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

Thanks. I found the explanation given at the link quite useful in shedding the confusion I had had. Thanks and regards, -Damodar Kulkarni On Sat, Aug 24, 2013 at 10:57 AM, Jason Dagit wrote:

On Fri, Aug 23, 2013 at 9:09 PM, damodar kulkarni 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