Questions and Answers

What makes human readability in programming languages harder to define?

  • The lack of control statements in programming languages
  • The complexity of algorithms used in programming languages (correct)
  • The size of the programming language itself
  • The need for more abstractions in programming languages

    • What contributes to the readability of a programming language?

  • Control statements and simplicity only
  • Syntax and data types only
  • The number of lines of code in a program
  • Orthogonality, control statements, data types, syntax, and simplicity (correct)

    • Why are complex programming languages harder to learn?

  • They have too many abstractions
  • They have multiplicity, making it harder to understand the program's meaning (correct)
  • They have fewer control statements
  • They are less orthogonal

    • What is an example of multiplicity in programming languages?

    <p>Having different ways to accomplish the same operation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is orthogonality in programming languages?

    <p>The property of language constructs behaving the same in different contexts</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an example of nonorthogonality in programming languages?

    <p>In C/C++, arrays cannot be returned from a function</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the benefit of simplicity in programming languages?

    <p>It reduces the amount of detail, making changes in one part of the program have a limited effect on other parts</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the effect of overloading operators in programming languages?

    <p>It decreases the clarity of the program's meaning</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of the ADDL instruction in VAX Assembler?

    <p>To perform an arithmetic operation on two operands</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the most common control mechanism in programs in the 1950s and 1960s?

    <p>Goto statements</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What feature of modern programming languages enhances readability?

    <p>The ability to create custom data types</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of architecture has influenced the development of imperative languages?

    <p>Von Neumann architecture</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a disadvantage of using a large and diverse set of constructs in a programming language?

    <p>It makes the language easier to misuse</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which programming methodology led to the development of languages with data abstraction?

    <p>Object-oriented programming</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the importance of writability in modern programming languages?

    <p>It is more important than efficiency</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the basic concept of imperative languages?

    <p>Machine state</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key benefit of compile-time type checking in programming languages?

    <p>Improved program reliability</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which language is well-suited for report generating?

    <p>COBOL</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following languages is NOT an imperative language?

    <p>ML</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the key question in functional programming languages?

    <p>What function must be applied to our initial machine and our data?</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of special words in programming languages?

    <p>To close structures such as endif and endwhile</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why is it important to prevent dangling reference assignments in programming languages?

    <p>To prevent unexpected or disastrous behavior during execution</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an advantage of using records to store complex data objects?

    <p>It makes the code more readable</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a significant challenge in achieving reliability in programming languages?

    <p>Checking rules at translation or execution time</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which programming paradigm focuses on the state changes as each statement is executed?

    <p>Imperative</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the form of statements in imperative languages?

    <p>statement1; statement2; … …</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an important aspect of reliability in programming languages?

    <p>Ability to catch runtime errors</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How many different programming language paradigms are there?

    <p>4</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a potential issue with aliasing in programming languages?

    <p>Unnecessary errors</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a factor that affects the cost of program execution?

    <p>Computer speed</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a consideration in the cost of program translation?

    <p>Compiler optimization</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an aspect of the cost of program creation?

    <p>How quickly the program can be developed and executed correctly</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of the gcd method in the IntWithGcd class?

    <p>To find the greatest common divisor of two numbers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the trade-off between reliability and cost of execution?

    <p>Reliability decreases with cost of execution</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of implementation method involves translating source code into machine code?

    <p>Compilation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of an assembler in the compiling process?

    <p>To translate assembly code into machine code</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the output of the interpreter in the pure interpretation process?

    <p>Output</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the intermediate step in the hybrid interpretation process?

    <p>Intermediate code</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Readability

    • Harder to define human readability in precise terms
    • Requires a programming language to provide enough abstractions to make algorithms clear to someone unfamiliar with the program's details
    • In larger programs, readability requires reducing the amount of detail so that changes in one part have a limited effect on other parts

    Characteristics of Readability

    • Simplicity: fewer basic components, less complexity, and reduced multiplicity (e.g., various ways to accomplish an operation)
    • Orthogonality: language constructs should not behave differently in different contexts
    • Control Statements: introduction of while, for, and if-then-else eliminated the need for gotos and led to more readable programs
    • Data Types and Structures: diverse set of data types and ability to create own data types increases readability
    • Syntax: features like identifier forms, special words, and form and meaning enhance readability

    Writability

    • Historically, writability was less important than efficiency
    • With faster computers, writability has become more important
    • Writability must be considered within the context of the language's target problem domain
    • A large and diverse set of constructs is easier to misuse than a smaller set of constructs with consistent rules

    Reliability

    • Assurance that a program will not behave in unexpected or disastrous ways during execution
    • Type Checking: a large factor in program reliability, with compile-time type checking being more desirable
    • Exception Handling: ability to catch run-time errors and make corrections can prevent reliability problems
    • Aliasing: having two or more ways of referencing the same data object can cause unnecessary errors

    Cost of Use

    • Cost of program execution
    • Cost of program translation
    • Cost of program creation, testing, and use
    • Cost of program maintenance

    Influences on Language Design

    • Computer Architecture: von Neumann architecture has influenced the development of imperative languages
    • Programming Methodologies: new methods of program development have led to advances in language design, including structured programming languages and data abstraction in object-oriented languages

    Language Categories

    • Imperative Languages: command-driven or statement-oriented languages that change the machine state (e.g., FORTRAN, COBOL, C, Pascal, PL/I)
    • Functional Languages: focus on the function that the program represents, rather than state changes (e.g., ML, Scheme, LISP)
    • Declarative Languages
    • Object-Oriented Languages

    Language Design Trade-offs

    • Frequently, design criteria will be contradictory (e.g., reliability and cost of execution, expressivity and writability vs. readability)
    • Flexibility and safety can also be in conflict

    Implementation Methods

    • Compilation
    • Pure Interpretation
    • Hybrid Implementation Systems

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    SE Unit 1 PPT.pdf

    Description

    Learn about the impact of computer architecture and programming methodologies on programming language design, including the von Neumann architecture and its effects on imperative and functional languages.

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