An introduction to dynamic programming the theory of multistage decision processes: by O. L. R. Jacobs. 126 pages, diagrams, 512 × 814 in., London, England, Chapman and Hall Ltd., 1067. Price, £1/10s (about $4.30)
✍ Scribed by Thomas J. Higgins; Charles H. Falkner
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1968
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 131 KB
- Volume
- 285
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0016-0032
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
seems seif-destructive to inherit the programmer's limitations.
The next horror comes up in Chap. 3, where Ingelalaan introduces his names for meAn-linguistic variables, t~is list is fine; but no sooner are names named than they become abbreviated! Now the reader is supposed to make the associations required to identify, for instance, ui as unsigned integer and ep as exponent part, etc. This is like learning ~l assembly languageI
As if this were not enough he continues by making up large tables of n~mes and symbols, still using the abbreviations and introducing a system of subscripts. The aim of all tlds is to arrive at a partial ordering of the components and meta-components of the language. This could be done more intuitively and with fewer complications, since these complicatioi~s are not for the sake of rigor.
Chapter 4 attacks a parsing processor. But on the jacket flap it is noted that this is a bottom-up processor, lfinting at the existence of top-down processors. Again, explanations become co1~fused because, in his print austel~ ity program, the author numbers expressions and then uses the numbers as referents in his explanations.
Chapter 5 postulates more meAn-syntactic structures. Although these constructs are not necessary to understand the source language or the compiler, they do bring our attentlo~l to some of the conalderations of which the language specialist should be aware.
The chapter on metapragmaties ties the compiler on to a specific machine. To put everything in symbolic form, notational constructs proliferate. As a result, simple translation rules are obfuscated.
In summary, there is "meat" here, though tim preparation is not well conceived, nor is the seasoning well chosen; hence, the result becomes unsavory, yet palatable.
References