Design, Implementation and Calculation of Circular Programs : Multiple Traversal Algorithms in a Lazy Functional Setting

ISBN-13: 9783639168969 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 180 str.

Joao Fernandes

Opis

Circular programming is a powerful technique toexpress multiple traversal algorithms as a singletraversal function in a lazy setting. Such a(virtual) circular program may contain circulardefinitions, that is, arguments of function callsthat are also results of that same call. Althoughcircular definitions always induce non-terminationunder a strict evaluation mechanism, they cansometimes be immediately evaluated using a lazyevaluation strategy. The lazy engine is able tocompute the right evaluation order, if that orderexists. Indeed, using this style of circularprogramming, the programmer does not have to concernhim/herself with the definition and the scheduling ofthe different traversal functions, since only asingle (traversal) function has to be defined.Neither does the programmer have to defineintermediate gluing data structures to convey valuescomputed in one traversal and needed in a following one.In this book, we present our studies on the design,implementation and calculation of circular programs.

O autorze

João Fernandes is a Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of
Informatics, University of Minho. He obtained his PhD. title in
2009, following his research on the analysis, transformation and
optimization of circular lazy functional programs, specially
under calculational form.