Introduction

The programming process is similar in approach and creativity to writing a paper. In composition, you are writing to express ideas; in programming, you are expressing a computation. Both the programmer and the writer must adhere to the syntactic rules (grammar) of a particular language. In prose, the fundamental idea-expressing unit is the sentence; in programming, two units – statements and comments – are available.

Composition, from technical prose to fiction, should be organized broadly, usually through an outline. The outline should be expanded as the detail is elaborated and the whole reexamined and reorganized when structural or creative flaws arise. Once the outline settles, you begin the actual composition process using sentences to weave the fabric your outline expresses. Clarity in writing occurs when your sentences, both internally and globally, communicate the outline succinctly and clearly. We stress this approach here with the aim of developing a programming style that produces efficient programs humans can easily understand.

To a great degree, no matter which language you choose for your composition, the idea can be expressed with the same degree of clarity. Some subtleties can be better expressed in one language than another, but the fundamental reason for choosing your language is your audience: people do not know many languages, and if you want to address the American population, you had better choose English over Swahili.