Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T17:41:17.211Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

6 - Code generation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

R. G. Stone  and
D. J. Cooke
Get access

Summary

In this chapter we address the issues of coding from a PDL into various real imperative programming languages. The PDL stage described in the previous chapter contains a complete (imperative) solution to the original problem so that the coding can now be finished without reference to the original problem. The intention in this chapter is to show that the final code generation can be accomplished using coding templates. Coding templates are shown for a variety of programming languages in common use.

Templates

Coding templates are stylised translations of each feature of a PDL. The methodical application of the templates to the PDL solution will yield the final code.

For any particular final coding language, a set of (coding) templates is created to translate each feature of the PDL in use. This means for example that every ‘if’ statement in the PDL is translated in the same way. Each time the ‘if’ statement is met it is coded using the same pattern or template. The templates are different for each different final coding language. They are chosen more for generality than for elegance or efficiency. There may well be features of a final coding language that are not used in any template. In this methodology these features will never be used. This may seem an unacceptable loss at first sight. However the experience of the authors is that the features which are not used in templates are those which are less widely used anyway or not universally supported or inconsistently supported and so their omission leads to more portable programs.

Type
Chapter
Information
Program Construction , pp. 88 - 154
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×