Other Paradigms

Other paradigms

The paradigms we have covered so far in this chapter are the most commonly used ones, but there are several others. Let’s take a quick look at some of them.

Function-level programming

In function-level programming, we have no variables at all. Instead, programs are built from elementary functions, combined with function-to-function operations, sometimes referred to as functionals or functional forms.

Languages that implement this paradigm are built around the following hierarchy:

• Atoms are the data that the functions operate on. They’ll only appear as input or output to the programs and will never be found inside the actual program.
• Functions will convert atoms into other atoms. The programming language will define a set of functions, and the programmer can create new ones using functional forms. The program itself is also a function.
• Functional forms are used to convert functions into other functions. They can be used by the programmer to create new forms.