computer science

Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation

Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation 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 Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation rather than just read about it. In short: Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation (PLAI) is a free programming language textbook by Shriram Krishnamurthi. It is in use at over 30 universities, in several high-schools.

Key takeaways

Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation 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 Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation (PLAI) is a free programming language textbook by Shriram Krishnamurthi. It is in use at over 30 universities, in several high-schools. The book differs from most other programming language texts in its attempt to wed two different styles of programming language education: one based on language surveys and another based on interpreters. In the former style, it can be too easy to ignore difficult technical points, which are sometimes best understood by trying to reproduce them (via implementation); in the latter, it can be too easy to miss the high-level picture in the forest of details. PLAI therefore interleaves the two, using the survey approach to motivate ideas and interpreters to understand them. The book is accompanied by supporting software that runs in the Racket programming language. Since PLAI is constantly under development, some of the newer material (especially assignments) is found on course pages at Brown University. PLAI is also an experiment in publishing methods. The essay Books as Software discusses why the book is self-published. The current public release is version 3.2.2 (2023-02-26) is available as a free electronic edition for screen use or printing.

See also List of online integrated development environments

References Third edition full text Second edition full text Book homepage An essay on the pointlessness of language paradigms; this guides the design of the book An essay on the Books as Software philosophy; this guides the publication of the book

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation 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 Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation 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 Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation 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 Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation

In research: Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation 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 Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation 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: Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer book stubs, Computer programming books, Computer science books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation 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 Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation 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 Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation in simple terms?

Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation (PLAI) is a free programming language textbook by Shriram Krishnamurthi. It is in use at over 30 universities, in several high-schools.

Why does Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation 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 Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation?

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 Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation.