Q \Q\ (k[=u]),
the seventeenth letter of the English alphabet, has but one
sound (that of k), and is always followed by u, the two
letters together being sounded like kw, except in some words
in which the u is silent. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect]
249. Q is not found in Anglo-Saxon, cw being used instead of
qu; as in cwic, quick; cwen, queen. The name (k[=u]) is from
the French ku, which is from the Latin name of the same
letter; its form is from the Latin, which derived it, through
a Greek alphabet, from the Ph[oe]nician, the ultimate origin
being Egyptian.
[1913 Webster] Etymologically, q or qu is most nearly related
to a (ch, tch), p, q, and wh; as in cud, quid, L. equus,
ecus, horse, Gr. ?, whence E. equine, hippic; L. quod which,
E. what; L. aquila, E. eaqle; E. kitchen, OE. kichene, AS.
cycene, L. coquina.
[1913 Webster]
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Q
A very high level language by Per Bothner based
on lazy generalised sequences. Q has lexical scope, and
some support for logic programming[?] and constraint
programming. The language includes small subsets of Common
Lisp and Scheme.
Q was a test-bed for programming language ideas. Where APL
uses arrays for looping, Q uses generalised sequences which
may be infinite and may be stored or calculated on demand. It
has macros, primitives to run programs, and an
interactive command language.
Q is implemented in C++, and comes with an interpreter,
compiler framework, libraries, and documentation. It runs
on Linux and SUN-4 and should work on any 32-bit Unix.
<http://kelso.bothner.com/~per/software/#Q>.
E-mail: Per Bothner .
(2000-05-22)
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