Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #485015 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 180 pages

Synopsis
The lambda-calculus lies at the very foundations of computer science. Besides its historical role in computability theory it has had significant influence on programming language design and implementation, denotational semantics, and domain theory. The book emphasises the proof theory for the type-free lambda-calculus. The first six chapters concern this calculus and cover the basic theory, reduction, models, computability, and the relationship between the lambda-calculus and combinatory logic. Chapter 7 presents a variety of typed calculi; first the simply typed lambda-calculus, then Milner-style polymorphism and, finally, the polymorphic lambda-calculus. Chapter 8 concerns two variants of the type-free lambda-calculus that have appeared in the research literature: the lazy lambda-calculus, and the lambda sigma-calculus. The final chapter contains references and a guide to further reading. There are exercises throughout. In contrast to earlier books on these topics, which were written by logicians, this book is written from a computer science perspective and emphasises the practical relevance of many of the key theoretical ideas.The book is intended as a course text for final year undergraduates or first year graduate students in computer science. Research students should find it a useful introduction to more specialist literature.

Customer Reviews

Ugh!!!!
The author chooses to express his ideas in the most opaque obnoxious notation. Maybe it is a good book, but I don't agree that the choice of notation appropriate for computer scientists and if you don't get to grips with the way the author expresses himself anything out of the book.

All definition, hollow explanation
Although I found this book to be good to refer to after learning the material elsewhere, on reflection I found the explanations of important concepts, such as n reduction differences between normal and applicative order, to be lacking somewhat in content. The material is classsically presented, although I feel that a book to be read outside the classroom should offer maybe more of a helping hand.