Although an interpreter for the lambda-calculus can be implemented in almost any modern programming language, it is easier in some languages than in others. For example, a parser and evaluator for lambda-expressions is built into most Lisp systems, with the 'lambda' special form constructing lambda-expressions, and function application form applying them.

It may come as a surprise that the popular programming language Perl also has the lambda-calculus built into it in the same way. This talk will explain the usefulness of the lambda-calculus to computer scientists (no prior knowledge of it is required), show its effectiveness as a model for computation, and then demonstrate a Perl program that performs computations with recursive functions using nothing more than function abstraction and application.

Mark-Jason Dominus is a well-known expert in the Perl world. He is a regular columnist for the Perl Journal, and has written articles on automatic memoization, ray tracing, infinite data structures, and pattern matching. He is a software consultant, a Perl trainer, and a lecturer on system and network security, web application development, and Perl wizardry. He lives in Philadelphia. Mark-Jason's Web page on Perl is http://www.plover.com/~mjd/perl.

A pre-meeting dinner with the speaker is held at 6 p.m. at the Rusty Scupper on Alexander Road in Princeton. If you would like to attend, please call the information number to record your reservation on the answering machine.

Princeton ACM / IEEE Computer Society meeting are open to the public. Students and their parents are welcome. There is no admission charge, and refreshments are served.