Aspects of Language Design for Combinatorial Computing

Experience in the area of combinatorial computing acquired by the Maniac group at Los Alamos has motivated language development in this direction. Features incorporated into the MADCAP language to aid in programming combinatorial calculations include notation for set synthesis and analysis, notation for variably nested iterations (backtracking) and notation for complex conditional statements. The paper also examines the relationship of such combinatorial language design to machine design. Prominent in this discussion are the bit manipulation (shifting, counting and searching) facilities of Maniac II.