Prompt Each of the following two procedures defines a method for adding two positive integers in terms of the procedures inc, which increments its argument by 1, and dec, which decrements its argument by 1 Using the substitution model, illustrate the process generated by each procedure in evaluating (plus-v1 4 5) and (plus-v2 4 5). Are these processes iterative or […]
Tag: SICP
Prompt Alyssa P. Hacker doesn’t see why if needs to be provided as a special form. “Why can’t I just define it as an ordinary procedure in terms of cond” she asks. Alyssa’s friend Eva Lu Ator claims this can indeed be done, and she defines a new version of if: Eva demonstrates the program for Alyssa: Delighted, Alyssa […]
Isaac Newton came up with an elegant method for calculating square roots through a series of approximations that get refined over time. At the end of this post, I will show a racket implementation of the procedure. Overview The square of can be written as either or in the exponential form . Therefore, the square […]
Prompt Ben Bitdiddle has invented a test to determine whether the interpreter he is faced with is using applicative-order evaluation or normal-order evaluation. To refresh your memory, “applicative-order” means that procedure arguments get evaluated before being substituted into a procedure. “Normal-order” means that procedure arguments get evaluated later and only if needed (lazy). He defines […]