6.001

education /siks dub*l oh wun/, /dub*l oh wun/ or rarely

/siks dub*l oh fun/ MIT's introductory computer class for

majors, known for its intensity. Developed by GeraldSussman and Hal Abelson, the course is taught in Scheme

and introduces recursion, higher-order functions,

object-oriented programming and much more. Students who

grasp the metacircular interpreter gain entry into the

Knights of the Lambda-Calculus. 6.001 has been exported to

several other colleges, sometimes successfully. The textbook,

"Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs", written

with Julie Sussman is a classic that can be found on the

shelves of many computer scientists, whether they took the

course or not. Legendary characters from the class, problem

sets, and book include the wise Alyssa P. Hacker, Ben

Bitdiddle, Lem E. Tweakit and Eva Lu Ator, the careless Louis

Reasoner and Captain Abstraction.

(1994-11-22)