Set-oriented functional style of programming

Abstract

A novel way of programming, which starts with specific details of a particular example and abstracts these details into generalised sets, is proposed. The whole program is constructed around the definition of these sets. Once the structure and type of the sets have been specified, the relationship between the sets is added to these set defintions. Thus, there is a move away from seeing the description of the data and relationships between the data as two separate parts, i.e., the data definition and the body of the block. This paper concentrates on the method used to develop programs, using a tutorial approach to illustrate the ease of programming, debugging and modifiablity. An interesting aspect of the method is how a program can be developed by studying the details in the problem domain using a procedural approach and abstracting them into a final declarative definition.