Tradeoffs
- Name one feature of C that improves writability but hurts readability.
- Name one feature of C that improves writability but hurts reliability.
- Are there any features of C that you would bring into Java given the choice?
- Explain how the idea of a void function in C is not orthogonal. (We may have mentioned this last week.) Why might it still be useful? Do you think it is worth the tradeoff?
- Name and explain another criterion by which languages can be judged (in addition to those discussed in this chapter).
- What common programming language statement, in your opinion, is most detrimental to readability?
- Many languages distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters in user-defined names. What are the pros and cons of this design decision?
Is it better for a programming language to
- silently ignore/fix obvious mistakes (e.g., capitalization, missing tags in HTML), or
- force the programmer to make these changes explicitly?
Describe some design trade-offs between efficiency and reliability in some language you know.
(Questions in this exercise come from both Prof. Bowman and the textbook.)
Updated Monday, 3 April 2023, 9:46 AM
