"This dissertation presents a descriptive notation for data structures which is embedded in a programming language in such a way that the resulting language behaves as a synthetic tool for describing data and processes in a number of application areas. A series of examples including formulae, lists, flow charts, Algol text, files, matrices, organic molecules and complex variables is presented to explore the use of this tool. In addition, a small formal treatment is given dealing with the equivalence of evaluators and their data structures."--abs.

The purpose of the research described here was to develop a data structure definition facility (DSDF) and an access control facility suitable for inclusion in high-level programming languages. The research was not intended to include the design of a complete language but instead involved the development of programming language features that aid in the development of languages designed for producing reliable software. The DSDF was to be capable of specifying and implementing a wide variety of views of data. The intentions were to develop a facility capable of defining real world data objects as well as system-oriented data objects. In addition, the DSDF was to merge the language view of real world and system data objects. (Author).

" .. .1 always worked with programming languages because it seemed to me that until you could understand those, you really couldn't understand computers. Understanding them doesn't really mean only being able to use them. A lot of people can use them without understanding them." Christopher Strachey The development of programming languages is one of the finest intellectual achievements of the new discipline called Computer Science. And yet, there is no other subject that I know of, that has such emotionalism and mystique associated with it. Thus my attempt to write about this highly charged subject is taken with a good deal of caution. Nevertheless, in my role as Professor I have felt the need for a modern treatment of this subject. Traditional books on programming languages are like abbreviated language manuals, but this book takes a fundamentally different point of view. I believe that the best possible way to study and understand today's programming languages is by focusing on a few essential concepts. These concepts form the outline for this book and include such topics as variables, expressions, statements, typing, scope, procedures, data types, exception handling and concurrency. By understanding what these concepts are and how they are realized in different programming languages, one arrives at a level of comprehension far greater than one gets by writing some programs in a vi vB Preface few languages. Moreover, knowledge of these concepts provides a framework for understanding future language designs.

History of Programming Languages presents information pertinent to the technical aspects of the language design and creation. This book provides an understanding of the processes of language design as related to the environment in which languages are developed and the knowledge base available to the originators. Organized into 14 sections encompassing 77 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the programming techniques to use to help the system produce efficient programs. This text then discusses how to use parentheses to help the system identify identical subexpressions within an expression and thereby eliminate their duplicate calculation. Other chapters consider FORTRAN programming techniques needed to produce optimum object programs. This book discusses as well the developments leading to ALGOL 60. The final chapter presents the biography of Adin D. Falkoff. This book is a valuable resource for graduate students, practitioners, historians, statisticians, mathematicians, programmers, as well as computer scientists and specialists.

The earth, viewed through the window of an airplane, shows a regularity and reptition of features, for example, hills, valleys, rivers, lakes, and forests. Nevertheless, there is great local variation; Vermont does not look like Utah. Similarly, if we rise above the details of a few programming languages, we can discern features that are common to many languages. This is the programming language landscape; the main features include variables, types, control structures, and input/output. Again, there is local variation; Pascal does not look like Basic. This work is a broad and comprehensive discussion of the principal features of the major programming languages. A Study of Concepts The text surveys the landscape of programming languages and its features. Each chapter concentrates on a single language concept. A simple model of the feature, expressed as a mini-language, is presented. This allows us to study an issue in depth and relative isolation. Each chapter concludes with a discussion of the way in which the concept is incorporated into some well-known languages. This permits a reasonably complete coverage of language issues.