Scheme is a minimalist, functional programming language that is a dialect of Lisp, known for its simplicity and flexibility. Developed in the 1970s by Gerald Jay Sussman and Guy Steele, Scheme emphasizes a small, consistent core language and supports first-class functions, lexical scoping, and tail-call optimization.
Scheme’s design encourages a clean, elegant coding style, with powerful features like macros, which allow developers to extend the language and create domain-specific languages (DSLs). Its minimalist approach to syntax makes it an ideal language for learning programming concepts and exploring the theory of computation.
Though not as widely used in industry as some other languages, Scheme has a significant presence in academia and research, particularly for teaching programming and computer science principles. Its focus on simplicity, recursion, and functional programming makes it a great choice for those interested in exploring the roots of programming language design and theory.