CS 15-212: Fundamental Structures of Computer Science II

One of the most important features of ML is that it allows the definition of new types with so-called datatype declarations. This means that programs can be written to manipulate the data in a natural representation rather than in complex encodings. This goes hand-in-hand with clausal function definitions using pattern matching on given data types.

We also briefly review the use of function as data, including functions as arguments and functions as results. A particularly common use is a technique called Currying which uses functional return values.

Key Concepts

• Datatype declarations
• Pattern matching and clausal function definition
• Functions as data
• Currying

Sample Code

On-line Notes by Robert Harper

• Type Inference
• Lists
• Datatype Declarations
• Functionals