Computer programming

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Programming tool

A programming tool or software development tool is a computer program that software developers use to create, debug, maintain, or otherwise support other programs and applications. The term usually refers to relatively simple programs, that can be combined to accomplish a task, much as one might use multiple hands to fix a physical object. The most basic tools are a source code editor and a compiler or interpreter, which are used ubiquitously and continuously.

Static single-assignment form

In compiler design, static single assignment form (often abbreviated as SSA form or simply SSA) is a property of an intermediate representation (IR) that requires each variable to be assigned exactly once and defined before it is used. Existing variables in the original IR are split into versions, new variables typically indicated by the original name with a subscript in textbooks, so that every definition gets its own version. In SSA form, use-def chains are explicit and each contains a single element.

Adaptive optimization

Adaptive optimization is a technique in computer science that performs dynamic recompilation of portions of a program based on the current execution profile. With a simple implementation, an adaptive optimizer may simply make a trade-off between just-in-time compilation and interpreting instructions. At another level, adaptive optimization may take advantage of local data conditions to optimize away branches and to use inline expansion to decrease the cost of procedure calls.

BASIC

BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College in 1963. They wanted to enable students in non-scientific fields to use computers. At the time, nearly all computers required writing custom software, which only scientists and mathematicians tended to learn.

Optimizing compiler

In computing, an optimizing compiler is a compiler that tries to minimize or maximize some attributes of an executable computer program. Common requirements are to minimize a program's execution time, memory footprint, storage size, and power consumption (the last three being popular for portable computers). Compiler optimization is generally implemented using a sequence of optimizing transformations, algorithms which take a program and transform it to produce a semantically equivalent output program that uses fewer resources or executes faster.

Programming model

A programming model is an execution model coupled to an API or a particular pattern of code. In this style, there are actually two execution models in play: the execution model of the base programming language and the execution model of the programming model. An example is Spark where Java is the base language, and Spark is the programming model. Execution may be based on what appear to be library calls. Other examples include the POSIX Threads library and Hadoop's MapReduce.

C mathematical functions

C mathematical operations are a group of functions in the standard library of the C programming language implementing basic mathematical functions. All functions use floating-point numbers in one manner or another. Different C standards provide different, albeit backwards-compatible, sets of functions. Most of these functions are also available in the C++ standard library, though in different headers (the C headers are included as well, but only as a deprecated compatibility feature).

Control-flow graph

In computer science, a control-flow graph (CFG) is a representation, using graph notation, of all paths that might be traversed through a program during its execution. The control-flow graph was discovered by Frances E. Allen, who noted that Reese T. Prosser used boolean connectivity matrices for flow analysis before. The CFG is essential to many compiler optimizations and static-analysis tools. In a control-flow graph each node in the graph represents a basic block, i.e.

Memory corruption

Memory corruption occurs in a computer program when the contents of a memory location are modified due to programmatic behavior that exceeds the intention of the original programmer or program/language constructs; this is termed as violation of memory safety. The most likely causes of memory corruption are programming errors (software bugs). When the corrupted memory contents are used later in that program, it leads either to program crash or to strange and bizarre program behavior.

Dead-code elimination

In compiler theory, dead-code elimination (DCE, dead-code removal, dead-code stripping, or dead-code strip) is a compiler optimization to remove dead code (code that does not affect the program results). Removing such code has several benefits: it shrinks program size, an important consideration in some contexts, and it allows the running program to avoid executing irrelevant operations, which reduces its running time. It can also enable further optimizations by simplifying program structure.