Declarative programming

The article deals with the dominant paradigm of a vast and diverse set of domains - declarative programming.

Declarative programming is a paradigm of computer programming in which a developer determines what a program should do rather than explicitly determining how it should do so. This approach is naturally suitable for software definition of formal logic systems and has the advantage of making it easier to program some parallel processing applications.

How does declarative programming work?

The proper operation of declarative programming depends on the logic and constraints for determining the setup and outcome. Constraints define properties that are executed in a particular programming scenario and set in program libraries.

Logical programming expresses rules and facts regarding the field in which declarative programming is used.

Domain-specific language (DSL) is used in conjunction with declarative programming, so that the control flow is embedded in the language and exists separately from logic.

In declarative programming, developers are provided with tools that enable implementation abstraction and help concentrate on the problem.

Declarative languages

A declarative programming language is a type of programming language that does not require a programmer to determine the steps a machine must follow. Instead, it announces and describes the facts and relationships between data points and elements.

There are two of the most common types of declarative languages: functional and logical programming languages. In addition, declarative programming languages can still be classified as restricted programming, logical programming and logical programming with restrictions.

Logical programming languages

PROLOG (Programming in Logic) is a well-known example of logical programming languages. These languages represent the program as a set of logical links. Logical programming languages are similar to the language of SQL databases (Structured Queries Language). Programs are executed by an output engine that responds to a query by systematically searching for these relationships to create conclusions that will respond to the query. PROLOG has in most cases been used in natural language processing as well as other artificial intelligence programs.

Functional languages

These languages have a mathematical style. You can build a functional program by applying functions to arguments. Functional languages, such as LISP, ML, and Haskell, are used as research tools in language development, in automated means of proving mathematical theorems, and even to some extent in commercial projects.

Advantages of declarative programming

There are several advantages of the declarative paradigm:

Readability/Usability

DSL is usually closer to the natural language than to the pseudocode, hence more readable and also more easily studied by non-programmers.

Brevity

Most of the pattern is abstracted by the DSL, leaving fewer rows to do the same job.

Reuse

It is easier to create code that can be used for different purposes; something that is notoriously difficult when using imperative constructs.

Idempotence

Declarative programming allows you to start with a finite state and allow the program to understand it for you.

Correcting errors

You can easily specify a construct that will stop when the first error occurs. This eliminates the need to add error listeners for each possible error.

Referential transparency

Expressions can be replaced with their corresponding values, and the behavior of the program will not change.

Commutativity

The ability to express a finite state without specifying the actual order in which it will be implemented.

Should declarative programming be used?

Declarative programming languages can significantly reduce the complexity of managing some development projects, but can also complicate applications that are not overloaded features or can grow at scale.

The process of establishing the result of a program, rather than managing each step, provides an efficient and productive option for developers working with especially complex programs. At the same time, developers working on relatively simple applications, the scale of which is unlikely to change, may find that imperative programming is more suitable for them.

But in practice, mixed paradigm forms are often used, when declarative programming languages are supplemented by imperative methods. However, this increases the susceptibility to errors and can impair code intelligibility.

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