I've always stuck to the definition of a closed lambda term (the Y, U, S, K, etc... combinators, for example). The colloquial usage generally implies something like "a higher order function that does something interesting (and possibly DSL-y)." Kris On Sat, Aug 24, 2013 at 12:09 AM, 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"?

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combinatory_logic

Thanks and regards, -Damodar Kulkarni

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