On the feasibility of teaching Backus-type functional programming (FP) as a first language
Frank G. Pagan · ACM SIGCSE Bulletin · 1986
In an attempt to demonstrate that Backus-type functional programming (FP) might be made as palatable and understandable as conventional programming to the computing novice, the author has written an introductory textbook-style description of a small FP system. This paper describes and summarizes that description. It is concluded that teachability concerns should not present an obstacle for FP's possible future success.