Lists and Why They are Useful
Open Access
- 1 January 1965
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in The Computer Journal
- Vol. 7 (4) , 278-281
- https://doi.org/10.1093/comjnl/7.4.278
Abstract
Computers have long been in general use for solving numerical problems, and pioneering interest has now switched to their use for non-numerical work, that is, for manipulating symbols. Examples are compiling, studies in artificial intelligence, layout problems, etc. List-processing was a breakthrough in symbol manipulation since it provided a flexible way of organizing the computer memory. This paper explains in an expository manner what goes on in the computer memory when list-processing operations are performed, and takes as an example the formal differentiation of an algebraic expression written in Polish notation.Keywords
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