First published in 1998, this textbook is a broad but rigourous survey of the theoretical basis for the design, definition and implementation of programming languages and of systems for specifying and proving programme behaviour. Both imperative and functional programming are covered, as well as the ways of integrating these aspects into more general languages. Recognising a unity of technique beneath the diversity of research in programming languages, the author presents an integrated treatment of the basic principles of the subject. He identifies the relatively small number of concepts, such as compositional semantics, binding structure, domains, transition systems and inference rules, that serve as the foundation of the field. Assuming only knowledge of elementary programming and mathematics, this text is perfect for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses in programming language theory and also will appeal to researchers and professionals in designing or implementing computer languages.

This text is perfect for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses in programming language theory.

The design and implementation of programming languages, from Fortran and Cobol to Caml and Java, has been one of the key developments in the management of ever more complex computerized systems. Introduction to the Theory of Programming Languages gives the reader the means to discover the tools to think, design, and implement these languages. It proposes a unified vision of the different formalisms that permit definition of a programming language: small steps operational semantics, big steps operational semantics, and denotational semantics, emphasising that all seek to define a relation between three objects: a program, an input value, and an output value. These formalisms are illustrated by presenting the semantics of some typical features of programming languages: functions, recursivity, assignments, records, objects, ... showing that the study of programming languages does not consist of studying languages one after another, but is organized around the features that are present in these various languages. The study of these features leads to the development of evaluators, interpreters and compilers, and also type inference algorithms, for small languages.

A comprehensive undergraduate textbook covering both theory and practical design issues, with an emphasis on object-oriented languages.

There are several theories of programming. The first usable theory, often called "Hoare's Logic", is still probably the most widely known. In it, a specification is a pair of predicates: a precondition and postcondition (these and all technical terms will be defined in due course). Another popular and closely related theory by Dijkstra uses the weakest precondition predicate transformer, which is a function from programs and postconditions to preconditions. lones's Vienna Development Method has been used to advantage in some industries; in it, a specification is a pair of predicates (as in Hoare's Logic), but the second predicate is a relation. Temporal Logic is yet another formalism that introduces some special operators and quantifiers to describe some aspects of computation. The theory in this book is simpler than any of those just mentioned. In it, a specification is just a boolean expression. Refinement is just ordinary implication. This theory is also more general than those just mentioned, applying to both terminating and nonterminating computation, to both sequential and parallel computation, to both stand-alone and interactive computation. And it includes time bounds, both for algorithm classification and for tightly constrained real-time applications.

Semantics of Programming Languages exposes the basic motivations and philosophy underlying the applications of semantic techniques in computer science. It introduces the mathematical theory of programming languages with an emphasis on higher-order functions and type systems. Designed as a text for upper-level and graduate-level students, the mathematically sophisticated approach will also prove useful to professionals who want an easily referenced description of fundamental results and calculi. Basic connections between computational behavior, denotational semantics, and the equational logic of functional programs are thoroughly and rigorously developed. Topics covered include models of types, operational semantics, category theory, domain theory, fixed point (denotational). semantics, full abstraction and other semantic correspondence criteria, types and evaluation, type checking and inference, parametric polymorphism, and subtyping. All topics are treated clearly and in depth, with complete proofs for the major results and numerous exercises.

Type theory is a fast-evolving field at the crossroads of logic, computer science and mathematics. This gentle step-by-step introduction is ideal for graduate students and researchers who need to understand the ins and outs of the mathematical machinery, the role of logical rules therein, the essential contribution of definitions and the decisive nature of well-structured proofs. The authors begin with untyped lambda calculus and proceed to several fundamental type systems, including the well-known and powerful Calculus of Constructions. The book also covers the essence of proof checking and proof development, and the use of dependent type theory to formalise mathematics. The only prerequisite is a basic knowledge of undergraduate mathematics. Carefully chosen examples illustrate the theory throughout. Each chapter ends with a summary of the content, some historical context, suggestions for further reading and a selection of exercises to help readers familiarise themselves with the material.