CHAPTER 5
REVIEW QUESTION
1. What are the design issues for
names?
Design issues for names are
• Case sensitive or not
• Special words
• Reserved words Keywords.
2. What is the potential danger of
casesensitive names?
Readability is a potential danger of case
sensitive names. The names may look
similar but they will be pointing towards
two different values which will affect the
readability of code.
3. In what way are reserved words
better than keywords?
Reserved words are better than keywords
because it is special only in certain context
can be sometimes user defined but reserved
words cannot be used as user defined name 4.
What is an alias?
When multiple variables points towards a
same memory location and one memory
can be access by multiple variable, all
those variables are called alias.
5. Which category of C++ reference
variables is always aliases?
Union types. It is a type whose variables
may store different type values at different
times during program execution.
6. What is the l-value of a variable?
What is the r-value?
l-value :Address of a variable is called
its l-value. Address is what is required
when the name of a variable appears in
the left side of an assignment. r-value:
Variables value is called its rvalue. It is
what it is required when the name of
the variable appears in the right side of
an assignment statement.
7. Define binding and binding time. A
binding is an association, such as
association between an attribute and an
entity, or between an operation and a
symbol. Binding time is the time at
which binding takes place.
8. After language design and
implementation [what are the four
times bindings can take place in a
program?]
• Compile time
• Load time
• Link time
• Run time
9. Define static binding and
dynamic binding.
Static Binding: First occurs before run
time and remains unchanged throughout
program execution. Dynamic Binding:
First occurs during execution or can
change during execution of the program.
10. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of implicit
declarations?
Advantage: Writability.
Disadvantages:
Reliability: They prevent the compilation
process from detecting some typographical
and programmer errors.
Readability.
11. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of dynamic type
binding?
Advantages:
• Flexibility
• No definite types
declared(PHP, JavaScript).
Disadvantages:
• Adds to the cost of
implementation.
• Type error detection by the
compiler is difficult.
12. Define static, stack-dynamic,
explicit heap-dynamic, and implicit
heap dynamic variables. What are their
advantages and disadvantages?
Static: Bound to memory cells before
execution begins and remains bound to
the same memory cell throughout the
execution.
Advantages: efficiency (direct
addressing), history-sensitive subprogram
support.
Stack-dynamic: Variables are those
whose storage bindings are created when
their declaration statements are
elaborated, but whose types are statically
bound.
Advantages: recursion; conserves storage
Explicit heap-dynamic: Variables are
nameless (abstract) memory cells that are
allocated and de allocated by explicit run-
time instructions written by the
programmer.
Advantage: provides for dynamic
storage management
Implicit heap-dynamic: Variables are
bound to heap storage only when they
are assigned values.
Advantage: flexibility (generic code)
13. Define lifetime, scope, static
scope, and dynamic scope.
Lifetime: A time during which the
variable is bound to a specific memory
location. The lifetime begins when it is
bound to a specific cell and ends when
it is unbound from that cell. Scope:
Range of statements in which the
variable is visible. A variable is visible
in a statement if it can be referenced in
that statement.
Static scope: Based on program text
and to connect a name reference to a
variable.
Dynamic scope: Based on the calling
sequence of subprograms, not on their
spatial relationship to each other. Can
be determined only at run time.
14. How is a reference to a
nonlocal variable in a static-scoped
program connected to its
definition?
A reference to a non-locally variable in a
static-scoped language with nested
subprograms requires a two-step access
process:
• Find the correct activation record
instance.
• Determine the correct offset within
that activation record instance.
15. What is the general problem with
static scoping?
• Too much access. 19. What is the purpose of the let
• Scope structure destroyed as program constructs in functional languages?
evolves. “let” introduces a new variable scope, and
16. What is the referencing allows you to bind variables to values for
environment of a statement? that scope. It is often read as “let x be
Referencing environment of a statement is the [value] in …”
collection of all names that are visible in the 20. What is the difference between
statement. the names defined in an ML let
construct from the variables declared
17. What is a static ancestor of a in a C block?
subprogram? What is a dynamic ML C Block
ancestor of a subprogram? In ML, the form of The variable's scope starts
Static ancestors: All the procedures in the a let construct is as from the point of the
program within which the procedure sub() is follows: let declaration to the end of the
defined, the definition of the procedure sub() val name 1 = block (next closing brace).
is nested. The definition of a procedure may expression 1 if( a< 15 ){ printf("%d",
be directly nested within only one procedure, ... 24); // b is not in scope in
called its static parent procedure. This static val name n = this line
parent procedure may itself be nested within expression n int b = 32;
another procedure, and so on up to the main() in expression printf("%d", b); // b is in
program. All these procedures are considered end; scope in this line
to be static ancestors of the procedure sub(). }
The static ancestors are those that strictly
contain the subprogram in question. Dynamic
ancestors: All the procedures called before
sub() during the execution of a program, that 22. What are the advantages and
have not yet finished executing. These are the disadvantages of dynamic scoping?
procedures that are waiting for procedure
Advantages:
sub() to finish executing before they can
terminate. In short, dynamic ancestors are • Writability.
those that are called to reach the subprogram • Convenient.
in question. • More flexibility than static scoping.

18. What is a block? Block: Some Disadvantages:

languages allows a section of code to have its
• Cant type-check at compile time.
own local variables whose scope is
minimized. Such variables are typically stack • Poor readability.
dynamic, so their storage is allocated when • Takes longer time to access non local
the section is entered and deallocated when variable.
the section is exited. Such a section of code is
23. What are the advantages of
called a block.
named constants?
Advantages:
• Readability. • Modifiability.
• Reliability.