Implementing a functional language with graph reduction (2021)

(thma.github.io)

51 points | by Bogdanp 4 days ago ago

5 comments

  • tromp 4 days ago ago

    A similar implementation of a large subset of Haskell was done by Ben Lynn in a winning IOCCC entry as described at [1]. The graph reduction engine is the small C programs shown in [2].

    A much larger and more production-ready implementation of Haskell into combinatory logic was made by Lennart Augustsson [3].

    [1] https://crypto.stanford.edu/~blynn/compiler/

    [2] https://crypto.stanford.edu/~blynn/compiler/c.html

    [3] https://github.com/augustss/MicroHs

  • taliesinb 3 days ago ago

    Given that whole name binding thing is ultimately a story of how to describe a graph using a tree, I was primed to look for monoidal category-ish things, and sure enough the S and K combinators look very much like copy and delete operators; counit and comultiplication for a comonoid. That’s very vibe-based, anyone know of a formal version of this observation?

    • ThyerMJ26 3 days ago ago

      The author's previous post goes into details of a categorial connection:

        λ-Calculus, Combinatory Logic and Cartesian Closed Categories
        https://thma.github.io/posts/2021-04-04-Lambda-Calculus-Combinatory-Logic-and-Cartesian-Closed-Categories.html
      
      Also, more in-depth:

        Categorical combinators, P.-L. Curien
        https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001999588680047X
      
      (or maybe you're looking for something beyond that)
  • enricozb 3 days ago ago

    Interaction nets are another computational model based on graph-reduction.

    https://ezb.io/thoughts/interaction_nets/lambda_calculus/202...

  • throwaway81523 3 days ago ago

    SPJ's book about the same topic is very good.

    https://simon.peytonjones.org/slpj-book-1987/