Learning objective
List processing: Be familiar with representing a list as a concatenation of a head and a tail. Know that the head is an element of a list and the tail is a list. Know that a list can be empty. Describe and apply the following operations: • return head of list • return tail of list • test for empty list • return length of list • construct an empty list • prepend an item to a list • append an item to a list. Have experience writing programs for the list operations mentioned above in a functional programming language or in a language with support for the functional paradigm. For example, in Haskell the list [4, 3, 5] can be written in the form head:tail where head is the first item in the list and tail is the remainder of the list. In the example, we have 4:[3, 5]. We call 4 the head of the list and [3, 5] the tail. [] is the empty list. 94
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Topic
Lists in functional programming
Subtopic
List processing
Aqa A Level Computer ScienceFundamentals of functional programming
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Quick explanation
List processing: Be familiar with representing a list as a concatenation of a head and a tail. Know that the head is an element of a list and the tail is a list. Know that a list can be empty. Describe and apply the following operations: • return head of list • return tail of list • test for empty list • return length of list • construct an empty list • prepend an item to a list • append an item to a list. Have experience writing programs for the list operations mentioned above in a functional programming language or in a language with support for the functional paradigm. For example, in Haskell the list [4, 3, 5] can be written in the form head:tail where head is the first item in the list and tail is the remainder of the list. In the example, we have 4:[3, 5]. We call 4 the head of the list and [3, 5] the tail. [] is the empty list. 94
- This point belongs to Lists in functional programming, especially List processing.
- You need to be able to list processing: Be familiar with representing a list as a concatenation of a head and a tail. Know that the head is an element of a list and the tail is a list. Know that a list can be empty. Describe and apply the following operations: • return head of list • return tail of list • test for empty list • return length of list • construct an empty list • prepend an item to a list • append an item to a list. Have experience writing programs for the list operations mentioned above in a functional programming language or in a language with support for the functional paradigm. For example, in Haskell the list [4, 3, 5] can be written in the form head:tail where head is the first item in the list and tail is the remainder of the list. In the example, we have 4:[3, 5]. We call 4 the head of the list and [3, 5] the tail. [] is the empty list. 94.
- Use the linked flashcards and practice questions to check recall, then practise applying the idea in an exam-style answer.
Why it matters
This objective helps connect List processing to exam-style questions, flashcards, and revision notes for Lists in functional programming.
Quick student answer
Given the list [4, 3, 5], which list is its tail?
Direct answer
[3, 5]
Key terms
- Head: The first element of a list.
- Tail: The list formed from all elements after the head; it may itself be empty.
Common trap
Confusing prepend and append: Prepend with [item] + xs. Append with xs + [item]. Check the position of the new item in the resulting list.
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