The Optimal Implementation of Functional Programming Languages (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521621120)

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 L騅y 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.

Author: Andrea Asperti, Stefano Guerrini
ISBN-10: 0521621127
ISBN-13: 9780521621120
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 12/03/1998
Pages: 408
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.69lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.06d