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Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 6:04 pm
by fractal
wormcode wrote:Machine code? That's when it gets down to binary and meaningless strings of letters (as opposed to if then else).
Assembly/ASM is probably the lowest level language there is, or at least the most widely used.
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 8:29 pm
by Phyalow
If your interested in this go and read this
http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Comp ... 0072467509. Covers Machine code (& Binary operations) -> Assembly -> C
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:02 pm
by stappard
yeah this wasnt that deep of a question
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:06 pm
by Naan_Bread
A code within a code you say?
[img]inceptionmemeofyourchoice.jpeg[/img]
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:53 pm
by hugh
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 11:03 pm
by slothrop
Might have a look at that at some point.
This:
http://www.amazon.com/New-Turing-Omnibu ... 544&sr=1-1
also covers some of it, in a more informal (but still technically solid) way. And is cheaper...
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 11:07 pm
by slothrop
collige wrote:ketamine wrote:pkay wrote:likely the english meaning of if, else, and then had something to do with it
if you're asking who wrote C then that was Stroustrup. So he initially dictated what went into the C language
Right. I have no problem finding who defines languages, or originated them. Like I know HTML is “governed” by mysterious “Standards Organizations” who put in syntax, and take out syntax between versions, I’m asking WHAT LANGUAGE are CODING languages written in?
How did Stroustrup MAKE “C”
Assembly language, I assume since that's what C compiles into. Other high-level languages were probably written in C. You have to understand that for programming languages, the only thing that defines a "language" in any real way is the compiler/interpreter (because that's what enforces the syntax), which can be written in anything. I read somewhere that it's possible to write the compiler for a language in the language that it compiles.
http://www.jargon.net/jargonfile/b/break-evenpoint.html
I don't know a great deal about this sort of stuff, but this kind of suggests that Kerninghan either wrote C in one of its predecessor languages (ie B) or wrote it in assembler initially and then wrote newer versions of the C compiler in older versions of C...
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 2:28 am
by noam
£10 Bag wrote:It's all 0s and 1s at the end of the day. Read up on logic gates (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic_gate ) and how its possible to make flip-flops (memory) out of them. It's pretty amazing...or at least I was pretty amazed when I learnt about them. They're like the fundamental building blocks of digital electronics. On a side note, someone was trying to explain quantum computing to me the other day - fuck me, I thought standard binary computing was hard to understand!
doesn't quantum computing roughly mean that instead of just linear processing based on definite, i duno... ermmm... binary code(?!) a processor can process a '0' and a '1' at the same time so can operate at speeds which dwarf even the largest most powerful, standard processors now
i kind of thought about it like the difference between bacteria which grows 1 by 1 and bacteria which grows exponentially, 1 by 1 it would take 1000's of years for mould to grow on a coffee cup, exponential growth of bacteria means its fully possible for bacteria to grow and be visible within a couple of days
the quantum part is the wave of probability whereby a single command can either be a 0 or a 1 at any point??
but i dont know if thats correct at all, just how i imagined it after hearing someone attempt to explain it in a documentary!
tbf even the guy who runs the thing doesn't really know how it works... so i dont feel too bad!!
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 2:37 am
by Shum
Check out "A Shortcut Through Time: The Path To The Quantum Computer" by George Johnson (I think that's his name?). It gives a fairly practical, readable explanation of what Quantum computing is about.
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 2:40 am
by noam
im about to watch Pioneers of Quantum Computing, have you seem that/recommend it?
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 2:41 am
by Shum
Nope, might have to check it out myself lol.
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 6:31 am
by fractal
I really enjoyed this book, starts off very abstract, walks you through the ideas of relays and flip flops into volatile memory... Brings the concepts of alternate number systems alive before it introduces binary and hexi... Introduces logic gates and ideas like the ones/nines complement and then it slowly brings it all together to describe every part of the process. I can't really explain it very well, but it's completely different from any book I've ever read on the subject. Highly recommended!
http://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Com ... 097&sr=1-3
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 6:49 am
by Shum
So cheap I double posted!
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 6:49 am
by Shum
Dirty cheap as well $US10!
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 6:52 am
by fractal
Yeah, it's silly not to get it! Lol
I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you read it
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 6:54 am
by jrisreal
those languages arent meant for humans to be able to understand, but obviously some humans must understand it or else it wouldnt have been written, right?
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:41 am
by slothrop
jrisreal wrote:those languages arent meant for humans to be able to understand, but obviously some humans must understand it or else it wouldnt have been written, right?
Basically the lower level something is the harder it is to read and write, but it'll still be possible to write comparatively small things in it. In particular, you can write a basic assembler or compiler for the next language up the food chain, and then use the higher level language to write the next language up (and a more user-friendly implementation of itself) and so on.
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:40 am
by magma
My Dad used to code Assembler for Mainframes... he has frequently been known to roll his eyes when I say things like "I've got myself stuck with a VB script..."
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 4:32 pm
by fractal
I bet!
Re: The Code behind Coding Languages?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 4:54 pm
by magma
His best story was taking some programs to Germany to be run in a factory... stopped at the border by German immigration asking what all the holey paper is for and how much it was worth.
"Well, the card is worth about a penny, but the holes are worth millions"
He was there a while.
