Vitali Sh. Kaufman
Programming languages: concepts and principles
(translated from Russian by Ilja Tauber)
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The book is written in a fascinating and clear manner and it discusses the truly fundamental conceptions and principles of computer programming. These conceptions and principles will, probably, never die.
A true classic.
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Prof. A.S. Kleshchev (Alexander Kleshchev), PhD, DSc,
Chief Scientist of the Institute of Automation and Control Processes of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
http://www.iacp.dvo.ru/english/institute/institute.html
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There exist descriptive books that I could call as “About…” and explanatory books that I could call “How & Why…”
This book represents the lastly mentioned, as it thoroughly explains to the reader how old, modern and future programming languages are constructed and how do they function.
It will allow you to become a professional.
It will free you of becoming a slave of Java or C++, by allowing you to quickly grasp new languages and new tools.
Last but not least, this is the book of my teacher.
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Dr. Alexandr Alexandrov, PhD,
Certified instructor of Carnegie-Mellon University, USA, Expert ISTQB,
Expert of quality management, Luxoft, Russia
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Programming — an amazing branch, which holds in itself traits of science, handicrafts and art.
This branch develops at a furious rate, with new, expressive means appearing and disappearing constantly. The only possibility of being a professional of such a branch, is to concentrate not so much on the details of today’s popular languages and notions, but rather on deep mastering of the firm, scientific foundations of the branch, of eternal examples of the profession and of imperishable masterpieces of the art of programming.
The book of V.S.Kaufman is an excellent proof of existence of fundamental invariants in our constantly changing universe. By possessing such a truly classical foundation, the reader will be able to evaluate more easily and when needed even to grasp all new (for a check it is often useful to remember the forgotten old) in our branch.
Reading this extraordinarily written book is a true feast, as much for a thoughtful student as it is for a professional of this field.
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Prof. Sergey M. Abramov, PhD, DSc,
Corresponding member of Russian Academy of Sciences,
General director of the Program Systems Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences
http://skif.pereslavl.ru/psi-info/index.en.html
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Modern-day, young programmers know only 1-2 languages and systems of programming. Meanwhile, I believe that a qualified programmer is obliged to know over a dozen of most different programming languages, understand and comprehend the corresponding to them methodologies of programming as well as to have the ability of justifying the choice of a specific programming language for a specific task.
The book of Vitali Kaufman will enable one to fill in his gaps in understanding the diversity of the programming world. Many years ago I read this book for the first time, and just with as much pleasure as back then, I read it again today. The book is written in such manner that even in a quarter of a century its gist will be more than relevant. Exactly this very aspect separates an insignificant piece of professional literature from a good, quality monograph.
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Prof. Andrey N.Terekhov, PhD, DSc,
Inc., director of IT Research Institute of St.-Petersburg State University,
Head of Software Engineering Chair of St. Petersburg State University,
General director of State enterprise "TERCOM" and of "LANIT-TERCOM"
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If you are tired of endless descriptions of different programming languages and “wish to see the forest through the trees”, this book is for you. It will help you learn to understand the world of programming and to skillfully orientate yourself in it.
And even though the book was written over a quarter of a century ago, it has maintained its relevance to modern-day programming and will surely seek to find many more thankful readers in the future.
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Prof. Viktor N. Kasjanov, PhD, DSc,
A.P. Ershov Institute of Informatics Systems of Russian Academy of Sciences
of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Akademgorodok
(Academy Campus), Novosibirsk
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This book demonstrates an exceptional example of
programming logic and ways of thinking and it is this factor that appeals to
me, as a reader, the most.
The book teaches that programming is not just an intellectual game of ”give me this, give me that”, nor a developed whole of different craft skills, but rather a specific way of organizing one’s thinking. The author creates an illusion, that the reader is smarter than he actually is, and this illusion is more than a pleasant one.
It’s most fascinating to see how seemingly appropriate solutions, accepted on one level of abstraction accumulate into difficulties on a different, higher level.
The ability to approach a problem from several points of view is useful not only for programmers, and exactly this, approaching a problem from different perspectives, is one of the main thesis’s that the book successfully communicates.
I believe that this book will remain contemporary for a long time, since languages, milieus and conceptions of programming change over time, but the same paradigms of thinking will always remain.
It is a true delicacy for the reader to follow the probable logical pathways which the developer of a specific programming language followed. Even if, in reality, these weren’t the pathways taken by the developers of languages, this doesn’t take one bit away from the exceptionality of this book. Personally for me it is more intriguing to learn about Field Marshall Kutuzov from Tolstoi’s “War and Peace” than from a historical biography
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Vladimir I. Golovach (Computer-Press, 1994)
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This book does not only explain how the main
tool for creating programs works, but it also forces the reader to think as to
why is this tool constructed in such, specific manner.
Before you, you find a unique tour guide into the world of not only existing, but also future programming languages. It will allow you to appreciate the qualities and unforeseen obstacles related to the use of specific languages in real projects.
And at the same time, the
deep understanding of the composition of programming languages that one gains
by reading this book, grants one an excellent starting position for planning
new languages and interfaces.
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Dr. Sergey I. Rybin, PhD,
ASIS ACM SIGAda, AdaCore, Moscow State University