Re: The state of functional programming

[Warren <ve3wwg@gmail.com>]

Niklas Holsti expounded in news:8be7luFbvaU1@mid.individual.net:
> Warren wrote:
>> In a non-FP language (Ada), you can solve _any_ problem so long
>> as you code it (you are coding the "how").  IOW, you have
>> solved the problem and specified it in code.
>> 
>> In FP, you define the "problem" (instead) and require from 
>> it a solution. But FP cannot always solve that "problem".
> 
> Warren, I think your description or understanding of FP matches "logic 
> programming" or "constraint programming" rather than "functional 
> programming".

Now that you mention the words "logic programming", I feel
a twinge in the back of my mind..

> It is in logic programming and constraint programming that the 
> programmer enters facts, rules, and a goal, and the program searches 
for 
> solutions (proofs or realisations of the goal) in some way that is not 
> explicitly encoded in the program.

I did start off with "if I understand correctly" - obviously
I mixed these up!  This is _exactly_ what I was discussing.

The problem with age is the ever increasing number of memory
parity errors that go uncorrected. ;-)

Apologies to the thread for the confusion.

Warren