computer science

Hermes (programming language)

Hermes (programming language) is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hermes (programming language) rather than just read about it. In short: Hermes is a language for distributed programming that was developed at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center from 1986 through 1992, with an open-source compiler and run-time system.

Key takeaways

Hermes (programming language) belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hermes (programming language) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hermes (programming language) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hermes

is a language for distributed programming that was developed at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center from 1986 through 1992, with an open-source compiler and run-time system. Hermes' primary features included:

Language support of processes and interprocess communication. Compile-time verification that operations use initialized data. Representation-independent data aggregates called tables. Lack of pointers. It used typestate analysis to check variables transitions errors, to rule out some semantically non meaningful transitions from one state to another (i.e. starting from a value, some sequences of operations on a variable are nonsensical), of which reading an uninitialized variable is a special case. In this role of compile-time checking of data initialization is similar to definite assignment analysis performed by Java, Cyclone and C#. Hermes and its predecessor, NIL (Network Implementation Language), were the earliest programming languages supporting this form of initialization checking. Typestate was actually used more extensively, to generate compiler-inserted "delete" operations.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hermes (programming language)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hermes (programming language) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hermes (programming language) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hermes (programming language) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hermes (programming language)

In research: Hermes (programming language) appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hermes (programming language) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hermes (programming language) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Distributed computing, Programming language topic stubs, Programming languages, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hermes (programming language) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hermes (programming language) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hermes (programming language) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hermes (programming language) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hermes (programming language) in simple terms?

Hermes is a language for distributed programming that was developed at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center from 1986 through 1992, with an open-source compiler and run-time system.

Why does Hermes (programming language) matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hermes (programming language)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hermes (programming language).