[TYPES] What is the term after reduction called?

J. R. Hindley hindley at waitrose.com
Thu Jun 9 12:29:09 EDT 2022


Dear Fangyi Zhou,

The name "redex" was invented by Haskell Curry, see Section 3D5 in the book "Combinatory Logic" by Curry and Feys 1958.  He called the result of contracting a redex "the contractum of the redex".

> Is there an agreed terminology for the term after reduction (N)?

No, I think there is no agreed terminology.  Perhaps the reason is that (in lambda-calculus) every term can be a reductum or contractum, but not every term can be a redex.  

For example, let T be any term; if we choose R to be the redex  (\x.x)T,   then R contracts to T, so T is a reductum.  

Good luck,
  Roger Hindley  



More information about the Types-list mailing list