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To help the eye group the symbols properly, it is a good idea to leave space for absent parentheses.
What good is a theory of programming? Who wants one? Thousands of programmers program every day without any theory. Why should they bother to learn one? The answer is the same as for any other theory. For example, why should anyone learn a theory of motion? You can move around perfectly well without one. You can throw a ball without one. Yet we think it important enough to teach a theory of motion in high school.
The terminology is descriptive rather than honorary.
For example, the data type with two values is called “binary” rather than “boolean”; the former word describes the data type; the latter word honors George Boole.
Sometimes the choice of notation makes all the difference in our ability to solve a problem.
209 Whenever I had to choose between a standard notation that will do and a new notation that's perfect, I chose the standard notation.
209 Binary Theory ≡ Boolean Algebra ≡ Propositional Calculus ≡ Sentential Logic.
I consider that predicates are just binary functions.
210 In this book, there is no formal metalanguage; the metalanguage is English.
bunches aggregation sets packaging
Proporzione logica: bunches:sets = strings:lists
I always prefer to use the simplest structure that is adequate for its purpose.
215 As our examples illustrate, functional programming and imperative programming are essentially the same: the same problem in the two styles requires the same steps in its solution. They have been thought to be different for the following reasons:
217 Ideas do not come from nowhere. They are the result of one's education, one's culture, and one's interactions with acquaintances. I would like to acknowledge all those people who have influenced me and enabled me to write this book. I will probably fail to mention people who have influenced me indirectly, even though the influence may be strong. I may fail to thank people who gave me good ideas on a bad day, when I was not ready to understand. I will fail to give credit to people who worked independently, whose ideas may be the same as or better than those that happened to reach my eyes and ears. To all such people, I apologize. I do not believe anyone can really take credit for an idea. Ideally, our research should be done for the good of everyone, perhaps also for the pleasure of it, but not for the personal glory. Still, it is disappointing to be missed.
The value of indexing from 0 was taught to me by Edsger Dijkstra.