What Does Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) Mean?
Reverse Polish notation (RPN) is a method for conveying mathematical expressions without the use of separators such as brackets and parentheses. In this notation, the operators follow their operands, hence removing the need for brackets to define evaluation priority. The operation is read from left to right but execution is done every time an operator is reached, and always using the last two numbers as the operands. This notation is suited for computers and calculators since there are fewer characters to track and fewer operations to execute.
Techopedia Explains Reverse Polish Notation (RPN)
Reverse Polish notation was proposed by Burks, Warren and Wright in 1954 and so named because it was simply the reverse of Polish notation (prefix notation), invented by the Polish logician Jan Lukasiewicz, which puts the operator before the operands. In the 1960s, it was then independently reinvented by E.W. Dijkstra and F.L. Bauer for reducing the number of times computer memory is accessed and increasing performance. It made use of the computer’s stack to store its operands before executing the operator.
