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ML is a general-purpose functional programming language developed by Robin Milner and others in the late 1970s at the University of Edinburgh, the syntax of which is inspired by ISWIM. Historically, ML stands for metalanguage: it was conceived to develop proof tactics in the LCF theorem prover (the language of which, pplambda - a combination of the first-order predicate calculus and the simply-typed polymorphic lambda-calculus - had ML as its metalanguage). It is known for its use of the Hindley-Milner type inference algorithm, which can automatically infer the types of most expressions without requiring explicit type annotations. OverviewML is often referred to as an impure functional language, because it permits side-effects, and therefore imperative programming, unlike purely functional programming languages such as Haskell. For this reason it is also called a Multi-paradigm programming language. Features of ML include a call-by-value evaluation strategy, first class functions, automatic memory management through garbage collection, parametric polymorphism, static typing, type inference, algebraic data types, pattern matching, and exception handling. Unlike Haskell, ML uses eager evaluation, which means that all subexpressions are always evaluated. However, lazy evaluation can be achieved through the use of closures. Thus one can create and use infinite streams as in Haskell, however, their expression is comparatively indirect. Today, there are several languages in the ML family; the two major dialects are Standard ML (SML) and Caml, but others exist, including F# - an open research project that targets the Microsoft .NET platform. Ideas from ML have influenced numerous other languages, like Haskell, Cyclone, and Nemerle. ML's strengths are mostly applied in language design and manipulation (compilers, analyzers, theorem provers), but it is a general-purpose language also used in bioinformatics, financial systems, and applications including a genealogical database, a peer-to-peer client/server program, and so on. ML uses static scoping rules. Article source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ML_programming_language Go back to Programming Articles home page
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