| The Optimal Implementation of Functional Programming Languages Contributor(s): Asperti, Andrea (Author), Van Rijsbergen, C. J. (Editor), Abramsky, Samson (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0521621127 ISBN-13: 9780521621120 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $102.60 Product Type: Hardcover Published: January 1999 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Computers | Programming - General - Computers | Programming Languages - General |
| Dewey: 005.13 |
| LCCN: 97-51550 |
| Series: Cambridge Tracts in Theoretical Computer Science (Hardcover) |
| Physical Information: 1.06" H x 6" W x 9" (1.69 lbs) 408 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher 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. |