Re: [stack] Why is point-free form so interesting?

John Carter <[email protected]> wrote:
> Christopher Diggins wrote:
> Is there a representation of a program where the mechanism of moving
> parameters to values in expressions is...
>    * Explicit (ie. Can be reasoned about / transparent on inlining)
>    * Trivial (Adds almost nothing to the code / vanishes in
>      this representation)?

Not in general. If the data transport mechanism is explicit, then the
written data transport will vanish only when the data transport needs
are simple in the given notation.

Stack notation is NOT the simplest possible data transfer notation; it
imposes a total ordering on data, when often a partial ordering is
sufficient. Adding support for arrays helps a lot; Ripple's support
for simultaneous return values is another interesting experiment in
this area.

So there's plenty of research to be done on this topic.

I will add that although in general explicit data transfer can't
vanish, it's sometimes (often?) the case that it can be made simpler.

> John Carter                             Phone : (64)(3) 358 6639

-Billy