Supercombinator: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Bound and self-contained mathematical expression}}

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A '''supercombinator''' is a [[mathematical expression]] which is [[Free variables and bound variables|fully bound]] and [[self-contained]]. It may be either a [[constant (mathematics)|constant]] or a [[combinator]] where all the subexpressions are supercombinators. Supercombinators are used in the implementation of functional languages.

In mathematical terms, a [[Lambda calculus|lambda expression]] ''S'' is a supercombinator of [[arity]] ''n'' if it has no free variables and is of the form λx₁.λx₂...λx_n.''E'' (with ''n'' ≥ 0, so that lambdas are not required) such that ''E'' itself is not a [[lambda abstraction]] and any lambda abstraction in ''E'' is again a supercombinator.