X-Git-Url: http://lambda.jimpryor.net/git/gitweb.cgi?a=blobdiff_plain;f=topics%2Fweek2_encodings.mdwn;h=091fb4c5e19d8069a851375db8dc7d28fdfa794a;hb=ff8a444fb04636e09e1c8797f15451b42065953f;hp=290cd5d82f85bda88464c44990dd154b5e75dbb3;hpb=aaf2ff6a5405de529d0272a4692557c5a55e822a;p=lambda.git
diff --git a/topics/week2_encodings.mdwn b/topics/week2_encodings.mdwn
index 290cd5d8..091fb4c5 100644
--- a/topics/week2_encodings.mdwn
+++ b/topics/week2_encodings.mdwn
@@ -231,6 +231,7 @@ That will evaluate to whatever this does:
f (f (f (z, 10), 20), 30)
+
With a commutative operator like `(+)`, it makes no difference whether you say `fold_right ((+), z) xs` or `fold_left ((+), z) xs`. But with other operators it will make a difference. We can't say `fold_left ((&), []) [10, 20, 30]`, since that would start by trying to evaluate `[] & 10`, which would crash. But we could do this:
let
@@ -397,6 +398,8 @@ In fact, there's a way of looking at this that makes it look incredibly natural.
\x. f (g x)
+For example, the operation that maps a number `n` to n2+1
is the composition of the successor function and the squaring function (first we square, then we take the successor).
+
The composition of a function `f` with itself, namely:
\x. f (f x)
@@ -415,13 +418,13 @@ we are proposing to encode it as:
And indeed this is the Church encoding of the numbers:
-0 ≡ \f z. I z ; or \f z. f0 z
-1 ≡ \f z. f z ; or \f z. f1 z
-2 ≡ \f z. f (f z) ; or \f z. f2 z
-3 ≡ \f z. f (f (f z)) ; or \f z. f3 z
+0 ≡ \f z. z ; <~~> \f z. I z, or \f z. f0 z
+1 ≡ \f z. f z ; or \f z. f1 z
+2 ≡ \f z. f (f z) ; or \f z. f2 z
+3 ≡ \f z. f (f (f z)) ; or \f z. f3 z
...
-The encoding for `0` is equivalent to `\f z. z`, which we've also proposed as the encoding for `[]` and for `false`. Don't read too much into this.
+The encoding for `0` is what we also proposed as the encoding for `[]` and for `false`. Don't read too much into this.
Given the above, can you figure out how to define the `succ` function? We already worked through the definition of `cons`, and this is just a simplification of that, so you should be able to do it. We'll make it a homework.