[Haskell-cafe] questions about core

[Robert Dockins]

On Feb 12, 2007, at 1:31 PM, Kirsten Chevalier wrote:

> On 2/11/07, Matt Roberts <mattr at ics.mq.edu.au> wrote:
>>   - Exactly what are the operational and denotational semantics of  
>> core?
>
> Since I don't think this question has been answered yet, here's a
> mailing list post from  Simon PJ that probably answers it:
> http://www.haskell.org/pipermail/glasgow-haskell-users/2003- 
> February/004849.html
>
> That's from 2003, but I don't think the answer has changed since then.
> If you wrote down a precise operational and/or denotational semantics
> for Core, you'd probably have a research paper. (Especially if you
> proved that GHC actually obeys that semantics...) (Disclaimer: my name
> isn't Simon.)

At the risk of sounding self-promoting, I'd like to point out that  
the research paper I recently announced defines an intermediate  
language that is similar to GHC's core in some respects (they are  
both based on System F_omega).  I give a full (call-by-name)  
operational semantics and type system for the language in my report  
[1].  You won't find any proofs in the paper, but they're on my  
medium-term agenda.  There is also source code for an interpreter/ 
bytecode-compiler/shell for this intermediate language [2].

[1] http://www.cs.tufts.edu/tr/techreps/TR-2007-2
[2] http://www.eecs.tufts.edu/~rdocki01/masters.html


> Cheers,
> Kirsten



Rob Dockins

Speak softly and drive a Sherman tank.
Laugh hard; it's a long way to the bank.
           -- TMBG