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2007/2/25, Tracy Harms <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
Thank you, Raul and Roger, for your replies on the roles of explict and tacit techniques of verb definition. As I studied this topic tonight it occurred to me that tacit programming seems to be necessary to (but perhaps not sufficient for) function-level programming. The topic of tacit definition seems to open naturally to the question: When is function-level programming a better way to use J, and what discipline needs to be maintained to accomplish it? The distinction between functional programming and function-level programming was something I first encountered in the Wikipedia article on J, which was where I first became aware of J. (I linked there while reading on the topic of functional programming.) The distinction was one I had never heard drawn before, and my interest in J was greatly piqued by the indication that it better fits Backus' prescription than do "standard" functional languages. I didn't quite follow the distinction, and some confusion remains for me today, but it does seem to me that my recent attention to J has made the topic more tractable. To date I'm relying on the Wikipedia article, Function-level programming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function-level_programming NB. That article names J as a "canonical function-level programming language". Roger, you listed four considerations in deciding between tacit and explicit definition. It looks to me that the second and fourth of these are relevant to a function-level approach. ("Tacit is more amenable to formal manipulations" and "Tacit encourages building up a more complex function from components.") More information on the relationship between J and function-level programming would be welcome. (Perhaps I've missed references to applicable papers?) Tracy Harms ____________________________________________________________________________________ Want to start your own business? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-index ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
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