Recursive functions of symbolic expressions and their computation by machine, part I [all published]. In Communications of the ACM 3

McCarthy, John

Publication Date: 1960

About this Item

McCarthy, John (1927-2011). Recursive functions of symbolic expressions and their computation by machine, part I [all published]. In Communications of the ACM 3 (1960): 184-195. Whole number. 281 x 218 mm. Original printed wrappers, slight wear at extremities, ownership signature on front wrapper. Very good. First Edition, journal issue of the paper that introduced the LISP programming language, the second-oldest high-level programming language still in use (after FORTRAN), and the initial programming language of choice for artificial intelligence. McCarthy, one of the founders of AI, began developing LISP (short for "list processing") in the late 1950s, after discovering that primitive recursive functions could be extended to compute with symbolic expressions. He later wrote that "Simplifications [involving memory management, CONS, etc.] made LISP into a way of describing computable functions [which was] much neater than the Turing machines or the general recursive definitions used in [partial] recursive function theory . . . I decided to write a paper describing LISP as both a programming language and as a formalism for doing recursive function theory. The paper was Recursive functions of symbolic expressions and their computation by machine, part I . . . Part II was never written but the intent was to contain applications to computing with algebraic expressions" (quoted in Stark, LISP, Lore and Logic, p. 104). .

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Recursive functions of symbolic expressions and their computation by machine, part I [all published]. In Communications of the ACM 3
• Publication Date: 1960
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition