RE: optimization and purity

From: John Skaller (skaller@maxtal.com.au)
Date: Sat Jul 24 1999 - 14:45:41 MET DST


Message-Id: <3.0.6.32.19990724224541.0096ac40@mail.triode.net.au>
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 22:45:41 +1000
To: Andrew Kennedy <akenn@microsoft.com>,
From: John Skaller <skaller@maxtal.com.au>
Subject: RE: optimization and purity
In-Reply-To: <7CD674FF54FBD21181D800805F57CD5488B073@RED-MSG-44>

At 08:48 23/07/99 -0700, Andrew Kennedy wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Markus Mottl [mailto:mottl@miss.wu-wien.ac.at]
>> Subject: optimization and purity
>>
>> I would like to know whether anyone has already thought about means of
>> indicating or inferring purity of functions.
>>

>You are indeed correct that knowing the purity of functions would permit a
>number of optimisations such as the loop-hoisting example you present.

        Actually, I'm quite interested in the same thing
from a different angle: rather than being concerned with
_compiler_ code optimisation, I'm concerned with human ability
to reason about code: ocaml loses the simplicity of reasoning about
derived from referential transparency available in 'pure' functional
languages. (But of course the two things are strongly related)

-------------------------------------------------------
John Skaller email: skaller@maxtal.com.au
                http://www.maxtal.com.au/~skaller
                phone: 61-2-96600850
                snail: 10/1 Toxteth Rd, Glebe NSW 2037, Australia



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