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Functional Programming: Arguments
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Functional programming requires that functions are first-class, which means that they are treated like any other values and can be passed as arguments to other functions or be returned as a result of a function. Being first-class ... means that it is possible to define and manipulate functions nested in code blocks. Special attention needs to be given to nested functions, called closures, that reference local variables from their scope. If such a function escapes their block after being returned from it, the local variables must be retained in memory, as they might be needed later when the function is called. Usually it is not possible to determine the moment of release statically which means that an automatic memory management technique has to be used.
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Recursion is another technique commonly used in functional programming. A recursive function calls itself. This is the equivalent of a loop in an imperative language (arguments about efficiency aside). To add a series of numbers using imperative syntax, iteration would be necessary. For example, in Python:
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The J programming language [Burk 2001,Bur 2001,Hui 2001] is, a functional language. J uses infix notation with primitive functions denoted by a special symbol, such as + or %, or a special symbol or word followed by the suffix of . or : . Each function name may be used as a monad (one argument, written to the right) or as a dyad (two arguments, one on the left, the other on the right).
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Arguments