ENGLISH

The optimal implementation of functional programming languages

By Andrea Asperti , Stefano Guerrini

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
1999
ISBN
9780521621120, 0521621127
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
3 MB (3540275 bytes)
Series
Cambridge Tracts in Theoretical Computer Science 45
Pages
403\403
Library
Kolxo3
Time added
2009-08-06 05:14:26

Description

All traditional implementation techniques for functional languages fail to avoid useless repetition of work. They are not "optimal" in their implementation of sharing, often causing a catastrophic, exponential explosion in reduction time. Optimal reduction is an innovative graph reduction technique for functional expressions, introduced by Lamping in 1990, that solves the sharing problem. This work, the first on the subject, is a comprehensive account by two of its leading exponents. Practical implementation aspects are fully covered as are the mathematical underpinnings of the subject. The relationship to the pioneering work of Lévy and to Girard's more recent "Geometry of Interaction" are explored; optimal reduction is thereby revealed as a prime example of how a beautiful mathematical theory can lead to practical benefit. The book is essentially self-contained, requiring no more than basic familiarity with functional languages. It will be welcomed by graduate students and research workers in lambda calculus, functional programming or linear logic.

Similar books