[Haskell-cafe] definition of the term "combinator"

[Jason Dagit]

On Fri, Aug 23, 2013 at 9:09 PM, damodar kulkarni <kdamodar2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hello,
> The word "combinator" is used several times in the Haskell community. e.g.
> parser combinator, combinator library etc.
>
> Is it exactly the same term that is used in the "combinatory logic" ?
> A combinator is a higher-order function that uses *only function
> application* and earlier defined combinators to define a result from its
> arguments. [1]
>
> It seems, the term combinator as in, say, "parser combinator", doesn't
> have much to do with the "*only function application*" requirement of the
> "combinatory logic", per se.
>
> If the above observation holds, is the term combinator as used in the
> Haskell community, properly defined?
>
> In other words:
>
> Where can I find a formal and precise definition of the term "combinator",
> as a term used by the Haskell community to describe "something"?
>

Good question. I believe this article addresses the points you raise:
http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Combinator
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.haskell.org/pipermail/haskell-cafe/attachments/20130823/059d51d1/attachment.htm>