Joy (programming language): Difference between revisions

The '''Joy programming language''' in [[computer science]] is a [[purely functional programming language]] that was produced by Manfred von Thun of [[La Trobe University]] in [[Melbourne]], [[Australia]]. Joy is based on composition of functions rather than [[lambda calculus]]. It has turned out to have many similarities to [[Forth (programming language)|Forth]], due not to design but to an independent evolution and convergence. It was also inspired by the [[Function-level programming|function-level programming style]] of [[John Backus]]'s [[FP (programming language)|FP]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A Conversation with Manfred von Thun|author=Manfred von Thun|url=http://www.nsl.com/papers/interview.htm|access-date=May 31, 2013|date=December 12, 2003|quote=" In the early 1980s I came across the famous Backus paper "Can programming be liberated from the von Neumann style," and I was immediately intrigued by the higher level of programming in his FP."}}</ref>

Functions in Joy lack [[Parameter (computer science)|formal parameters]]. For example, a function that squares a numeric input can be expressed as follows:<ref>{{cite web|title=An informal tutorial on Joy |url=http://www.latrobe.edu.au/phimvt/joy/j01tut.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007030359/http://www.latrobe.edu.au/phimvt/joy/j01tut.html |archive-date=October 7, 2011 }}</ref>