Abstract

Students have trouble understanding the difference between lazy and strict programming. It is difficult to compare the two directly, because popular strict languages and popular lazy languages differ in their syntax, in their type systems, and in other ways unrelated to the lazy/strict evaluation discipline. While teaching programming languages courses, we have discovered that an extension to PLT Scheme allows the system to accommodate both lazy and strict evaluation in the same system. Moreover, the extension is simple and transparent. Finally, the simple nature of the extension means that the resulting system provides a rich environment for both lazy and strict programs without modification.

Disciplines

Computer Sciences

Publisher statement

This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the 2005 Workshop on Functional and Declarative Programming in Education.

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URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/csse_fac/46