Computer Programming Languages in Practice

Computer Programming Languages in Practice provides an overview of various computer programming languages. The book begins with the fundamentals: what programs are; how they are planned and organized; what elements of the computer the programmer controls; flowcharting; and how computer data is organized. It then discusses material common to all languages, including the entry program, the compiler, the run-time system, syntax diagrams, and coding forms. The largest portion of this book is devoted to two very popular languages—BASIC and COBOL. It provides a brief history of the language's development and use; a description of how the programming system is organized; its major components, divisions of instructions, and a description of its instruction set (instruction-by-instruction); how a program is written, including a sample program; and a self-test, including exercises in which programming statements must be written. The final chapter discusses those languages which the reader is less likely to use but should know about. Included are descriptions of FORTRAN and RPG II.