Miranda (programming language) facts for kids

Miranda is a special kind of computer language that was created in the 1980s. It's known as a functional programming language. This means it works a bit like math, where you define functions and use them to solve problems. Even though it wasn't made to teach people how to program, Miranda was very important because it influenced other languages, especially Haskell. Today, Miranda isn't used much anymore, but its ideas live on in newer programming languages.

What is Miranda?

Miranda is a programming language that helps computers understand instructions. It was designed by a computer scientist named David Turner. He created it in 1985. Miranda was one of the first languages to use a style called pure functional programming. This means that programs are built by combining many small functions, much like putting together LEGO bricks. Each function does one specific job and always gives the same result for the same input, just like a math equation.

How Miranda Works

In Miranda, you write code that describes what you want to calculate, rather than how to calculate it step-by-step. This is different from many other programming languages. For example, if you want to sort a list of numbers, in Miranda you would describe the rules for sorting. The computer then figures out the best way to do it. This makes programs easier to understand and less likely to have mistakes.

Why Miranda Was Important

Even though Miranda isn't widely used now, it had a big impact on computer science. It showed that functional programming could be practical and powerful. Many of the ideas and features first seen in Miranda were later used in other, more popular functional languages. The most famous example is Haskell, which is still used today for many different projects. Miranda helped pave the way for a new way of thinking about how to write computer programs.

Miranda Today

While Miranda itself is mostly a historical language, its legacy is strong. The principles it introduced, like using functions as building blocks and writing clear, mathematical-style code, are still very important. Many modern programming languages, even those that aren't strictly functional, have adopted some of these ideas. So, even though you might not write code in Miranda, the way it changed programming continues to influence how software is made.

See also

• Haskell
• In Spanish: Miranda (lenguaje de programación) para niños