User:Knightofmathematics

A little information about me

I am a mathematician/computer systems analyst and developer. Functional programming was one of the topics I studied for my Master of Science degree back in 1989 at the University of Oxford in the UK. I saw great value in the subject then, but unfortunately it still had a long way to go and applications were very rare.

During the relevant course, I studied a language called Orwell, many of whose concepts have been used in the definition of Haskell. Orwell no longer exists, having been superseded by Haskell. My MSc dissertation was on the specification, design and implementation of a prototype equational reasoning system for transforming expressions written in Orwell, with the goal of arriving at more efficient function definitions for a given task.

Having left university, I worked for the R&D department of a software company, where my main area of involvement was the estimation of the danger of occurrence of forest fires in a given geographical area, as well as the simulation of the behaviour and propagation of such fires. I also worked upon the design, implementation and maintenance of a large database of metadata for EC-supported research results in natural disasters (avalanches, earthquakes, floods, forest fires, industrial hazards, volcanic eruptions etc.) For more information, please visit the portal of the Euromediterranean Disaster Information Network.

I have decided to return to the field of functional programming and I am currently reading about Haskell and its applications. I am hoping to make use of the language's potential in applications, such as the above, as well as in Internet programming in general. You may have noticed that I have made a number of (minor) corrections to the spelling, the grammar and the syntax of the texts that appear on the Haskell Wiki. I have developed an eye for spotting such errors and I do so with all good intentions. After all, the work that has been put into the Wiki is quite remarkable.

Please feel free to contact me through the Wiki, if you wish.