languages are leaky abstractions also called von Neumann languages von Neumann architecture is about modifying the state of the computer computation model in imperative languages reflects von Neumann architecture
languages are leaky abstractions also called von Neumann languages von Neumann architecture is about modifying the state of the computer computation model in imperative languages reflects von Neumann architecture imperative programming: what and how to do
calculus (1930s) not procedural programming functions as in mathematical functions trying to plug the abstraction leak tell the computer what to do, not how
calculus (1930s) not procedural programming functions as in mathematical functions trying to plug the abstraction leak tell the computer what to do, not how mutations not allowed (no variables, just identifiers)
calculus (1930s) not procedural programming functions as in mathematical functions trying to plug the abstraction leak tell the computer what to do, not how mutations not allowed (no variables, just identifiers) no statements, just expressions (if/then/else is expression)
calculus (1930s) not procedural programming functions as in mathematical functions trying to plug the abstraction leak tell the computer what to do, not how mutations not allowed (no variables, just identifiers) no statements, just expressions (if/then/else is expression) functions are deterministic and side-effect free
calculus (1930s) not procedural programming functions as in mathematical functions trying to plug the abstraction leak tell the computer what to do, not how mutations not allowed (no variables, just identifiers) no statements, just expressions (if/then/else is expression) functions are deterministic and side-effect free functions are all we need to model computation
calculus (1930s) not procedural programming functions as in mathematical functions trying to plug the abstraction leak tell the computer what to do, not how mutations not allowed (no variables, just identifiers) no statements, just expressions (if/then/else is expression) functions are deterministic and side-effect free functions are all we need to model computation execution order is not guaranteed
least keep them as private as possible in OO treat variables as immutable (constants/final) return values (output) based on params (input) only play with a functional language
stronger. Inherent defects at the most basic level cause them to be both fat and weak: their primitive word- at-a-time style of programming inherited from their common ancestor -- the von Neumann computer, their close coupling of semantics to state transitions, their division of programming into a world of expressions and a world of statements, their inability to effectively use powerful combining forms for building new programs from existing ones, and their lack of useful mathematical properties for reasoning about programs." John Backus, known for Fortran, Algol and BNF