Anonymous functions

Sometimes, especially when using higher-order functions, it is convenient to write down a function without having to give it a name. This can be done using a so-called “lambda expression”. In its simplest form, this looks like

\ <var> . <expression>

where <var> stands for any variable name, and <expression> stands for any expression, which is allowed to use the variable. This represents a function which takes <var> as input, and returns <expression> as output.

λ (U+033B, GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMBDA) can also be used in place of \ (a backslash is used because it looks kind of like λ).

For example, \n. 3n+1 is the function which returns one more than three times its input.

Disco> (\n. 3n+1)(6)
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  • The thing after the lambda or backslash can actually be any pattern, not just a variable. For example,

    \(x,y). x + 2y
    

    is the function which takes a pair of numbers as input and returns the sum of the first number and twice the second number.

  • The variable after the lambda can optionally be annotated with its type, as in \ <var> : <type> . <expression>. For example,

    \x:Z. x + 5
    

    is the function of type Z -> Z which returns 5 more than its input. Without the type annotation, Disco would infer \x. x + 5 to have type N -> N instead.