By introducing the principles of programming languages, using the Java language as a support, Gilles Dowek provides the necessary fundamentals of this language as a first objective.

It is important to realise that knowledge of a single programming language is not really enough. To be a good programmer, you should be familiar with several languages and be able to learn new ones. In order to do this, you’ll need to understand universal concepts, such as functions or cells, which exist in one form or another in all programming languages. The most effective way to understand these universal concepts is to compare two or more languages. In this book, the author has chosen Caml and C.

To understand the principles of programming languages, it is also important to learn how to precisely define the meaning ofa program, and tools for doing so are discussed. Finally, there is coverage of basic algorithms for lists and trees.

Written for students, this book presents what all scientists and engineers should know about programming languages.

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From the reviews:

"The primary programming language topics covered are basic imperative constructs, functions, semantics, recursion, data types, exceptions, and objects. It is clear and easy to read, with nice exercises … . it is written at a good level for undergraduate students." (M. D. Derk, ACM Computing Reviews, June, 2009)

“As stated in the title, this book focuses on the principles of programming languages. … Numerous exercises are included, ranging from simplistic to relatively complex. … This book would be of most help to those who already know exactly what they are looking for and would like to see an example of that construct. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students through professionals/practitioners.” (M. B. DuBois, Choice, Vol. 47 (6), February, 2010)

Bibliographic Information

Book Title: Principles of Programming Languages
Authors: Gilles Dowek
Series Title: Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-032-6
Publisher: Springer London
eBook Packages: Computer Science, Computer Science (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2009
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-84882-031-9Due: 13 March 2009
eBook ISBN: 978-1-84882-032-6Published: 03 April 2009
Series ISSN: 1863-7310
Series E-ISSN: 2197-1781
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XII, 159
Topics: Programming Languages, Compilers, Interpreters, Logics and Meanings of Programs, Algorithm Analysis and Problem Complexity, Programming Techniques, Software Engineering

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

Front Matter

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