Abstract:
As software becomes more and more complex, it is more and more
important to structure it well. Well-structured software is easy to write
and to debug, and provides a collection of modules that can be reused
to reduce future programming costs. In this paper we show that two features of functional languages in particular, higher-order functions and lazy
evaluation, can contribute significantly to modularity. As examples, we
manipulate lists and trees, program several numerical algorithms, and implement the alpha-beta heuristic (an algorithm from Artificial Intelligence
used in game-playing programs). We conclude that since modularity is the
key to successful programming, functional programming offers important
advantages for software development.
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