2,970 research outputs found
S+Net: extending functional coordination with extra-functional semantics
This technical report introduces S+Net, a compositional coordination language
for streaming networks with extra-functional semantics. Compositionality
simplifies the specification of complex parallel and distributed applications;
extra-functional semantics allow the application designer to reason about and
control resource usage, performance and fault handling. The key feature of
S+Net is that functional and extra-functional semantics are defined
orthogonally from each other. S+Net can be seen as a simultaneous
simplification and extension of the existing coordination language S-Net, that
gives control of extra-functional behavior to the S-Net programmer. S+Net can
also be seen as a transitional research step between S-Net and AstraKahn,
another coordination language currently being designed at the University of
Hertfordshire. In contrast with AstraKahn which constitutes a re-design from
the ground up, S+Net preserves the basic operational semantics of S-Net and
thus provides an incremental introduction of extra-functional control in an
existing language.Comment: 34 pages, 11 figures, 3 table
On the enumeration of closures and environments with an application to random generation
Environments and closures are two of the main ingredients of evaluation in
lambda-calculus. A closure is a pair consisting of a lambda-term and an
environment, whereas an environment is a list of lambda-terms assigned to free
variables. In this paper we investigate some dynamic aspects of evaluation in
lambda-calculus considering the quantitative, combinatorial properties of
environments and closures. Focusing on two classes of environments and
closures, namely the so-called plain and closed ones, we consider the problem
of their asymptotic counting and effective random generation. We provide an
asymptotic approximation of the number of both plain environments and closures
of size . Using the associated generating functions, we construct effective
samplers for both classes of combinatorial structures. Finally, we discuss the
related problem of asymptotic counting and random generation of closed
environemnts and closures
Multi-cultural visualization : how functional programming can enrich visualization (and vice versa)
The past two decades have seen visualization flourish as a research field in its own right, with advances on the computational challenges of faster algorithms, new techniques for datasets too large for in-core processing, and advances in understanding the perceptual and cognitive processes recruited by visualization systems, and through this, how to improve the representation of data. However, progress within visualization has sometimes proceeded in parallel with that in other branches of computer science, and there is a danger that when novel solutions ossify into `accepted practice' the field can easily overlook significant advances elsewhere in the community. In this paper we describe recent advances in the design and implementation of pure functional programming languages that, significantly, contain important insights into questions raised by the recent NIH/NSF report on Visualization Challenges. We argue and demonstrate that modern functional languages combine high-level mathematically-based specifications of visualization techniques, concise implementation of algorithms through fine-grained composition, support for writing correct programs through strong type checking, and a different kind of modularity inherent in the abstractive power of these languages. And to cap it off, we have initial evidence that in some cases functional implementations are faster than their imperative counterparts
Steps Towards a Method for the Formal Modeling of Dynamic Objects
Fragments of a method to formally specify object-oriented models of a universe of discourse are presented. The task of finding such models is divided into three subtasks, object classification, event specification, and the specification of the life cycle of an object. Each of these subtasks is further subdivided, and for each of the subtasks heuristics are given that can aid the analyst in deciding how to represent a particular aspect of the real world. The main sources of inspiration are Jackson System Development, algebraic specification of data- and object types, and algebraic specification of processes
A Static Analyzer for Large Safety-Critical Software
We show that abstract interpretation-based static program analysis can be
made efficient and precise enough to formally verify a class of properties for
a family of large programs with few or no false alarms. This is achieved by
refinement of a general purpose static analyzer and later adaptation to
particular programs of the family by the end-user through parametrization. This
is applied to the proof of soundness of data manipulation operations at the
machine level for periodic synchronous safety critical embedded software. The
main novelties are the design principle of static analyzers by refinement and
adaptation through parametrization, the symbolic manipulation of expressions to
improve the precision of abstract transfer functions, the octagon, ellipsoid,
and decision tree abstract domains, all with sound handling of rounding errors
in floating point computations, widening strategies (with thresholds, delayed)
and the automatic determination of the parameters (parametrized packing)
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