meaning of dialet or implementation of a programming language

[Matt]

I always heard dialet of programming language. For example,
Objective-C is a dialet of C programming language. What does it really
mean? C is already standardize, why there are dialets? Or when people
say implementation of a programming language.

please advise. thanks!!

 

[Joona I Palaste]

I always heard dialet of programming language. For example,
Objective-C is a dialet of C programming language. What does it really
mean? C is already standardize, why there are dialets? Or when people
say implementation of a programming language.

please advise. thanks!!

A programming language is only an abstract concept in people's heads. To
be of any use with a computer, there must be a concrete implementation
of it. An implementation of a programming language is a real computer
program that compiles, interprets, or otherwise executes the idea of the
programming language.
A dialect, OTOH, is a similar abstract concept as the programming
language. A dialect specifies the same things as the original
programming language but may also specify other things. For example
Objective-C specifies things C does not.

--
/-- Joona Palaste ([email protected]) ------------- Finland --------\
\-- http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste --------------------- rules! --------/
"I am not very happy acting pleased whenever prominent scientists overmagnify
intellectual enlightenment."
- Anon

 

[Mark McIntyre]

I always heard dialet of programming language. For example,
Objective-C is a dialet of C programming language.

look up the word "dialect" in any online or paper dictionary.

C is already standardize, why there are dialets?

As with a spoken language, a dialect differs from the "standard" version in
subtle ways which may be meaningless to others who don't speak that
dialect.

For instance in Yorkshire where I grew up, it was common to say "appen" to
mean "yes" and "now then" to mean "hello", while my wife's neighbours would
have sand ""aw-whi'" for both.