Review
Concepts of Programming Languages by Robert W. Sebesta, Sixth edition is truly a well-written book. Perhaps one of the best books written on this topic. Sebesta has done an exceptional job conveying the topic to the reader, making a complex topic both easy to read and understand. This textbook is good for any college student or professional trying to get a feel of how the most popular programming languages have evolved in the past 4 decades, and what sets these languages apart. Topics in this book range from Zuse’s Plankalkul (the first programming language) to how Exception Handling is done in Java and Logic Programming and everything in between. Interviews with some of the pioneers of our time such as James Gosling (the creator of Java) and Bjarne Stroustrup (the designer of C++), and side “History Notes” represent some of the “fun” readings the author has added to this book. Each chapter ends with a brief but concise summary followed by problem sets that asses (more…)