Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming

by Peter Van Roy

Description

This innovative text presents computer programming as a unified discipline in a way that is both practical and scientifically sound. The book focuses on techniques of lasting value and explains them precisely in terms of a simple abstract machine. The book presents all major programming paradigms in a uniform framework that shows their deep relationships and how and where to use them together.After an introduction to programming concepts, the book presents both well-known and lesser-known show more computation models ("programming paradigms"). Each model has its own set of techniques and each is included on the basis of its usefulness in practice. The general models include declarative programming, declarative concurrency, message-passing concurrency, explicit state, object-oriented programming, shared-state concurrency, and relational programming. Specialized models include graphical user interface programming, distributed programming, and constraint programming. Each model is based on its kernel language -- a simple core language that consists of a small number of programmer- significant elements. The kernel languages are introduced progressively, adding concepts one by one, thus showing the deep relationships between different models. The kernel languages are defined precisely in terms of a simple abstract machine. Because a wide variety of languages and programming paradigms can be modeled by a small set of closely related kernel languages, this approach allows programmer and student to grasp the underlying unity of programming. The book has many program fragments and exercises, all of which can be run on the Mozart Programming System, an Open Source software package that features an interactive incremental development environment. show less

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_Greg 32 reviews

This is the first book to cover most of the major computer programming models and it uses one of the best programming environments (Mozart/Oz) for its examples. I'm having a blast reading the book and doing the exercises. Soon I'll need to come up with some really challenging projects to exploit the power of Mozart/Oz. The only flaw in my mind is the bias against lexical typing. If you're seriously interested in computer programming, this one is a must read.

Nov 12, 2005

EmreSevinc 154 reviews

On par with "Structure and Interpretations of Computer Programs" and "The Art of Computer Programming"!

Oct 16, 2008