Semiotics of Programming

Kumiko Tanaka-Ishii is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Creative Informatics at the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo, Japan. Her major areas of interest are computational linguistics, natural language processing, and computational semiotics. Her previous books include Text Entry Systems: Mobility, Accessibility, Universality (co-edited with I. Scott MacKenzie) and a joint translation (with Kyo Kageura) of Troisième cours de linguistique générale (1910–1911): d'après les cahiers d'Emile Constantin by Ferdinand de Saussure.

“Semiotics is an important and fascinating area of study which is fundamentally concerned with how meanings are expressed and interpreted through the use of communication systems, such as human languages and computer-programming languages. Semiotics of Programming represents a welcome and significant contribution to this field. The book is of potential interest not only to specialists in semiotics, who will find in it an instructive and thought-provoking discussion of the application of key semiotic concepts to the understanding of programming languages and program texts, but also to readers with a background in computing, who have a particular interest in the semantics of programming languages and in the capabilities of computing systems. The author presents a well-researched work on an intellectually challenging subject, while taking care to provide the reader with helpful explanations and illustrations of essential concepts. The interdisciplinary approach adopted by the author is commendable, and the book as a whole shows the benefit of bringing a semiotic perspective to bear upon the study of computation.” --John H. Connolly, Loughborough University, UK

• 1. Introduction; 2. Computer signs in programs; Part I. Models of Signs: 3. The Babylonian confusion; 4. Marriage of signifier and signified; 5. Being and doing in programs; Part II. Kinds of Signs and Content: 6. The statement x := x + 1; 7. Three kinds of content in programs; 8. An instance vs. the instance; Part III. Systems of Signs: 9. Structural humans vs. constructive computers; 10. Sign and time; 11. Reflexivity and evolution; 12. Conclusion.