Language primitive

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Primitives in the visual programming language DRAKON
Primitives in the visual programming language DRAKON

In computing, language primitives are the simplest elements available in a

expression
in a language.

Primitives are units with a meaning, i.e., a

parser, which are the minimal elements of syntax
.

Machine-level primitives

A

assembler program, is often considered the smallest unit of processing although this is not always the case. It typically performs what is perceived to be one operation such as copying a byte or string of bytes from one computer memory location to another or adding one processor register
to another.

Microcode primitives

Many of today's computers, however, actually embody an even lower unit of processing known as microcode which interprets the machine code and it is then that the microcode instructions would be the genuine primitives. These instructions would typically be available for modification only by the hardware vendor's programmers.

High-level language primitives

A

machine instructions
that, for instance,

before finally

  • performing the final store operation to the target destination.

Some HLL statements, particularly those involving loops, can generate thousands or even millions of primitives in a low-level programming language (LLL), which comprise the genuine instruction path length the processor has to execute at the lowest level. This perception has been referred to as the abstraction penalty.[1][2][3]

Interpreted language primitives

An

interpreted language statement has similarities to the HLL primitives, but with a further added layer. Before the statement can be executed in a manner very similar to an HLL statement: it must first be processed by an interpreter
, a process that may involve many primitives in the target machine language.

Fourth and fifth-generation language primitives

procedural language construct and are more oriented toward problem solving and systems engineering
.

See also

  • Primitive type
  • Hardware-software codesign

References

  1. ^ Surana P (2006). "Meta-Compilation of Language Abstractions" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  2. ^ Kuketayev. "The Data Abstraction Penalty (DAP) Benchmark for Small Objects in Java". Archived from the original on 2009-01-11. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  3. .