Array Theory and the Design of Nial

This monograph reports research on the use of Array Theory as the basis for an array-based programming language. It describes the design of the Nested Interactive Array Language, Nial and discusses the choices imposed by its use of array theory as the expression language. It includes a description of the syntax used for array theory expressions and a discussion of related design issues. It also shows the constraints in the design of the semantics of Nial imposed by the desire to achieve both rectangular data structures and set-like nesting properties.