PPL NOTES

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dt4s_ptnqN2Xa1yVg_YhyZz3sSxAvzcW/view?usp=sharing

This document, titled "PPL NOTES.pdf," provides an overview of Programming Languages (PPL) concepts, starting with the importance of studying them and various programming domains, and then delving into language evaluation criteria, implementation methods, and foundational topics in language specification and semantics. The notes define a programming language as a tool for writing software, a notation for algorithms, and a means of communication between programmers. Reasons for studying PPL concepts include increasing the capacity to express ideas, improving the background for choosing an appropriate language, increasing the ability to learn new languages, and fostering a better understanding of the significance of implementation. The document covers imperative, functional, logic, and object-oriented language categories. It also details formal methods for language description, such as Backus-Naur Form (BNF) and attribute grammars, and different types of dynamic semantics like operational, axiomatic, and denotational semantics. Finally, it introduces data types (primitive and non-primitive), expressions, assignment, control structures, and subprograms, including exception handling.

Here are 5 key topics covered:

• Programming Languages (PPL) Concepts: Notations used for specifying, organizing, and reasoning about computations, with knowledge being essential for efficient software design implementation.
• Language Evaluation Criteria: Characteristics that influence the assessment of a programming language, including Readability (ease of understanding), Writability (ease of creating programs), Reliability (working according to specifications), and Cost.
• Implementation Methods: The processes by which high-level programs are executed, including Compilation (slow translation, fast execution), Pure Interpretation (no translation, slow execution), and Hybrid Implementation Systems (compromise between the two).
• Backus-Naur Form (BNF): A metalanguage used to describe the syntax of programming languages, equivalent to context-free grammars.
• Dynamic Semantics: The description of the meaning of expressions, statements, and program units, with types including Operational, Axiomatic, and Denotational Semantics.