Principles of Programming Languages (Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science)

The development of programming languages has radically modified our relation to language, complexity and machines. This book is an introduction to the principles around which these languages are organised – imperative constructions, functional constructions, reference, dynamic data types, objects and more. Using Java as a main language, but systematically comparing it to other languages it enables the reader to understand the unifying concepts that lie beneath each particular language and provides the tools that allow the students to adapt to new programming languages.