Toward a Calculus of Algorithms

We develop a generalised polynomial formalism which captures the concept of an algebra of piece-wise denned polynomials. The formalism is based on the Boolean power construction of universal algebra. A generalisation of the theory of substitution homomorphisms is developed. The abstract operation of composition of generalised polynomials in one variable is denned and shown to correspond to function composition. © 1994, Australian Mathematical Society. All rights reserved.