What is Expressiveness in a Computer Language

[Piet van Oostrum]

>>>>> "Marshall" <marshall.spight at gmail.com> (M) wrote:

>M> Torben Ægidius Mogensen wrote:
>>> 
>>> That's not true.  ML has variables in the mathematical sense of
>>> variables -- symbols that can be associated with different values at
>>> different times.  What it doesn't have is mutable variables (though it
>>> can get the effect of those by having variables be immutable
>>> references to mutable memory locations).

>M> While we're on the topic of terminology, here's a pet peeve of
>M> mine: "immutable variable."

>M> immutable = can't change
>M> vary-able = can change

>M> Clearly a contradiction in terms.

I would say that immutable = 'can't *be* changed' rather than 'can't
change'. But I am not a native English speaker.

Compare with this: the distance of the Earth to Mars is variable (it
varies), but it is also immutable (we can't change it).
-- 
Piet van Oostrum <piet at cs.uu.nl>
URL: http://www.cs.uu.nl/~piet [PGP 8DAE142BE17999C4]
Private email: piet at vanoostrum.org