[Haskell-cafe] Re: Go Haskell! -> array libraries

[Roman Leshchinskiy]

On 30/11/2008, at 02:43, Brad Larsen wrote:

> On Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:00:38 -0500, Roman Leshchinskiy <rl at cse.unsw.edu.au 
> > wrote:
>
>> On 29/11/2008, at 10:47, Claus Reinke wrote:
> [...]
>>> And would it be difficult for you all to agree on a standard API, to
>>> make switching between the alternatives easy (if
>>> it is indeed impossible to unify their advantages in a single  
>>> library,
>>> the reasons for which should also be documented somewhere)?
>>
>> Yes, it is very difficult. A sensible API for a standard array  
>> library
>> is something that needs more research. FWIW, I don't know of any  
>> other
>> language that has what I'd like to see in Haskell. C++ probably comes
>> closest but they have it easy - they don't do fusion.
> [...]
>
> Would you elaborate on what you'd like to see in an array library?

I'd like to have a library which is efficient (in particular,  
implements aggressive fusion), is roughly equivalent to the current  
standard list library in power and supports strict/unboxed/mutable  
arrays. It should also provide a generic framework for implementing  
new kinds of arrays. And eventually, it should also be usable in high- 
performance and parallel algorithms.

>  And perhaps which C++ array library you are thinking of?  Your C++  
> comment caught my attention, and now I'm curious.  Surely you don't  
> mean C-style arrays. :-D

No, I meant vector, basic_string and deque which are provided by the  
standard library.

Roman