“Having taught from EOPL for several years, I appreciate the way it produces students who understand the terminology and concepts of programming languages in a deep way, not just from reading about the concepts, but from programming them and experimenting with them. This new edition has an increased emphasis on types as contracts for defining procedure interfaces, which is quite important for many students.”

—Gary T. Leavens
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
University of Central Florida

This book provides a deep, working understanding of the essential concepts of programming languages in a way that is both clear and executable. It follows an analytical and hands-on approach. It also provides views of programming languages using widely varying levels of abstraction, maintaining a clear connection between the high-level and low-level views. Exercises are scattered throughout; the text explains the key concepts, and the exercises explore alternative designs and other issues. For this new edition, each chapter has been revised and many new exercises have been added. Significant additions have also been made to the text, including completely new chapters on modules and continuation-passing style. Essentials of Programming Languages can be used for both graduate and undergraduate courses, and for continuing education courses for programmers.