This book describes the fundamental concepts of programming languages by discussing the design issues of the various language constructs, examining the design choices for these constructs in some of the most common languages, and critically comparing design alternatives.
Any serious study of programming languages requires an examination of some related topics, among which are formal methods of describing the syntax and semantics of programming languages, which are covered in Chapter 3. Also, implementation techniques for various language constructs must be con- sidered: Lexical and syntax analysis are discussed in Chapter 4, and implemen- tation of subprogram linkage is covered in Chapter 10. Implementation of some other language constructs is discussed in various other parts of the book.
The following paragraphs outline the contents of the tenth edition.
