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> Scheme, S-expressions, and first-class…

Chapter 2: Scheme, S-expressions, and first-class functions

Chapter 2: Scheme, S-expressions, and first-class functions

pp. 88-199

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, Tufts University, Massachusetts
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Summary

Scheme combines power and simplicity. Scheme is derived from Lisp, which John McCarthy developed—inspired in part by Alonzo Church’s work on the λ-calculus—while exploring ideas about computability, recursive functions, and models of computation. McCarthy intended Lisp for computing with symbolic data he called S-expressions. S-expressions are based on lists, and the name “Lisp” was formed from “list processing.” Lisp programs can be concise and natural programs, and they often resemble mathematical definitions of the functions they compute. Lisp has been used heavily in artificial intelligence for over fifty years, and in 1971, McCarthy received ACM’s Turing Award for contributions to artificial intelligence.

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