Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

Allowing quotation in a language wreaks havoc with the ability to reason about the language in simple terms, because it destroys the notion that equals can be substituted for equals. For example, three is one plus two, but the word ``three'' is not the phrase ``one plus two.'' Quotation is powerful because it gives us a way to build expressions that manipulate other expressions (as we will see when we write an interpreter in chapter 4). But allowing statements in a language that talk about other statements in that language makes it very difficult to maintain any coherent principle of what ``equals can be substituted for equals'' should mean. For example, if we know that the evening star is the morning star, then from the statement ``the evening star is Venus'' we can deduce ``the morning star is Venus.'' However, given that ``John knows that the evening star is Venus'' we cannot infer that ``John knows that the morning star is Venus

Test nowego oprogramowania eczytnika.

The value of expressing programs as sequence operations is that this helps us make program designs that are modular, that is, designs that are constructed by combining relatively independent pieces. We can encourage modular design by providing a library of standard components together with a conventional interface for connecting the components in flexible ways.