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The Computer Journal 1989 32(2):98-107; doi:10.1093/comjnl/32.2.98
© 1989 by British Computer Society
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Why Functional Programming Matters

J. Hughes *

Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK

As software becomes more and more complex, it is more and more important to structure it well. Well-structured software is easy to write, easy to debug, and provides a collection of modules that can be re-used to reduce future programming costs. Conventional languages place conceptual limits on the way problems can be modularised. Functional languages push those limits back. In this paper we show that two features of functional languages in particular, higher-order functions and lazy evaluation, can contribute greatly to modularity. As examples, we manipulate lists and trees, program several numerical algorithms, and implement the alpha-beta heuristics (an Artificial Intelligence algorithm used in game-playing programs). Since modularity is the key to successful programming, functional languages are vitally important to the real world.

Received November 1988.

* Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ


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