Programming Languages: Principles and Practice [Hardcover]

Kenneth C. Louden (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0534953417 | ISBN-13: 978-0534953416 | Publication Date: July 16, 2002 | Edition: 2

Kenneth Louden's new edition of Programming Languages: Principles and Practice provides students with an overview of key issues in the study of programming languages. Rather than focus on individual language issues, Kenneth Louden focuses on language paradigms and concepts that are common to all languages. Louden also includes materials that are not frequently found in other introductory texts, such as implementation issues and theoretical foundations of programming languages. Coverage of these topics helps serve as a bridge to students' compiler courses and other theoretical computer science courses.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kenneth C. Louden is Emeritus Professor of Computer Science and a past chair of the Department of Computer Science at San Jose State University, Silicon Valley's primary supplier of graduates to the tech industry. He has written several texts and articles on advanced topics in computer science.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 650 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology; 2 edition (July 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534953417
• ISBN-13: 978-0534953416
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Too vague. There are better books., January 26, 2005

By 

NETCF Man - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Languages: Principles and Practice (Hardcover)

I had the author as a professor and his teaching is like the book: vague and incomplete. The book tries to cover too much and therefore fails to go into depth on any subject. The book doesn't provide enough information to answer many of the chapter questions and I find that absolutely unaccepatable in a textbook. I found the chapter on program language history interesting, but that alone cannot make up for the book's failures. The book is in the $100 price range which is a joke.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of Money...., September 11, 2006

By 

Mark Twain (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Languages: Principles and Practice (Hardcover)

This is probably the worst textbook on this topic because it does little justice to the concepts. I found it hard to understand exactly what the book was talking about and what the exercise questions were asking. In many cases, I was unable to find any corelating content in the book, between questions and answers.

The book also references some languages such as ADA , FORTRAN, ML, etc. Unfortunately, it simply touches each one vaguely. I was REALLY put off by this book. It is very verbose and does not approach topics in a linear way. I used the book for an online course and resorted to consulting other books, such as "Learning Computer Programming: It's Not About Languages" by Mary E. Farrell.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars horrible, October 6, 2007

By 

CS Books - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Languages: Principles and Practice (Hardcover)

This book is very vague, doesn't go into enough detail about anything and the examples and practice problems are badly worded and poorly explained. HORRIBLE. I've heard that Programming Language Pragmatics by Michael L. Scott is a great book.