Scala (programming language)Scala (ˈskɑːlə ) is a strong statically typed high-level general-purpose programming language that supports both object-oriented programming and functional programming. Designed to be concise, many of Scala's design decisions are aimed to address criticisms of Java. Scala source code can be compiled to Java bytecode and run on a Java virtual machine (JVM). Scala can also be compiled to JavaScript to run in a browser, or directly to a native executable.
Type systemIn computer programming, a type system is a logical system comprising a set of rules that assigns a property called a type (for example, integer, floating point, string) to every "term" (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). Usually the terms are various constructs of a computer program, such as variables, expressions, functions, or modules. A type system dictates the operations that can be performed on a term. For variables, the type system determines the allowed values of that term.
F Sharp (programming language)F# (pronounced F sharp) is a functional-first, general-purpose, strongly typed, multi-paradigm programming language that encompasses functional, imperative, and object-oriented programming methods. It is most often used as a cross-platform Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) language on .NET, but can also generate JavaScript and graphics processing unit (GPU) code. F# is developed by the F# Software Foundation, Microsoft and open contributors. An open source, cross-platform compiler for F# is available from the F# Software Foundation.
High-level programming languageIn computer science, a high-level programming language is a programming language with strong abstraction from the details of the computer. In contrast to low-level programming languages, it may use natural language elements, be easier to use, or may automate (or even hide entirely) significant areas of computing systems (e.g. memory management), making the process of developing a program simpler and more understandable than when using a lower-level language. The amount of abstraction provided defines how "high-level" a programming language is.
Expression-oriented programming languageAn expression-oriented programming language is a programming language in which every (or nearly every) construction is an expression and thus yields a value. The typical exceptions are macro definitions, preprocessor commands, and declarations, which expression-oriented languages often treat as statements. Lisp and ALGOL 68 are expression-oriented languages. Pascal is not an expression-oriented language. All functional programming languages are expression-oriented.
Comparison of programming languagesProgramming languages are used for controlling the behavior of a machine (often a computer). Like natural languages, programming languages follow rules for syntax and semantics. There are thousands of programming languages and new ones are created every year. Few languages ever become sufficiently popular that they are used by more than a few people, but professional programmers may use dozens of languages in a career. Most programming languages are not standardized by an international (or national) standard, even widely used ones, such as Perl or Standard ML (despite the name).
Comparison of programming languages (syntax)This comparison of programming languages compares the features of language syntax (format) for over 50 computer programming languages. Programming language expressions can be broadly classified into four syntax structures: prefix notation Lisp (* (+ 2 3) (expt 4 5)) infix notation Fortran (2 + 3) * (4 ** 5) suffix, postfix, or Reverse Polish notation Forth 2 3 + 4 5 ** * math-like notation TUTOR (2 + 3)(45) $$ note implicit multiply operator When a programming languages has statements, they typically have conventions for: statement separators; statement terminators; and line continuation A statement separator demarcates the boundary between two separate statements.
OCamlOCaml (oʊˈkæməl , formerly Objective Caml) is a general-purpose, high-level multi-paradigm programming language which extends the Caml dialect of ML with object-oriented features. OCaml was created in 1996 by Xavier Leroy, Jérôme Vouillon, Damien Doligez, Didier Rémy, Ascánder Suárez, and others. The OCaml toolchain includes an interactive top-level interpreter, a bytecode compiler, an optimizing native code compiler, a reversible debugger, and a package manager (OPAM).
Covariance and contravariance (computer science)Many programming language type systems support subtyping. For instance, if the type is a subtype of , then an expression of type should be substitutable wherever an expression of type is used. Variance is how subtyping between more complex types relates to subtyping between their components. For example, how should a list of s relate to a list of s? Or how should a function that returns relate to a function that returns ? Depending on the variance of the type constructor, the subtyping relation of the simple types may be either preserved, reversed, or ignored for the respective complex types.
