Numbers in The Lambda Calculus

God created the natural numbers. All else is the work of man.Leopold Kronecker We've got lists and with lists we can do pretty much any data structure we like. However, in computing, we also need numbers. Usually, numbers are thought of as fairly basic entities with respect to computing, but, in the Lambda Calculus they … Continue reading Numbers in The Lambda Calculus

Lambda Calculus: Recursion

"When preceded by its quotation yields falsehood" when preceded by its quotation yields falsehood.Willard Van Orman Quine Before we start, recursion is a tricky subject. I suggest you read this article before continuing. Also, you're going to need at least version 1.3.1 of the lambda calculator to try out the examples. This version allows variable … Continue reading Lambda Calculus: Recursion

Computation With The World’s Smallest Programming Language

Update: The latest version of the lambda calculator has line editing and a command history. It's more convenient than the version linked in the blog and is tagged 0.1.0. Note to the reader: much of this post is based on an article I found on the web called Lambda Calculus (part I). That article covers … Continue reading Computation With The World’s Smallest Programming Language

The World’s Smallest Programming Language

Update: The latest version of the lambda calculator has line editing and a command history. It's more convenient than the version linked in the blog and is tagged 0.1.0. Introduction The world's smallest programming language is probably the Lambda Calculus. The Lambda Calculus was invented by Alonzo Church in the 1930's as a means of … Continue reading The World’s Smallest Programming Language