Editing Abstract machine (section)

=== String processing languages ===
A [[String (computer science)|string processing language]] is a computer language that focuses on processing strings rather than numbers. There have been string processing languages in the form of [[Shell (computing)|command shells]], [[Programming tool|programming tools]], [[General-purpose macro processor|macro processors]], and [[Scripting language|scripting languages]] for decades.<ref>{{Citation |title=Design considerations for string processing languages |date=1985 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/3-540-16041-8_2 |work=A Study in String Processing Languages |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science |volume=205 |pages=17–37 |place=Berlin, Heidelberg |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |doi=10.1007/3-540-16041-8_2 |isbn=978-3-540-16041-0 |access-date=2022-05-31}}</ref> Using a suitable abstract machine has two benefits: increased [[Execution (computing)|execution speed]] and enhanced portability. [[SNOBOL|Snobol4]] and [[ML/I]] are two notable instances of early string processing languages that use an abstract machine to gain machine independence.<ref name=":1" />