English

Noun

lambda calculus ‎(plural lambda calculi)

1. (computing theory) Any of a family of functionally complete algebraic systems in which lambda expressions are evaluated according to a fixed set of rules to produce values, which may themselves be lambda expressions.
   • 2009 March 2, John C. Baez; Mike Stay, “Physics, Topology, Logic and Computation: A Rosetta Stone”, in (Please provide the title of the work), page 50:

     In the 1930s, while Turing was developing what are now called ‘Turing machines’ as a model for computation, Church and his student Kleene were developing a different model, called the ‘lambda calculus’ [29, 63]. While a Turing machine can be seen as an idealized, simplified model of computer hardware, the lambda calculus is more like a simple model of software.

Meronyms

• alpha conversion
• beta reduction
• eta conversion
• lambda term

Derived terms

• typed lambda calculus

Related terms

• calculus
• lambda
• lambda abstraction
• lambda expression

Translations

See also

• combinator
• functionally complete
• recursive function
• Turing machine