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Questions tagged [scheme]

Scheme is a functional programming language that is a dialect of Lisp. It has a minimalist design with a standard specification and many implementations.

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Scheme vs Common Lisp: Which characteristics made a difference in your project?

There are no shortage of vague "Scheme vs Common Lisp" questions on both StackOverflow and on this site, so I want to make this one more focused. The question is for people who have coded in both languages: While coding in Scheme, what specific…
SuperElectric
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Is LISP still useful in today's world? Which version is most used?

I try to teach myself a new programming language in regular intervals of time. Recently, I've read how Lisp and its dialects are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from languages like C/C++, which made me curious enough to know more about…
TCSGrad
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Why is Scheme my first language in university?

I hear about C, C++, Java every day whenever people starting talking about computer science, but in my first computer science class we are asked to write in Scheme (DrRacket). Why is that? What differences will this make to my future understanding…
Erica Xu
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Why do some languages round to the nearest EVEN integer?

Programming languages like Scheme (R5RS) and Python (see this Question) round towards the nearest even integer when value is exactly between the surrounding integers. What is the reasoning behind this? Is there a mathematical idea that makes…
Profpatsch
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Scheme vs Haskell for an Introduction to Functional Programming?

I am comfortable with programming in C and C#, and will explore C++ in the future. I may be interested in exploring functional programming as a different programming paradigm. I am doing this for fun, my job does not involve computer programming,…
haziz
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Applying Denotational Semantics to design of Programs

I've read a bit on denotational semantics (DS) and I'm very intrigued about the process of designing computer programs where types and functions have strong and clear mappings to mathematics. Are there any resources that discuss designing programs…
Tim Stewart
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how a pure functional programming language manage without assignment statements?

When reading the famous SICP, I found the authors seem rather reluctant to introduce the assignment statement to Scheme in Chapter 3. I read the text and kind of understand why they feel so. As Scheme is the first functional programming language I…
Gnijuohz
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On the path to Enlightenment: Scheme, Common Lisp, Clojure?

A lot of people smarter than me keep writing about when you learn Lisp it makes you a better programmer because you "get it". Maybe all I hear about Lisp(s) changing your life is just a big practical joke on the newbies, but I figure there's no harm…
Conrad.Dean
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Is there a canonical tutorial or book on functional programming concepts?

Coming from a procedural/OO programming background, I tend to write Scheme programs in a procedural fashion. I would be intersted in learning Scheme or Lisp in a functional way from the ground up, to kind of reset my programmer's mind. Is there a…
Federico klez Culloca
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How useful are Lisp macros?

Common Lisp allows you to write macros that do whatever source transformation you want. Scheme gives you a hygienic pattern-matching system that lets you perform transformations as well. How useful are macros in practice? Paul Graham said in…
compman
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What about LISP, if anything, makes it easier to implement macro systems?

I'm learning Scheme from the SICP and I'm getting the impression that a big part of what makes Scheme and, even more so, LISP special is the macro system. But, since macros are expanded at compile-time, why don't people make equivalent macro systems…
Elliot Gorokhovsky
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Is IronScheme complete enough or stable enough to be worth learning?

IronScheme is mentioned on Wikipedia as a successor to a failed project called IronLisp, bringing Lisp to CLR and .NET, the way Clojure does for the JVM. Does anyone have experience with this language? It looks fairly complete (99%) but I'm not sure…
user28988
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Approaching SICP in Clojure instead of Scheme

I am a third year bachelor student in a software engineering program, and I brought up the idea of reading SICP to an adviser to gain a deeper and more fundamental understanding of the principles behind all this software we engineer. He suggested…
ironicaldiction
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Wrapping my mind around prefix notation?

I'm reading about LISP. I understand how prefix notation works at a certain level, but I was wondering if there are any tricks to making it intuitive.
Vivian River
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What should I learn from Scheme?

I was wondering what unique features I can learn from Scheme that would help me become a better programmer? I have a lot experience in mainstream languages, and I am looking to expand my horizons and learn about functional aspects that are missing…
bunglestink
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