Comparison of multi-paradigm programming languages

A multiparadigm programming language is a programming language that supports more than one programming paradigm. It allows, as described by Bjarne Stroustrup, "a program using more than one programming styles". The design goal of such languages is to allow programmers to use the best tool for a job, admitting that no one paradigm solves all problems in the easiest or most efficient way.

The most aggressive example is Oz, which has subsets that are a logic language (Oz descends from logic programming), a functional language, an object-oriented language, a dataflow concurrent language, and more. Oz was designed over a ten-year period to combine in a harmonious way concepts that are traditionally associated with different programming paradigms.

Multiparadigm languages

Languages can be grouped by the number and types of paradigms supported.

Two paradigms

• functional, imperative
  • APL
• functional, logic-based
  • ALF
  • Curry
• functional, object-oriented (class-based)
  • Common Lisp
  • Dylan
  • Objective Caml
• imperative, object-oriented (class-based)
  • Perl
  • PHP

Three paradigms

• concurrent, dataflow, functional
  • SISAL
• functional, imperative, object-oriented (class-based)
  • BETA
  • J
  • Pliant
  • Python
  • Tcl
• functional, imperative, object-oriented (prototype-based)
  • Lua
• generic (template metaprogramming), imperative, object-oriented (class-based)
  • C++
  • D

Four paradigms

• functional, imperative, concurrent, object-oriented (class-based)
  • Ruby
• functional, imperative, logic-based, object-oriented (class-based)
  • Leda
• imperative, logic-based, object-oriented (class-based), rule-based
  • ROOP
• functional, imperative, object-oriented (prototype-based), dialected
  • REBOL

Five paradigms

• concurrent, distributed, generic (template metaprogramming), imperative, object-oriented (class-based)
  • Ada

Eight paradigms

• concurrent, constraint, dataflow, distributed, functional (evaluation: eager, lazy), imperative, logic, object-oriented (class-based)
  • Oz
    • Mozart Programming System a multiplatform Oz

See also

• Programming paradigm
• Categorical list of programming languages

References

• Multiparadigm Design for C++, by Jim Coplien, 1998.
• Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming, by Peter Van Roy and Seif Haridi, 2004.

External links

• MultiParadigmProgrammingLanguage on the C2 wiki
• Open Directory: Programming: Languages: Multiparadigm