When people think of programming languages for math, Python (with NumPy) or MATLAB usually come to mind. But there’s a quieter, older language that offers a uniquely elegant mathematical experience: Standard ML (SML) .
That is a precise, abstract statement about function composition, independent of concrete numbers. This is reminiscent of category theory or function composition in set theory. When you write SML, the compiler proves that your implementation matches that abstract contract. SML has no for loops. Instead, you write recursive functions. This directly mirrors mathematical induction. sml maths
SML is a functional programming language with a strong static type system. While it’s not a computer algebra system (like Mathematica) or a numerical computing environment, its core philosophy aligns beautifully with mathematical reasoning. In SML, types aren’t just machine-checked labels—they can feel like mathematical assertions. When people think of programming languages for math,
Take the factorial function: