Case expressions in STG

[Simon Peyton Jones]

| i = \x -> case f of
|   f -> True
|   _ -> False

This case expression always succeeds with the first pattern. The second is entirely overlapped. Variable patterns always match.

Simon

| -----Original Message-----
| From: William Knop [mailto:william.knop.nospam at gmail.com]
| Sent: 19 June 2014 00:40
| To: Simon Peyton Jones
| Cc: ghc-devs at haskell.org; tom-lists-ghc-devs at jaguarpaw.co.uk
| Subject: Re: Case expressions in STG
| 
| Whoops, looks like my phone dropped Tom from the CC (fixed).
| 
| Simon, what about the following:
| 
| f = \x -> x
| g = \x -> (x,1)
| h = \x -> fst (g x)
| i = \x -> case f of
|   f -> True
|   _ -> False
| 
| i f => True
| i h => ?
| 
| If g isn't inlined into h and fst optimized out, wouldn't the head
| normal form of f and h be different, and the comparison fail even though
| it shouldn't? Or should it? I've taken function equality to be "f and g
| are equal iff f x == g x, for all x."
| 
| Will
| 
| 
| > On Jun 18, 2014, at 7:04 PM, Simon Peyton Jones
| <simonpj at microsoft.com> wrote:
| >
| > I've forgotten what I intended in the STG paper, but GHC's Core
| language certainly allows case on a function; all it does is to force
| the function to head normal form.
| >
| > Simon
| >
| > | -----Original Message-----
| > | From: ghc-devs [mailto:ghc-devs-bounces at haskell.org] On Behalf Of
| > | William Knop
| > | Sent: 18 June 2014 23:54
| > | To: ghc-devs at haskell.org
| > | Subject: Re: Case expressions in STG
| > |
| > | Hi Tom,
| > |
| > | SPJ is surely more qualified to answer than I, but I'll take a stab.
| > |
| > | In general, it is computationally infeasible to compare functions.
| > | Granted, in your example, the function isn't being compared-- and
| > | therefore the case expr is extraneous. I don't think there exists a
| > | feasible, uncontrived example, so I imagine that's why STG forbids
| > | it (though I don't know where it's specified).
| > |
| > | Cheers,
| > | Will
| > |
| > |
| > | > On Jun 18, 2014, at 9:43 AM, Tom Ellis <tom-lists-ghc-
| > | devs at jaguarpaw.co.uk> wrote:
| > | >
| > | > I am reading SPJ's seminal work "Implementing lazy functional
| > | > languages
| > | on
| > | > stock hardware: the Spinless Tagless G-machine" (1992).  The paper
| > | > is available here
| > | >
| > | >    http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.53.3729
| > | >
| > | > On p62 we see "The expression scrutinised by a case expression
| > | > must eventually evaluate either to a primitive value or a
| > | > constructor application.".
| > | >
| > | > This doesn't make sense to me.  Isn't the following a valid STG
| > | program?
| > | > What am I missing?  Where is it specified that the scrutinee of a
| > | > case expression cannot be of a function type?
| > | >
| > | > {x} \n {z} -> let f = \{x} \n {y} -> g x y
| > | >              in case f of f' -> f' z
| > | >
| > | > Thanks,
| > | >
| > | > Tom
| > | > _______________________________________________
| > | > ghc-devs mailing list
| > | > ghc-devs at haskell.org
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