Data-structured language
Encyclopedia
In computing
a data-structured language is a programming
language
in which the data
structure
is a main organizing principle, representation
, model, for data and logic
(code) alike, in which both are stored and operated upon, i.e., program data and logic are structured and operated on in the same way, by the same representation.
These are generally well suited to reflection
and introspection, and are in some ways more consistent than many other languages. This makes them easier to learn, and to program in for those problems which naturally fit the language's data structure. Where this occurs, programming may become trivial. For those problems which do not naturally fit a language's data structure, programming may be no easier or even harder than in other languages.
In programs
written in some data-structured languages, when an instance occurs of the type of data representation which forms the basis of the language, then such instance is treated as a special case of quoted program.
A similar concept based on consistency exists in some object-oriented language
s, called "pure", which use a consistent object model: everything in them is treated uniformly as an object, from primitives such as characters and punctuation, all the way up to whole classes, prototypes, blocks, modules, etc.
Array-based
List-based
Stack-based
(open stacks)
Some languages can statically link data inline with instructions. These can be considered data-structured, in the most primitive way. Some Assembly language
s can do this.
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
a data-structured language is a programming
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
in which the data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
structure
Data structure
In computer science, a data structure is a particular way of storing and organizing data in a computer so that it can be used efficiently.Different kinds of data structures are suited to different kinds of applications, and some are highly specialized to specific tasks...
is a main organizing principle, representation
Knowledge representation
Knowledge representation is an area of artificial intelligence research aimed at representing knowledge in symbols to facilitate inferencing from those knowledge elements, creating new elements of knowledge...
, model, for data and logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
(code) alike, in which both are stored and operated upon, i.e., program data and logic are structured and operated on in the same way, by the same representation.
These are generally well suited to reflection
Reflection (computer science)
In computer science, reflection is the process by which a computer program can observe and modify its own structure and behavior at runtime....
and introspection, and are in some ways more consistent than many other languages. This makes them easier to learn, and to program in for those problems which naturally fit the language's data structure. Where this occurs, programming may become trivial. For those problems which do not naturally fit a language's data structure, programming may be no easier or even harder than in other languages.
In programs
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
written in some data-structured languages, when an instance occurs of the type of data representation which forms the basis of the language, then such instance is treated as a special case of quoted program.
A similar concept based on consistency exists in some object-oriented language
Object-oriented programming language
This is a list of object-oriented programming programming languages.-Languages with object-oriented features:*ABAP*Ada 95*AmigaE*BETA*Blue*Boo*C++*C#*COBOL*Cobra*ColdFusion*Common Lisp*COOL*CorbaScript*Clarion*CLU*Curl*D*Dylan*E*Eiffel...
s, called "pure", which use a consistent object model: everything in them is treated uniformly as an object, from primitives such as characters and punctuation, all the way up to whole classes, prototypes, blocks, modules, etc.
Variants
Three main classes of data-structured languages exist, determined by the type of data structure on which they are based.Array-based
Array programming
In computer science, array programming languages generalize operations on scalars to apply transparently to vectors, matrices, and higher dimensional arrays....
- APLAPL programming languageAPL is an interactive array-oriented language and integrated development environment, which is available from a number of commercial and noncommercial vendors and for most computer platforms. It is based on a mathematical notation developed by Kenneth E...
- J
List-based
- JoyJoy programming languageThe Joy programming language in computer science is a purely functional programming language that was produced by Manfred von Thun of La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Joy is based on composition of functions rather than lambda calculus. It has turned out to have many similarities to...
- LispLisp programming languageLisp is a family of computer programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized syntax. Originally specified in 1958, Lisp is the second-oldest high-level programming language in widespread use today; only Fortran is older...
- Arc
- Common LispCommon LispCommon Lisp, commonly abbreviated CL, is a dialect of the Lisp programming language, published in ANSI standard document ANSI INCITS 226-1994 , . From the ANSI Common Lisp standard the Common Lisp HyperSpec has been derived for use with web browsers...
- DylanDylan programming languageDylan is a multi-paradigm programming language that includes support for functional and object-oriented programming, and is dynamic and reflective while providing a programming model designed to support efficient machine code generation, including fine-grained control over dynamic and static...
- Emacs LispEmacs LispEmacs Lisp is a dialect of the Lisp programming language used by the GNU Emacs and XEmacs text editors . It is used for implementing most of the editing functionality built into Emacs, the remainder being written in C...
- InterLispInterlispInterlisp was a programming environment built around a version of the Lisp programming language. Interlisp development began in 1967 at Bolt, Beranek and Newman in Cambridge, Massachusetts as BBN LISP, which ran on PDP-10 machines running the TENEX operating system...
- Logo
- Scheme
- ZetaLisp
- TclTclTcl is a scripting language created by John Ousterhout. Originally "born out of frustration", according to the author, with programmers devising their own languages intended to be embedded into applications, Tcl gained acceptance on its own...
- TRACTRAC programming languageTRAC is a programming language developed in the early 1960s by Calvin Mooers. It was one of three "first languages" recommended by Ted Nelson in Computer Lib....
Stack-based
Stack-oriented programming language
A stack-oriented programming language is one that relies on a stack machine model for passing parameters. Several programming languages fit this description, notably Forth, RPL, PostScript, and also many Assembly languages ....
(open stacks)
- Forth
- FactorFactor (programming language)Factor is a stack-oriented programming language created by Slava Pestov. Factor is dynamically typed and has automatic memory management, as well as powerful metaprogramming features. The language has a single implementation featuring a self-hosted optimizing compiler and an interactive development...
- PoplogPoplogPoplog is a powerful multi-language, multiparadigm, reflective, incrementally compiled software development environment, originally created in the UK for teaching and research in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Sussex.-History:...
via its implementation language POP-11POP-11POP-11 is a reflective, incrementally compiled programming language with many of the features of an interpreted language. It is the core language of the Poplog programming environment developed originally by the University of Sussex, and recently in the at the... - PostScriptPostScriptPostScript is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging...
Some languages can statically link data inline with instructions. These can be considered data-structured, in the most primitive way. Some Assembly language
Assembly language
An assembly language is a low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and other programmable devices. It implements a symbolic representation of the machine codes and other constants needed to program a given CPU architecture...
s can do this.
See also
- HomoiconicityHomoiconicityIn computer programming, homoiconicity is a property of some programming languages, in which the primary representation of programs is also a data structure in a primitive type of the language itself, from the Greek words homo meaning the same and icon meaning representation...