Standard ML

What Does Standard ML Mean?

Standard ML (SML) is a newer version of the “Meta Language” or ML programming language developed in the 1970s. ML has roots in LISP, which is one of a family of computing programming languages with parenthesized prefix notation.

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Techopedia Explains Standard ML

As a successive variant of Meta Language, Standard Meta Language is a modular programming language. It has compile time type checking and type inference. Some experts say it has some “impure” features in terms of how expressions are evaluated and around the use of various statements or commands.

Standard ML is a general purpose language. People currently use it to create software products. They may use it to code native code systems that run on a variety of operating systems. However, some would say that standard ML is not a particular kind of niche software, but just a sort of well-rounded programming language for use in legacy systems or in migration to more modern systems. For instance, someone might use Standard ML along with C or C# to code or update a software product.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…