Tips for Computer Scientists on Standard ML (Revised)

This note is inspired by a brilliant piece of writing, entitled Tips for Danes on Punctuation in English, by John Dienhart, Department of English, Odense University (1980). In a mere 11 pages, Dienhart’s lucid writing gives the reader the impression that punctuation in English is pretty easy and that any Dane can get it right in an afternoon or so.

In the same spirit, this note is written for colleagues and mature students who would like to get to know Standard ML without spending too much time on it. It is intended to be a relaxed stroll through the structure of Standard ML, with plenty of small examples, without falling into the trap of being just a phrase book.I present enough of the grammar that the reader can start programming in Standard ML, should the urge arise.

The full grammar and a formal definition of the semantics can be found in the 1997 language definition[2]. Some of the existing textbooks also contain a BNF for the language, e.g., [3]. I have tried to use the same terminology and notation as the language definition, for ease of reference.

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