<language> Any relational language or functional language.
These kinds of programming language describe relationships
between variables in terms of functions or inference
rules, and the language executor (interpreter or
compiler) applies some fixed algorithm to these relations
to produce a result.
Declarative languages contrast with imperative languages
which specify explicit manipulation of the computer's internal
state; or procedural languages which specify an explicit
sequence of steps to follow.
The most common examples of declarative languages are logic
programming languages such as Prolog and functional
languages like Haskell.
See also production system.
(2004-05-17)
Nearby terms:
Decision Support Systems « decision theory « deckle « declarative language » DECmate I » DECnet » decode
