CONVERT

ABSTRACT

A programming language is described which is applicable to problems conveniently described by transformation rules. By this is meant that patterns may be prescribed, each being associated with a skeleton, so that a series of such pairs may be searched until a pattern is found which matches an expression to be transformed. The conditions for a match are governed by a code which also allows subexpressions to be identified and eventually substituted into the corresponding skeleton. The primitive patterns and primitive skeletons are described, as well as the principles which allow their elaboration into more complicated patterns and skeletons. The advantages of the language are that it allows one to apply transformation rules to lists and arrays as easily as strings, that both patterns and skeletons may be defined recursively, and that as a consequence programs may be stated quite concisely.

REFERENCES

• 1: John McCarthy, Recursive functions of symbolic expressions and their computation by machine, Part I, Communications of the ACM, v.3 n.4, p.184-195, April 1960 [doi>10.1145/367177.367199]
• 2: John McCarthy, LISP 1.5 Programmer's Manual, The MIT Press, 1962
• 3: BERKELEY, E. C., AND BOBROW, D. G. (Eds.) The Programmint Language LISP, its Operation and Application. Information International Inc., Cambridge, Mass., 1964.
• 4: YNGVE, V. H., ET AL. An Introduction to COMIT Programming. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1963.
• 5: GUZMAN, A. CONVERT. Professional Thesis (Spanish), Instituto Politecnico National, Mexico City, 1965.