PROGRAMMING-LANGUAGES AS THOUGHT MODELS

In this paper contemporary programming languages are compared and classified according to their "thought model", i.e., the distinguishing features of a family of programming languages that influence the way programmers think while writing or reading programs in this language family. Considered are sequential imperative languages (subdivided into algorithm-oriented and object-oriented) and nonimperative languages (subdivided into functional and logical). The distinguishing concepts of variable and state are stressed and the application areas of the different concepts are outlined. This leads to a partition of programming languages into value-oriented and object-oriented languages. It is claimed that the concept of algorithm as the fundament of computer science should be replaced by one that models perpetual processes and their communication. The paper does not consider parallel languages and combinations of the different thought models.