churchencoding
nounUK /ˈtʃɜːtʃɪnˌkəʊdɪŋ/
US /ˈtʃɜːrtʃɪnˌkoʊdɪŋ/
Church encoding is a way to build numbers and other things using only simple functions.
The teacher explained church encoding by showing how to count with just functions.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A method in computer science for representing data using functions instead of built-in types.
Programmers use church encoding to model booleans and pairs in pure lambda calculus.
3. The technique of expressing numbers as repeated function applications.
In church encoding, the number three applies a function three times to an argument.
4. A theoretical tool for studying computation without primitive data structures.
Researchers rely on church encoding to prove properties of functional languages.