Download Focus on English for Computer Science

Focus on English for Computer Science
some improperly formatted input data. Such a program may be used only
once or a few times. Coded in FORTRAN or COBOL the program might be
tedious and time-consuming to write, but written in the string-processing
language SNOBOL4 it might require only a few minutes and a dozen lines
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to code. The programmer with a knowledge of SNOBOL4 enjoys a decided
advantage.
Besides, it makes it easier to learn a new language. A linguist,
through a deep understanding of the underlying structure of natural
languages, often can learn a new foreign language more quickly and easily
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than the struggling novice who understands little of the structure even of
his/her native tongue. Similarly, a thorough knowledge of a variety of
programming language constructs and implementation techniques allows the
programmer to learn a new programming language more easily when the
need arises.
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Finally, it facilitates the design of a new language. Few programmers
ever think of themselves as language designers, yet any program has a user
interface that in fact is a form of programming language. The user interface
consists of the commands and data formats that are provided for the user to
communicate with the program. The designer of the user interface for a
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large program such as a text editor, an operating system, or a graphics
package must be concerned with many of the same issues that are present in
the design of a general-purpose programming language. This aspect of
program design is often simplified if the programmer is familiar with a
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