GEDANKEN-A Simple Typeless Language Based on the
Principle of Completeness and the Reference Concept

GEDANKEN is an experimental programming language with the following 
characteristics.  (1) Any value which is permitted in some context of the 
language is permissible in any other meaningful context.  In particular,
functions and labels are permissible  results of functions and values
of variables.  (2) Assignment and indirect addressing are formalized
by introducing values, called reference, which in turn possess
other values.  The assignment operation always affects the relation
between some reference and its value,  (3) All compound data
structures are treated as functions.  (4) Type declarations are
not permitted.  The functional approach to data structures and the
use of references insure that any process which accepts some data
structure will accept any logically equivalent structure, regardless
of its internal representation.  More generally, any data structure
may be implicit; i.e. it may be specified by giving an arbitrary
algorithm for computing or accessing its components.  The existence of 
label variables permits the construction of coroutines,
quasi-parallel processes, and other unorthodox control mechanisms.
A variety of programming examples illustrates the generality of the language.
Limitations and possible extensions are discussed briefly.

CACM May, 1970

Reynolds, J. C.

programming language, data structure, reference, assignment, coroutine,
quasi-parallel process, typeless language, applicative language,
lambda calculus, list processing, nondeterministic algorithm

4.20 4.22 5.23 5.24

CA700506 JB February 13, 1978  1:43 PM

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