Generic programmingGeneric programming is a style of computer programming in which algorithms are written in terms of data types to-be-specified-later that are then instantiated when needed for specific types provided as parameters. This approach, pioneered by the ML programming language in 1973, permits writing common functions or types that differ only in the set of types on which they operate when used, thus reducing duplicate code. Generics was introduced to the main-stream programming with Ada in 1977 and then with templates in C++ it became part of the repertoire of professional library design.
Substructural type systemSubstructural type systems are a family of type systems analogous to substructural logics where one or more of the structural rules are absent or only allowed under controlled circumstances. Such systems are useful for constraining access to system resources such as , locks, and memory by keeping track of changes of state that occur and preventing invalid states. Several type systems have emerged by discarding some of the structural rules of exchange, weakening, and contraction: Ordered type systems (discard exchange, weakening and contraction): Every variable is used exactly once in the order it was introduced.
Functional programmingIn computer science, functional programming is a programming paradigm where programs are constructed by applying and composing functions. It is a declarative programming paradigm in which function definitions are trees of expressions that map values to other values, rather than a sequence of imperative statements which update the running state of the program. In functional programming, functions are treated as first-class citizens, meaning that they can be bound to names (including local identifiers), passed as arguments, and returned from other functions, just as any other data type can.
Tracing garbage collectionIn computer programming, tracing garbage collection is a form of automatic memory management that consists of determining which objects should be deallocated ("garbage collected") by tracing which objects are reachable by a chain of references from certain "root" objects, and considering the rest as "garbage" and collecting them. Tracing garbage collection is the most common type of garbage collection – so much so that "garbage collection" often refers to tracing garbage collection, rather than other methods such as reference counting – and there are a large number of algorithms used in implementation.
Formal methodsIn computer science, formal methods are mathematically rigorous techniques for the specification, development, analysis, and verification of software and hardware systems. The use of formal methods for software and hardware design is motivated by the expectation that, as in other engineering disciplines, performing appropriate mathematical analysis can contribute to the reliability and robustness of a design.
Polymorphic codeIn computing, polymorphic code is code that uses a polymorphic engine to mutate while keeping the original algorithm intact - that is, the code changes itself every time it runs, but the function of the code (its semantics) will not change at all. For example, the simple math expressions 3+1 and 6-2 both achieve the same result, yet run with different machine code in a CPU. This technique is sometimes used by computer viruses, shellcodes and computer worms to hide their presence. Encryption is the most common method to hide code.
Lua (programming language)Lua (ˈluːə ; from lua ˈlu(w)ɐ meaning moon) is a lightweight, high-level, multi-paradigm programming language designed primarily for embedded use in applications. Lua is cross-platform, since the interpreter of compiled bytecode is written in ANSI C, and Lua has a relatively simple C API to embed it into applications. Lua originated in 1993 as a language for extending software applications to meet the increasing demand for customization at the time.
Computer virusA computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a computer virus, a metaphor derived from biological viruses. Computer viruses generally require a host program. The virus writes its own code into the host program. When the program runs, the written virus program is executed first, causing infection and damage.
Polymorphism (computer science)In programming language theory and type theory, polymorphism is the provision of a single interface to entities of different types or the use of a single symbol to represent multiple different types. The concept is borrowed from a principle in biology where an organism or species can have many different forms or stages. The most commonly recognized major classes of polymorphism are: Ad hoc polymorphism: defines a common interface for an arbitrary set of individually specified types.
JavaJava ('dZa:v@,_'dZæv@; Jawa, ˈdʒawa; ꦗꦮ; ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's most populous island, home to approximately 56% of the Indonesian population. Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, is on Java's northwestern coast. Many of the best known events in Indonesian history took place on Java.
Side effect (computer science)In computer science, an operation, function or expression is said to have a side effect if it modifies some state variable value(s) outside its local environment, which is to say if it has any observable effect other than its primary effect of returning a value to the invoker of the operation. Example side effects include modifying a non-local variable, modifying a static local variable, modifying a mutable argument passed by reference, performing I/O or calling other functions with side-effects.