Value-level programming

Article summary

Value-level programming is one of the two contrasting programming paradigms identified by John Backus in his work on programs as mathematical objects, the other being function-level programming. Backus originally used the term object-level programming but that term is now prone to confusion with object-oriented programming. Value-level programs are those that describe how to combine various values (i.e., numbers, symbols, strings, etc.) to form other values until the final result values are obtained. New values are constructed from existing ones by the application of various value-to-value functions, such as addition, concatenation, matrix inversion, and so on. Conventional, von Neumann programs are value-level: expressions on the right side of assignment statements are exclusively concerned with building a value that is then to be stored.

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