Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
Metadata
- Author: Harold Abelson
Highlights
A powerful programming language is more than just a means for instructing a computer to perform tasks. The language also serves as a framework within which we organize our ideas about processes. Thus, when we describe a language, we should pay particular attention to the means that the language provides for combining simple ideas to form more complex ideas.
The qulity of a language is masured in how well we can use it to generate complex ideas. Cf. Spoken languages and ways of thinking.
primitive expressions, which represent the simplest entities the language is concerned with, means of combination, by which compound elements are built from simpler ones, and means of abstraction, by which compound elements can be named and manipulated as units.
The basics of all languages. Are all primitives needed, or culd we aegue that fewer primitives with ease of creating more is more powerful?