Computing Dictionary
toy language definition
language A language useful for instructional purposes or as a proof-of-concept for some aspect of computer-science theory, but inadequate for general-purpose programming.
Bad Things can result when a toy language is promoted as a general purpose solution for programming (see
bondage-and-discipline language); the classic example is
Pascal. Several moderately well-known formalisms for conceptual tasks such as programming
Turing Machines also qualify as toy languages in a less negative sense.
See also
MFTL.
[
Jargon File]
(1995-05-09)
