Lambda the Ultimate

Backhouse on Mathematics and Programming
started 2/9/2002; 10:05:00 AM - last post 2/9/2002; 11:16:19 AM

Frank Atanassow - Backhouse on Mathematics and Programming

2/9/2002; 10:05:00 AM (reads: 714, responses: 1)

Roland Backhouse has written a nice lecture (on the order of a position paper) Mathematics and Programming: A Revolution in the Art of Effective Reasoning [PDF]. It includes some nice quotes and anecdotes from notable figures, and interesting mathematical tidbits relevant to declarative programming.

If you agree with his points on "clairvoyance" and style of proof, you might enjoy Paul Taylor's book, Practical Foundations of Mathematics, which also espouses constructive proofs.

Ehud Lamm - Re: Backhouse on Mathematics and Programming

2/9/2002; 11:16:19 AM (reads: 774, responses: 0)

Thanks! This is really a good presentation.

I was amazed how closley the topics discussed match my personal experience.

I had the sma e feeling when I learning about the (sum i) and (sum i^2) formulas, and I even invented a constructive approach.

I always prefered the non-clairvoyant approach to solving inequalities.

And I am an abstraction and generic programming buff.

So it isn't surprising that I agree the conclusions regarding CS education (Java is the way to go, naturally).