Introducing CPL

TL;DR

CPL is a versatile, extensible programming language designed for numerical and computational tasks, featuring unique pointer handling, function overloading, and on-the-fly syntax extension, with both compiled and interpreted modes.

Contribution

The paper introduces CPL, a novel programming language with distinctive features like concealed pointer lookup and dynamic syntax extension, suitable for intensive numerical applications.

Findings

CPL supports both compiled and interpreted modes.

It enables on-the-fly syntax extension by programs.

CPL includes advanced features like function overloading and concealed pointer lookup.

Abstract

CPL here stands for a computer programming language conceived and developed by the author since 1993, but published for the first time in 2020. It was born as a Compiled Programming Language, designed together with its compiler and therefore suitable for computationally intensive numerical applications, although some years later an interpreter was also provided for interactive usage. CPL's distinctive features are Concealed Pointer Lookup, the ability to implicitly dereference pointers based on the type of operands involved, Consistent Procedure Linkage, the enforcement of function prototypes without dedicated header or interface files, and Coactive Parameter Lists, the ability to overload function names which are then distinguished by the type of their parameters and/or parameter separators. Perhaps even more distinctly, CPL's syntax can be extended on the fly by the program being compiled; library modules tap this feature to seamlessly add real and complex matrix operations, graphics, parallel-computing extensions, and symbolic differentiation. The CPL coding software is available for free download at http://CPLcode.net .