Hi,
Just a comment or two on the implications of converting higher-order
functions to data.
The paper you reference about this uses the method of
defunctionalization. This is a whole program transformation and might
therefore not be suitable in a compiler such as GHC or YHC. On the
other hand, it is more or less exactly what JHC uses
If you want to support separate compilation you should go for more
conventional closure conversion. This is in essence what every
compiler which compiles a higher order language does. But if you want
to have a typed language which can express this transformation you
will be needing quite a sophisticated type system.
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rwh/papers/closures/popl96.pdf
Just my 2 öre.
Josef
On 4/19/07, Neil Mitchell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi,
I've been wondering what is essential to Haskell and what isn't. Not
from a point of view of what could be removed from the language, but
what could be removed from a Core language.
Given the features of higher-order, laziness and data types:
Laziness can be converted to higher-order functions
Data types can be converted to higher-order functions
Higher-order functions can be converted to Data
So as far as I can see it we have left:
{data-types only}
{higher-order functions only}
But we don't have laziness only, so my question is if it is possible
to represent all of Haskell in a first-order language without data
types, but with laziness. If its possible to do so in a strict
first-order language without data types, then I'd also be interested.
Are any of these known results?
Thanks
Neil
References:
* data types -> higher order is in "Efficient Interpretation by
Transforming Data Types and Patterns to Functions"
http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~nhn/TFP2006/Papers/03-JansenKoopmanPlasmeijer-EfficientInterpretation.pdf
* laziness -> functions, functions -> data is in "Definitional
Interpreters for Higher-Order Programming Languages"
http://www.brics.dk/~hosc/local/HOSC-11-4-pp363-397.pdf
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