The Mathematica Programmer

Combinators

Volume 5, Issue 4
Fall 1995

Combinators are an alternative to pure functions. They do not use variables and are, therefore, immune to the scoping problems caused by conflicts of names of formal parameters. We present an introduction to combinatory algebras and show how to convert pure functions into combinators. The implementation of these ideas requires control of the order of substitutions in rewrite rules. We discuss the techniques needed to achieve this control.
 

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