Unlambda is an esoteric functional programming language created by David Madore in 1999, designed around a minimalist combinator calculus in which the only built-in functions are variants of the S, K and I combinators from combinatory logic, and in which ordinary features such as named variables are deliberately absent. Programs are written entirely as combinator applications, making even simple tasks such as printing a fixed string a nontrivial exercise, which is the language's explicit point: to demonstrate that a full, if painfully impractical, model of computation can be built from function application alone.
Facts
First Released SignificanceUnlambda's significance is that it demonstrates a minimal, nearly pure functional programming model built entirely from combinatory logic, intended as a demonstration of pure functional programming rather than for practical use. 2 Connections
In Field
Source Unlambda, Wikipedia
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Sources
1. Wikidata: Unlambda
- Wikidata Q670180, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Wikidata Q670180 P571 (inception)
infobox License field
GPL 2.0 or later
View the Source2. Unlambda, Wikipedia
Lead section
As an esoteric programming language, Unlambda is meant as a demonstration of very pure functional programming rather than for practical use.
In Field: Programming Language Theory, Lead sentence
Unlambda is a minimal, "nearly pure" functional programming language invented by David Madore.
In Group: Minimalist and Unconventional Esoteric Languages, Lead
Unlambda is a minimal, "nearly pure" functional programming language invented by David Madore.
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