Von Neumann programming languages
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A von Neumann language is any of those programming languages that are high-level abstract isomorphic copies of von Neumann architectures [citation needed]. As of 2009[update], most current programming languages fit into this description, likely as a consequence of the extensive domination of the von Neumann computer architecture during the past 50 years [citation needed].
The differences between Fortran, C, and even Java, although considerable, are ultimately constrained by all three being based on the programming style of the von Neumann computer [citation needed]. If, for example, Java objects were all executed in parallel with asynchronous message passing and attribute-based declarative addressing, then Java would not be in the group.
The isomorphism between von Neumann programming languages and architectures is in the following manner:
- program variables ↔ computer storage cells
- control statements ↔ computer test-and-jump instructions
- assignment statements ↔ fetching, storing instructions
- expressions ↔ memory reference and arithmetic instructions.
Criticism
Using a metaphor from John Backus, assignment statements in von Neumann languages split programming into two worlds. The first world consists of expressions, an orderly mathematical space with potentially useful algebraic properties: most computation takes place here. The second world consists of statements, a disorderly mathematical space with few useful mathematical properties (structured programming can be seen as a limited heuristic that does apply in this space, though).
Backus[1] claimed that there exists now in computer science a vicious cycle where the long standing emphasis on von Neumann languages has continued the primacy of the von Neumann computer architecture, and dependency on it has made non-von Neumann languages uneconomical and thus limited their further development: the lack of widely available and effective non-von Neumann languages has deprived computer designers of the motivation and the intellectual foundation needed to develop new computer architectures.[2]
Some examples of non-von Neumann languages are: APL, FP, FL, J, Lucid, NGL, ZPL, Mercury, and Plankalkül.
Presence In Modern Systems
Many modern processors now contain multiple processing cores and have different buses for instructions and data (for example the Harvard architecture and MIMD). Furthermore, many modern CPUs support out-of-order execution and other advanced optimization heuristics. Thus these systems do not implement a von Neumann architecture at the hardware level. However, they retain some of its obvious features such as random access memory (RAM).
Many widely used programming languages such as C++ and Java have ceased to be strictly von Neumann by adding support for parallel processing, in the form of threads. However, most of the categorically non-von Neumann languages are also functional languages and have not achieved widespread use.
References
This article is based on material taken from the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing prior to 1 November 2008 and incorporated under the "relicensing" terms of the GFDL, version 1.3 or later.
External links
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