computer science

Lightweight programming language

Lightweight 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 Lightweight programming language rather than just read about it. In short: Lightweight programming languages are programming languages designed to have small memory footprint, are easy to implement (important when porting a language to different computer systems), and/or have minimalist syntax and features. These programming languages have simple syntax and semantics, so one can learn them quickly and easily.

Key takeaways

Lightweight 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 Lightweight programming language to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lightweight programming language from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lightweight programming languages are programming languages designed to have small memory footprint, are easy to implement (important when porting a language to different computer systems), and/or have minimalist syntax and features. These programming languages have simple syntax and semantics, so one can learn them quickly and easily. Some lightweight languages (for example Lisp, Forth, and Tcl) are so simple to implement that they have many implementations (dialects).

Compiled languages

BASIC BASIC implementations like Tiny BASIC were designed to be lightweight so that they could run on the microcomputers of the 1980s, because of memory constraints.

Forth Forth is a stack-based concatenative imperative programming language using reverse Polish notation.

Toy languages

FALSE FALSE is an esoteric programming language, with a complete implementation done in 1024 bytes.

Brainfuck Brainfuck is an extremely minimalist esoteric programming language.

FlipJump FlipJump is a minimalistic one-instruction set computer.

Scripting languages

Io Io is a prototype-based object-oriented scripting language.

Lisp Lisp-like languages are very simple to implement, so there are many lightweight implementations of it. There are some notable implementations:

newLISP PicoLisp Derivatives of Lisp:

Pico Rebol Red Scheme

Tcl Tcl-like languages can be easily implemented because of its simple syntax. While Tcl itself is not lightweight, there are some lightweight implementations of languages with similar syntax.

Embedded languages

ECMAScript There are many embeddable implementation of ECMAScript like:

Espruino JerryScript QuickJS Boa (JavaScript engine) Derivatives of ECMAScript:

Squirrel

Lua Lua is a small (C source is approx. 300 kB tarball, as of version 5.3.5), portable and embeddable scripting language (with LuaJIT as a JIT compiler improving speed). It can be embedded in applications such as computer games to provide runtime scripting capabilities.

Wren Wren is a small, fast, object-oriented scripting language.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lightweight programming language

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lightweight 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 Lightweight 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 Lightweight 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 Lightweight programming language

In research: Lightweight 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 Lightweight 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: Lightweight programming language is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer programming, Programming languages, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lightweight 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 Lightweight programming language in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lightweight 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 Lightweight programming language out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lightweight programming language in simple terms?

Why does Lightweight 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 Lightweight 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 Lightweight programming language.