Scribd
Upload
7 views4 pages

Functional Programming

The document compares imperative programming languages (IPLs) with purely functional programming languages (FPLs), highlighting that FPLs focus on functionality without maintaining program state and use conditional recursion instead of iteration. It provides an overview of the Scheme programming language, a derivative of LISP, which employs dynamic typing and static scoping, and illustrates its syntax and use of recursion. Additionally, it includes examples of Scheme expressions and comments, emphasizing the functional approach to computation.

Uploaded by

lijaf37417
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
7 views4 pages

Functional Programming

The document compares imperative programming languages (IPLs) with purely functional programming languages (FPLs), highlighting that FPLs focus on functionality without maintaining program state and use conditional recursion instead of iteration. It provides an overview of the Scheme programming language, a derivative of LISP, which employs dynamic typing and static scoping, and illustrates its syntax and use of recursion. Additionally, it includes examples of Scheme expressions and comments, emphasizing the functional approach to computation.

Uploaded by

lijaf37417
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

7. IPL vs.

FPL

 Note that in imperative programming we concern ourselves


with both the computation sequence and maintaining the
program state (i.e. the collection of current data values).
 Unlike IPLs, purely functional languages (no variables and
hence no assignments) have no equivalent concept of state:
the programmer focuses strictly on defining the desired
functionality.
 Iteration is not accomplished by loop statements, but rather
by conditional recursion.
 Functional programmers are concerned only with
functionality. This comes at a direct cost in terms of
efficiency, since the code is still translated into something
running on Von Neuman architecture.

A. Bellaachia Page: 13
8. Scheme overview

8.1. Get your own Scheme from MIT

swissnet.ai.mit.edu/projects/scheme/index.html

8.2. General overview

Scheme is a functional programming language

Scheme is a small derivative of LISP:

LISt Processing

Dynamic typing and dynamic scooping

Scheme introduced static scooping

 Data Objects
 An expression is either an atom or a list
 An atom is a string of characters
A
Austria
68000

A. Bellaachia Page: 14
 As in Lisp, a Scheme program is a set of
expressions written in prefix notation:
to add 2 and 3, the expression is (+ 2 3)
to subtract 2 from 3, the expression is (- 3 2)
to use the built-in function max to determine the maximum
value from 2, 3, and 17, the expression is (max 2 3 17)

8.3. Data Typing

 Scheme uses dynamic typing (data types are


associated with values rather than with variables)
and uses static scoping for determining the visibility
of non-local variables.

8.4. Comments
 Comments begin with a semi-colon

 Example:

For instance, showing > as the prompt for


user input, a session might look like:
>; First some commentary, which won't get
evaluated
; below we will provide the postfix for
A. Bellaachia Page: 15
; 2+3, and then for (2+3)+6
; and finally for (2+3)-(2*2)
; we'll start the statements to be evaluated
; on the next line
(+ 2 3)

; Value: 5

>(+ (+ 2 3) 6)

; Value: 11

>(- (+ 2 3) (* 2 2))

; Value: 1

8.5. Recursion Instead of Iteration

 Since we are expressing the entire computation as a


composition of functions into a single function,
recursion is usually used rather than iteration
 Example:
>; the first line is the header for the Fibonacci
function:
(define Fibonacci (lambda (n)
; next is the termination case
( if (< n 3) 1
; and the recursive cal
(+ (Fibonacci (- n 1)) (Fibonacci (- n 2))))))

> (Fibonacci 6)
A. Bellaachia Page: 16

You might also like