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β-reduction
Lambda calculus (also written as ''λ''-calculus) is a formal system in mathematical logic for expressing computation based on function abstraction and application using variable binding and substitution. It is a universal model of computation that can be used to simulate any Turing machine. It was introduced by the mathematician Alonzo Church in the 1930s as part of his research into the foundations of mathematics. Lambda calculus consists of constructing § lambda terms and performing § reduction operations on them. In the simplest form of lambda calculus, terms are built using only the following rules: * x – variable, a character or string representing a parameter or mathematical/logical value. * (\lambda x.M) – abstraction, function definition (M is a lambda term). The variable x becomes bound in the expression. * (M\ N) – application, applying a function M to an argument N. M and N are lambda terms. The reduction operations include: * (\lambda x.M \rightarrow(\lam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lambda Terms
Lambda calculus (also written as ''λ''-calculus) is a formal system in mathematical logic for expressing computation based on function abstraction and application using variable binding and substitution. It is a universal model of computation that can be used to simulate any Turing machine. It was introduced by the mathematician Alonzo Church in the 1930s as part of his research into the foundations of mathematics. Lambda calculus consists of constructing § lambda terms and performing § reduction operations on them. In the simplest form of lambda calculus, terms are built using only the following rules: * x – variable, a character or string representing a parameter or mathematical/logical value. * (\lambda x.M) – abstraction, function definition (M is a lambda term). The variable x becomes bound in the expression. * (M\ N) – application, applying a function M to an argument N. M and N are lambda terms. The reduction operations include: * (\lambda x.M \rightarrow(\ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reduction Strategy (lambda Calculus)
In rewriting, a reduction strategy or rewriting strategy is a relation specifying a rewrite for each object or term, compatible with a given reduction relation. Some authors use the term to refer to an evaluation strategy. Definitions Formally, for an abstract rewriting system (A, \to), a reduction strategy \to_S is a binary relation on A with \to_S \subseteq \overset , where \overset is the transitive closure of \to (but not the reflexive closure). In addition the normal forms of the strategy must be the same as the normal forms of the original rewriting system, i.e. for all a, there exists a b with a\to b iff \exists b'. a\to_S b'. A ''one step'' reduction strategy is one where \to_S \subseteq \to. Otherwise it is a ''many step'' strategy. A ''deterministic'' strategy is one where \to_S is a partial function, i.e. for each a\in A there is at most one b such that a \to_S b. Otherwise it is a ''nondeterministic'' strategy. Term rewriting In a term rewriting system a rewriti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church–Rosser Theorem
In lambda calculus, the Church–Rosser theorem states that, when applying reduction rules to terms, the ordering in which the reductions are chosen does not make a difference to the eventual result. More precisely, if there are two distinct reductions or sequences of reductions that can be applied to the same term, then there exists a term that is reachable from both results, by applying (possibly empty) sequences of additional reductions. The theorem was proved in 1936 by Alonzo Church and J. Barkley Rosser, after whom it is named. The theorem is symbolized by the adjacent diagram: If term ''a'' can be reduced to both ''b'' and ''c'', then there must be a further term ''d'' (possibly equal to either ''b'' or ''c'') to which both ''b'' and ''c'' can be reduced. Viewing the lambda calculus as an abstract rewriting system, the Church–Rosser theorem states that the reduction rules of the lambda calculus are confluent. As a consequence of the theorem, a term in the lambda calculu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Bruijn Index
In mathematical logic, the De Bruijn index is a tool invented by the Dutch mathematician Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn for representing terms of lambda calculus without naming the bound variables. Terms written using these indices are invariant with respect to α-conversion, so the check for α-equivalence is the same as that for syntactic equality. Each De Bruijn index is a natural number that represents an occurrence of a variable in a λ-term, and denotes the number of binders that are in scope between that occurrence and its corresponding binder. The following are some examples: * The term λ''x''. λ''y''. ''x'', sometimes called the K combinator, is written as λ λ 2 with De Bruijn indices. The binder for the occurrence ''x'' is the second λ in scope. * The term λ''x''. λ''y''. λ''z''. ''x'' ''z'' (''y'' ''z'') (the S combinator), with De Bruijn indices, is λ λ λ 3 1 (2 1). * The term λ''z''. (λ''y''. ''y'' (λ''x''. ''x'')) (λ''x''. ''z'' ''x'') is λ (λ 1 (λ 1) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beta Normal Form
In the lambda calculus, a term is in beta normal form if no ''beta reduction'' is possible. A term is in beta-eta normal form if neither a beta reduction nor an ''eta reduction'' is possible. A term is in head normal form if there is no ''beta-redex in head position''. Beta reduction In the lambda calculus, a beta redex is a term of the form: : (\mathbf x . A) M. A redex r is in head position in a term t, if t has the following shape (note that application has higher priority than abstraction, and that the formula below is meant to be a lambda-abstraction, not an application): : \lambda x_1 \ldots \lambda x_n . \underbrace_ M_2 \ldots M_m , where n \geq 0 and m \geq 1. A beta reduction is an application of the following rewrite rule to a beta redex contained in a term: : (\mathbf x . A) M \longrightarrow A := M where A := M/math> is the result of substituting the term M for the variable x in the term A. A ''head'' beta reduction is a beta reduction applied in head position ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Function Application
