What is a Y-combinator?
combinators, computer-science, definition, functional-programming, theory
Solution
If you're ready for a long read, Mike Vanier has a great explanation. Long story short, it allows you to implement recursion in a language that doesn't necessarily support it natively.
Problem
A Y-combinator is a computer science concept from the “functional” side of things. Most programmers don't know much at all about combinators, if they've even heard about them. - What is a Y-combinator? - How do combinators work? - What are they good for? - Are they useful in procedural languages?