Programming Language: Questions on concepts

1. What does the term aliasing mean?
a. Having two names for the same memory cell
b. Having two referencing methods for the same memory cell
c. Both a and b.
d. Neither a nor b.

2. The most rigorous means of describing the meaning of a program is
called _________ semantics.
a. dynamic
b. denotational
c. static
d. axiomatic

3. Lexical analysis is separated from syntax analysis because:
a. lexical analysis is less complex.
b. optimizing the lexical analyzer provides more benefits than
optimizing the syntax analyzer.
c. lexical analysis has to perform input/output operations and,
therefore, is platform dependent.
d. all of the above.

4. The output of _____ compilers must be linked to operating system
programs, especially __________ routines.
a. all; input/output
b. all; device drivers
c. some; input/output
d. some; device drivers

5. The extreme opposite of a compiler is known as a(n):
a. interpreter.
b. translator.
c. linker.
d. hybrid.

6. The following list contains steps that may/may not be part of the
process of compilation. Place the steps in the correct order that are
part of the compilation process, omitting those that are not part of
the compilation process.
i. lexical analysis
ii. linking
iii. formatting
iv. semantic analysis
v. optimization
vi. code generation
vii. syntax analysis
viii. loading
a. i, ii, iii, iv, v
b. iv, i, vii, v, ii
c. i, vii, vi, iv, v, ii
d. vii, i, iv, v, vi, iii
e. i, vii, iv, v, vi

7. The data structure built by a compiler that represents the
hierarchical syntactic structure of a given program is called a(n)
__________ tree.
a. parse
b. trace
c. syntax
d. module

8. How is Scheme opposite to Common Lisp?
a. Scheme is large and complex; Common Lisp is small.
b. Common Lisp is not an ANSI standard; Scheme is.
c. Scheme is exclusively statically scoped; Common Lisp supports
dynamic scoping.
d. Common Lisp is interpreted; Scheme is compiled.

9. The primary progenitor of COBOL was the programming language
known as:
a. Pseudocode.
b. Short Code.
c. Speedcode.
d. Flow-matic.

10. The C++ programming language is very popular because it is:
a. backward compatible with C.
b. object-oriented.
c. widely available.
d. all of the above.

11. Plankalkül included the following features except:
a. (recursive) record structures.
b. ones-complement notation floating point type.
c. iterative statement.
d. arrays.

12. For a large production application, a __________ language is most
likely to be used:
a. compiled
b. interpreted
c. hybrid
d. script

13. Java and Perl are examples of __________ languages.
a. compiled
b. interpreted
c. hybrid
d. script

14. What innovation introduced in ALGOL68 is often credited to Pascal?
a. user-defined data types
b. block statement
c. select statement
d. bit-string

15. The syntax analysis part of a compiler is known as a:
a. language generator.
b. language recognizer.
c. context free grammar.
d. assembler.

16. If the left-hand side (LHS) appears in the right-hand side (RHS) of a
rule, it is a(n):
a. error.
b. iteration.
c. meta-statement.
d. recursion.

17. A hierarchical structure that describes the syntactic structure of
sentences in a language is called a(n):
a. descendant chart.
b. family tree.
c. parse tree.
d. ancestor list.
e. none of the above.

18. An alternate term for lexical analyzer is:
a. pattern matcher.
b. parser.
c. pushdown automaton.
d. all of the above.

19. A concept of ________ means that a small number of primitive
constructs can be combined in a small number of ways to build the
control and data structures of the language.
a. simplicity
b. parsimony
c. relativity
d. orthogonality

20. The task of a bottom-up parser is to find the handle of any given
right sentential form that can be generated by its associated
grammar.
a. True
b. False

21. A logical rule that is assumed to be true is termed a(n):
a. axiom.
b. theorem.
c. corollary.
d. inference.

22. Using EBNF, the C selection statement is depicted as:
<selection> &#1048774; if (<expression>) <statement> [else <statement>];
Without brackets, how many BNF rules would be required to depict
the C selection statement?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. More than 3

23. With a von Neumann architecture, assignment is based on:
a. pipelining operations.
b. piping operations.
c. iterative operations.
d. functional operations.

24. The most common programming languages, dating back to the
1940s are called:
a. functional.
b. object-oriented.
c. rule-based.
d. imperative.

25. Consider the rule: A &#1048774; A + B. Using a LL parser, this rule is
impossible to handle.
a. True
b. False