Part of the book series:Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science ((UTICS))
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Abstract
Abstraction mechanisms play a crucial role in computing because they allow us to manage the complexity inherent in most computational systems by isolating the important aspects in a dedicated context. In the field of programming languages, these mechanisms are fundamental, both from a theoretical viewpoint (many important concepts can be appropriately formalised using abstractions) and in the practical sense, because programming languages today use common abstraction-creating constructs. One of the most general concepts employing abstraction is the abstract machine. In this chapter, we will see how this concept is closely related to the that of the programming language. We will also see how, without requiring us to go into the specific details of any particular implementation, it allows us to describe what an implementation of a programming language is. To do this, we will describe in general terms what is meant by the interpreter and the compiler for a language. Finally, will see how abstract machines can be structured in hierarchies that describe and implement complex software systems.
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Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Prof. Dr. Maurizio Gabbrielli & Prof. Dr. Simone Martini
- Prof. Dr. Maurizio Gabbrielli
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- Prof. Dr. Simone Martini
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Correspondence toMaurizio Gabbrielli.
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© 2010 Springer-Verlag London
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Gabbrielli, M., Martini, S. (2010). Abstract Machines. In: Programming Languages: Principles and Paradigms. Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-914-5_1
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