From: Keith Gaughan <kmgaughan@...>
Date: 2006-10-29T06:01:41+09:00
Subject: Re: What are closures, continuations?

On Sat, Oct 28, 2006 at 10:05:18PM +0900, Une B辿vue wrote:

> matt neuburg <matt@tidbits.com> wrote:
> 
> > This is a term from LISP. It basically just means a function that you
> > can define and then pass around and call. 
> 
> is that "lambda" name derived from lambda calculus in modern logic, or
> is it the reverse, lambda calculus deriving from lisp work ???

The former. The lambda calculus was on the scene long before Lisp was a
twinkle in McCarthy's eye.

> (i would think so because lambda calculus is aimed toward automatic
> comilation from function down to machine language)

No it's not. It was a mathematical formalism for computation. Whatever gave
you that idea?

Here's the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambda_calculus

K.

-- 
Keith Gaughan -- kmgaughan@eircom.net -- http://talideon.com/
Peace means something different from "not fighting"... Peace is an active
and complex thing and sometimes fighting is part of what it takes to get it.
    -- Jo Walton