Eager evaluation

/ˈiɡər ɪˌvæljuˈeɪʃən/ noun phrase

Definition

An evaluation strategy that computes expressions immediately when they are bound to variables, regardless of whether the result is used. This is the default behavior in most programming languages.

Etymology

The term 'eager' contrasts with 'lazy evaluation,' using the common English meaning of being keen or impatient to act. It became standard terminology in programming language theory during the development of functional programming concepts.

Kelly Says

Eager evaluation is like that friend who always arrives early to parties - it computes everything right away, even if you don't need the result until later! While this uses more resources upfront, it makes debugging easier because you know exactly when each calculation happens.

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