[Haskell-cafe] meaning of "referential transparency"

[Kim-Ee Yeoh]

Should probably include the Reddit convo ongoing as we speak (zomg, it's live!):

http://www.reddit.com/r/haskell/comments/1bsitm/lazy_io_breaks_equational_reasoning/

Not everyone here is a regular there.

-- Kim-Ee


On Sun, Apr 7, 2013 at 1:21 AM, Eli Frey <eli.lee.frey at gmail.com> wrote:
> Links
>
> SO:
> http://stackoverflow.com/questions/210835/what-is-referential-transparency
>
> Reddit discussions of said SO question.
>
> http://www.reddit.com/r/haskell/comments/x8rr6/uday_reddy_on_referential_transparency_and_fp/
>
> http://www.reddit.com/r/haskell/comments/xgq27/uday_reddy_sharpens_up_referential_transparency/
>
> This was a fascinating exchange and I'm glad to be reminded to revisit it
> :).
>
>
> On Sat, Apr 6, 2013 at 11:13 AM, Kim-Ee Yeoh <ky3 at atamo.com> wrote:
>>
>> On Sun, Apr 7, 2013 at 12:43 AM, Henning Thielemann
>> <lemming at henning-thielemann.de> wrote:
>> > Can someone enlighten me about the origin of the term "referential
>> > transparency"? I can lookup the definition of "referential transparency"
>> > in
>> > the functional programming sense in the Haskell Wiki and I can lookup
>> > the
>> > meaning of "reference" and "transparency" in a dictionary, but I don't
>> > know
>> > why these words were chosen as name for this defined property.
>>
>> Instead of a immaculately precise definition, may I suggest going
>> about it from the practical benefits POV? RT matters so much in
>> Haskell because of the engineering leverage it gives us. Bird's Pearls
>> are a good source of Why Equational Reasoning Matters.
>>
>> -- Kim-Ee
>>
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>
>