COS 301 - Programming Languages
Language Critique and Comparison Project
Project 3 of 6
"Basic Elements of Programming Languages"

Recall from the "Overall Requirements" document that each of the six semester papers will be written when the corresponding topic is presented in general form in class. The papers will be submitted on the date specified on the assignment. Each of the papers should be from three to five typed pages in length, the required title page, and required programs in an appendix. Direct quotes from referenced material as well as credit for the ideas of others should be noted appropriately.

This third paper, the basic elements of programming languages paper, is due in three weeks, on December 4. It is primarily based on the chapters 5-8 of the Sebesta text:

III: Basic Elements of Programming Languages

• Chapter 5: Names Variables, Bindings, Type Checking, and Scope
• Chapter 6: Data Types: Primitive, character, user-defined ordinals, arrays, records/unions, pointers and references.
• Chapter 7: Expressions and Assignment Statements: Arithmetic, relational, and boolean expressions, overloading, type casting and conversion, short-circuit evaluation, assignment.
• Chapter 8: Statement Level Control Structures: Selection, iteration, branching, non-deterministic commands.

Address the following concerns in your paper:

1. Compare and contrast the binding, type checking, and scope of your two programming languages.
2. Compare and contrast the aggregate data types for each of your two programming languages.
3. Compare and contrast the expression evaluation for each of your two programming languages.
4. Compare and contrast the statement level control structures for each of your two programming languages.