In this thesis, we present FSL, a constraint programming language for numerical computation in booleans, integers and reals. FSL is a functions-with-state language, meaning that in addition to the usual numerical operations, the user can declare and use functions that can have states, much like sequential boolean circuits, or objects in object-oriented programming. Despite this feature, FSL's input is entirely in the form of equations with a minimum of additional syntax. A users' manual for FSL and some examples of the problems it was applied to introduce the language and its uses. The design of the FSL language is discussed, and then an overview of the implementation of the interactive FSL interpreter is given, followed by complete details, suitably organized and indexed for maintenance and continuation of the project. A full tutorial of the CASE tools Lex and Yacc is included, detailing the specific example of FSL and the interaction of the tools in the design of a parser.

Merrett, T. H. (Supervisor)