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On removing the machine from the language

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Summary

Many of the problems in programming languages today are a result of the model of computation offered by our machines. Structured programming combats these problems by restricting flow of control and storage references to a relatively safe set of control and data structures. Some current research attempts to aid programming reliability by enforcing such restrictions in the programming language. This paper proposes a simpler view of some basic language elements (variable, assignment, parameter), not based on our machines, that is safe without restriction. Structuring is then defined independently of what is being structured. A single, simple structure, applied to both values and assignments, yields equivalents for the “safe set” of data and control structures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Systems Research Group, University of Toronto, M5S 1A4, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Eric C. R. Hehner

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  1. Eric C. R. Hehner
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This work was supported by the National Research Council of Canada

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Hehner, E.C.R. On removing the machine from the language. Acta Informatica 10, 229–243 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00264318

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00264318

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