[calopetreep]

> If the end result is symbolic differentiation (...)

Ah, I see the problem- automatic differentiation is not the same as symbolic differentiation- see wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_differentiation This certainly isn't a moot point :)

> Also, we've left the original topic (...)

No- again, I've been saying the same thing all along. In fact I'm only using Haskell as an example. There are things which cannot be expressed in Haskell, too- for example dependent typed programs as you might find in Agda or Idris.

> In a larger sense, wouldn't it be more praiseworthy to say that Haskell does exactly what other languages do, but much better?

This is a separate conversation entirely. My aim is not to "praise Haskell". I have used Haskell and Java only as examples.