[Haskell-cafe] Haskell from SML - referrential Transparency?!

[Daniel Fischer]

On Tuesday 19 April 2011 21:38:18, Gregory Guthrie wrote:
> I did post the code - but don't expect anyone to really wade through and
> debug for me!  :-)

Oh, wow. Haskell looking like Lisp :(

> (The issues that I am asking about are a9b, a9bb at
> line 435, 438) http://hpaste.org/45851/haskell_from_sml_question

Can't reproduce, I get the same result from all invocations.
But see below

> 
> thanks for the help.

<moved from above>
> 
> and it does seem to show every allocation on the first run of f1, but
> then nothing on the second. SO it is not just a first call to allocate,
> but all calls under an invocation of f1 that don't show. Makes me
> wonder if f1 is even being re-evaluated.
> 

Interpreted or compiled without optimisations, the first invocation of a9b 
produces debug-output, the second not, both yield the same result,
Output (IntValue 11,Halt).
The invocation of a9bb produces the same, with the debug output, like the 
first invocation of a9b.
Since a9b is a simple monomorphic value, it is evaluated only once, hence 
further uses refer simply to the result, not the computation made to 
achieve it.
If you compile with optimisations, a9bb doesn't produce debug output
*because it doesn't exist*. The compiler sees that it's the same as a9b and 
unites them, all references to a9bb are rewritten to references to a9b 
(that's what referential transparency gives you :). Hence, when that value 
is asked for, it is already evaluated, no computation needed, no debug-
output.