14.28, Monday 5 Jun 2000

What is Lambda Calculus? The Lambda Calculus Directory includes an introduction and www-accessible interpreter.

Also to read: A Calculus for the Algebraic-like Manipulation of Computer Code, and An Introduction to Lambda Calculus and Scheme from which I pull this quote:

The Lambda-calculus is a universal model of computation, that is, any computation that can be expressed in a Turing machine can also be expressed in the lambda calculus.

The strength of the lambda-calculus is that it is easily used as a "glue" on top of a richer world of primitives. Its advantages as a glue are that it has a natural correspondence with the way that people program, and natural compilation techniques yield high-performance code.

Hm. So there are languages based on Lamdba Calculus? Are all language Turing compatible? Why is it important? Is it important? I wish I could take a course in compsci.