Stream Processing Functions

One principle of structured programming is that a program should be separated into meaningful independent subprograms, which are then combined so that the relation of the parts to the whole can be clearly established. This paper describes several alternative ways to compose programs. The main method used is to permit the programmer to denote by an expression the sequence of values taken on by a variable. The sequence is represented by a function called a stream, which is a functional analog of a coroutine. The conventional while and for loops of structured programming may be composed by a technique of stream processing (analogous to list processing), which results in more structured programs than the originals. This technique makes it possible to structure a program in a natural way into its logically separate parts, which can then be considered independently.