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> I would love to understand programming languages on a more abstract level.

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP) - https://web.mit.edu/alexmv/6.037/sicp.pdf

To find out more about the decisions on language features just read material from the language creators and core contributors.

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Agreed: building various flavors of interpreters (such as in SICP) is an effective way to gain an understanding of different abstract semantics and how they compare.

You might also like "Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation":

1st ed: https://web.archive.org/web/20150926000110/http://cs.brown.e...

2nd ed: https://web.archive.org/web/20210121232912/http://cs.brown.e...

Also recommend lurking on http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/ to find material that interests you.

Thanks, that's kind of what I am looking for. Do you know an intro text which is a bit more concise?

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