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Encyclopedia > Lambda abstraction

A lambda abstraction is an abstract lambda expression. It is expressed in the language of lambda calculus. A lambda abstraction is to a functional programming language such as Scheme what pseudo-code is to an imperative programming language.


More specifically, a lambda abstraction is a lambda expression with no free variables: each its variables is bound by some lambda. E.g.

f (f (f x))

is a concrete lambda expression, whereas

λf. λx. f (f (f x))

is an abstract lambda expression.


For example, λ could stand for 'for each', 'for some', or 'there is'. In this case, the expression could stand for a 'logic proposition'.


  Results from FactBites:
 
Lambda calculus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2453 words)
Lambda calculus can be used to define what a computable function is. The question of whether two lambda calculus expressions are equivalent cannot be solved by a general algorithm, and this was the first question, even before the halting problem, which undecidability could be proved.
In lambda calculus, every expression stands for a function with a single argument (argument::input of a function); the argument of the function is in turn a function with a single argument, and the value of the function is another function with a single argument.
A function of two variables is expressed in lambda calculus as a function of one argument which returns a function of one argument (see currying).
Abstraction (computer science) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2911 words)
In functional programming languages, it is common to find abstractions related to functions, such as lambda abstractions (making a term into a function of some variable), higher-order functions (parameters are functions), bracket abstraction (making a term into a function of a variable).
Data abstraction is the enforcement of a clear separation between the abstract properties of a data type and the concrete details of its implementation.
Object-oriented languages are commonly claimed to offer data abstraction; however, their inheritance concept tends to put information in the interface that more properly belongs in the implementation; thus, changes to such information ends up impacting client code, leading directly to the fragile base class problem.
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