Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!okstate!norman
From: norman@a.cs.okstate.edu (Norman Graham)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Unification of Paradigms
Message-ID: <3923@okstate.UUCP>
Date: 19 Sep 88 15:11:47 GMT
Organization: Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater
Lines: 37

Has anyone out there tried to derive a set of concepts that would 
allow the unification of procedural, object, functional, and logic
languages?  I've kicked the idea around a little and there doesn't
seem to be a whole lot of difference between the lot (although I've
done very little logic programming).

First let's start with a suitably powerful procedural language (ie.
an orthoganal language that includes both functional polymorphism
(true polymorphism) and overloading (ad. hoc. polymorphism); functions
as data objects (allowing for functionals); first class citizenship
for all objects; etc.).  Now if we give programmers the option of
specifying that a function does not use a store, doesn't that allow
a program (or selected parts of a program) to be built using the
functional paradigm with all of its advantages?  Futhermore, it
seems that the only difference between this language and an object
language is packaging (eg. do we package the functions as part of 
the object or not?).  I've left out inheritance, but perhaps it fits
in as well.  Logic languages only seem to provide syntatic sugar
for a handful of functions easily written in the above language.
|-: Don't flame me for that last statement.  If it's incorrect
just write it off as a statement by a logic programming novice and
explain why it ain't so. :-|  Granted, a language like the above
would not set the world on fire with its speed on machines using
today's conventional architecture, but...

If you've had similar ideas, or ideas to the contrary send mail.
If you have a flame send mail also (this group is already too 
cluttered with flames).

Thanks for your support...

--
Norman Graham
Oklahoma State University              Internet:  norman@a.cs.okstate.edu
Computing and Information Sciences         UUCP:  {cbosgd, ihnp4,
219 Mathematical Sciences Building                 rutgers}!okstate!norman
Stillwater, OK  74078-0599