Functional programming, the IEEE floating point standard and APL

Authors:
Terence J. Reed
Affiliations:
Computer Science Department, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama
Venue:
APL '87 Proceedings of the international conference on APL: APL in transition
Year:
1987

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Abstract

The IEEE standard for floating point numbers is by now reasonably well known, but less well known is the fact that this standard provides for a certain exceptional class of bit patterns, the use of which are left to the user. In this paper we explore uses for this class among which are provisions for a variety of infinities and a flag for undefined entities. It is proposed that the functional programming aspect of APL be strengthened by the provision of void returns as provided in a few other languages such as LISP. At the programming level we explore methods for providing within APL near functional programming capabilities.