"let" vs. "where"

[Hamilton Richards]

At 7:42 AM +0200 8/20/03, Jan Scheffczyk wrote:
>Hi Andrew,
>
>>	let x = expensiveComputation foo in x + x
>>
>>  I would certainly hope that expensiveComputation wasn't called twice,
>>  and even though the language doesn't guarantee it, I have already
>>  written code that assumed it.
>
>I always thought that there is a tiny difference between "let" and "where":
>Using "let" "expensiveComputation foo" might be computed twice (depending on
>the compiler?).
>But using:
>
>   x + x
>   where x = expensiveComputation foo
>
>should compute the value for x only once.
>Therefore, I always try to use "where" for common subexpressions.
>
>Please correct me if I'm wrong here.

The reserved word "let" introduces an expression (a 
"let-expression"), but there's no such thing as a "where-expression". 
The reserved word "where" can be used only in definitions.

For example,

     3 + ((x + x) where x = expensiveComputation foo)

is invalid syntax, whereas

     3 + let x = expensiveComputation foo in x + x

is OK.

And here's a use of "where" in a definition:

    let z = x + x where x = 2 in z*5

That could have been written using only "let":

    let z = let x = 2 in x + x where x = 2 in z*5

Watch out for the Hugs 98 command line-- it allows

    z*5 where z = x + x where x = 2

but that's not a truly valid expression, because you can't embed it 
in a larger expression:

    2 + (z*5 where z = x + x where x = 2)

is properly identified as a syntax error.

Regards,

--Ham
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Hamilton Richards, PhD           Department of Computer Sciences
Senior Lecturer                  The University of Texas at Austin
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