Support for Obviously Synchonizable Series Expressions in Pascal

Abstract

Obviously synchronizable series expressions enable programmers to write algorithms as straightforward compositions of functions rather than as less comprehensible loops while retaining the significantly higher efficiency of loops. A macro package supporting these expressions in Lisp has been in use since December of 1987. However, the theory behind obviously synchronizable series expressions is not restricted to Lisp; in fact, it is applicable to any programming language. Because many people view packages designed in Lisp to be dependent on the qualities which make Lisp different from other languages, it was decided to support the macro package in the all-purpose language Pascal. This paper discusses its implementation.