In mathematics, function application is the act of applying a function to an argument from its domain so as to obtain the corresponding value from its range. In this sense, function application can be thought of as the opposite of function abstraction. Representation Function application is usually depicted by juxtaposing the variable representing the function with its argument encompassed in parentheses. For example, the following expression represents the application of the function ''Æ’'' to its argument ''x''. :f(x) In some instances, a different notation is used where the parentheses aren't required, and function application can be expressed just by juxtaposition. For example, the following expression can be considered the same as the previous one: :f\; x The latter notation is especially useful in combination with the currying isomorphism. Given a function f : (X \times Y) \to Z, its application is represented as f(x, y) by the former notation and f\;(x,y) (or f \; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Functional Programming Language
In computer science, functional programming is a programming paradigm where programs are constructed by applying and composing functions. It is a declarative programming paradigm in which function definitions are trees of expressions that map values to other values, rather than a sequence of imperative statements which update the running state of the program. In functional programming, functions are treated as first-class citizens, meaning that they can be bound to names (including local identifiers), passed as arguments, and returned from other functions, just as any other data type can. This allows programs to be written in a declarative and composable style, where small functions are combined in a modular manner. Functional programming is sometimes treated as synonymous with purely functional programming, a subset of functional programming which treats all functions as deterministic mathematical functions, or pure functions. When a pure function is called with some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Programming Language Theory
Programming language theory (PLT) is a branch of computer science that deals with the design, implementation, analysis, characterization, and classification of formal languages known as programming languages. Programming language theory is closely related to other fields including mathematics, software engineering, and linguistics. There are a number of academic conferences and journals in the area. History In some ways, the history of programming language theory predates even the development of programming languages themselves. The lambda calculus, developed by Alonzo Church and Stephen Cole Kleene in the 1930s, is considered by some to be the world's first programming language, even though it was intended to ''model'' computation rather than being a means for programmers to ''describe'' algorithms to a computer system. Many modern functional programming languages have been described as providing a "thin veneer" over the lambda calculus, and many are easily described in te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer Science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical disciplines (including the design and implementation of Computer architecture, hardware and Computer programming, software). Computer science is generally considered an area of research, academic research and distinct from computer programming. Algorithms and data structures are central to computer science. The theory of computation concerns abstract models of computation and general classes of computational problem, problems that can be solved using them. The fields of cryptography and computer security involve studying the means for secure communication and for preventing Vulnerability (computing), security vulnerabilities. Computer graphics (computer science), Computer graphics and computational geometry address the generation of images. Progr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguistics is concerned with both the cognitive and social aspects of language. It is considered a scientific field as well as an academic discipline; it has been classified as a social science, natural science, cognitive science,Thagard, PaulCognitive Science, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). or part of the humanities. Traditional areas of linguistic analysis correspond to phenomena found in human linguistic systems, such as syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences); semantics (meaning); morphology (structure of words); phonetics (speech sounds and equivalent gestures in sign languages); phonology (the abstract sound system of a particular language); and pragmatics (how social con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some sources claim the term was coined by Pythagoras ( BCE), although this theory is disputed by some. Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation. in . Historically, ''philosophy'' encompassed all bodies of knowledge and a practitioner was known as a ''philosopher''."The English word "philosophy" is first attested to , meaning "knowledge, body of knowledge." "natural philosophy," which began as a discipline in ancient India and Ancient Greece, encompasses astronomy, medicine, and physics. For example, Newton's 1687 ''Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy'' later became classified as a book of physics. In the 19th century, the growth of modern research universiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
