Some Mathematical Properties of the Functional Programming Language FP

This paper will introduce the function systems approach to study the mathematicalproperties of Backus functional programming language FP.Here,a function system isdefined as a set of functions o FP.In the paper,we define the notions of complete,orthogonaland orthonormal systems,and prove their principal properties.These properties are used in thediscussion of the completeness of FP program algebra and properties of the expansion ofprogram in orthogonal systems.     

The manipulator language with the characteristic of a functional programming language

This article describes the motion-oriented robot language IML (interactive manipulator language) with the characteristic of a functional programming language. The main functions of IML are (1) It is possible to describe the iterative motions without using a loop. (2) The user-defined procedures (commands) can be called by specifying the command name. (3) It is possible to describe robot motion (a sequence of the position and orientation of a robot hand) and force magnitude in the task-oriented Cartesian coordinate system (task coordinate system) suitable for robot tasks. Furthermore, it is possible to describe the translation and rotation of the coordinate system without syntactic distinction. (4) As the teaching data can be easily embedded in the language and can be played back in the force control mode, complex task programming becomes easy. In IML, as the user-defined command and the teaching data can be used just as the builtin system command; the system can be extended easily and naturally. In this article these features are described, and it is shown that these functions can be realized with the unified representation by introducing the concept of a functional programming language. The effectiveness of IML was confirmed by actually making a robot perform some tasks programmed in IML.     

函数式语言方法在网络交互程序中的应用

网络应用程序中为了保持程序的交互性,服务器端的控制程序如CGI(command gateway interface)程序需要在不同的脚本程序之问切换,这样不可避免的会造成控制信息的丢失.为了避免这些问题,介绍了将函数式程序设计语言的一些方法,如Continuation、CPS(eontinuationpassing style)等,并将它们应用到网络程序设计中,不仅简化了设计过程,也提高了程序的安全性,并可以在更一般的语言中实现.     

Customizing a functional programming language for web development

The characteristics of functional programming languages recommend them for web development. We checked that in practice, by customizing the functional programming language Wafl for web development. Customizations include support for web document types, web data access functions, textual templates, web dialogs and extension of transactional mechanisms to web session data. Prototype implementations of Wafl are developed. Our experience shows that application of Wafl in the web development domain is fully justified and that web development may benefit from functional programming languages in both education and production.     

2DT-FP: A parallel functional programming language on two-dimensional data

We propose a new paradigm for programming multiprocessor systems, 2DT (two-dimensional transformations). 2DT programs are composed of local computations on linear data (columns) and global transformations on 2-dimensional combinations of columns (2D-arrays). Local computations can be expressed in a functional or imperative base language; a typed variant of Backus' FP is chosen for 2DT-FP. The level of abstraction of 2DT makes it suitable for programming a relevant set of algorithms, in general any algorithms, whose data can be easily mapped to 2-dimensional representations. A set of examples tries to prove this claim. An interleaving semantics for 2DT-FP is given, exposing the potential for parallel execution of 2DT-FP programs. The claim is proved that any sequential and thus any parallel execution will deliver the same result. The implementation realized on the Intel Hypercube is described. Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG     

Mixed language programming

Subroutines for numerical computation have in the past been written mainly in Fortran and in Algol 60, whereas most programming in the future is expected to be in more advanced languages, for example in Ada. It seems to be a great waste if it will become necessary to convert all existing numerical software into the new languages. What is needed is a facility to include subroutines written in the old languages into programs being written in the newer languages. In this paper an automatic procedure to facilitate the use of mixed languages is suggested, the purpose of the paper is to indicate the desirability for providing the required facilities, and to encourage discussion and further research in the area of mixed language programming.     

Using the programming walkthrough to aid in programming language design

The programming walkthrough is a method for assessing how easy or hard it will be for users to write programs in a programming language. It is intended to enable language designers to identify problems early in design and to help them choose among alternative designs. We describe the method and present experience in applying it in four language design projects. Results indicate that the method is a useful supplement to existing design approaches.     

An entity-relationship programming language

The syntax for an integrated E-R programming language is presented. The problems that arise when a query language is embedded in a general-purpose programming language are discussed. Other E-R languages are also discussed. The requirements for the language and a syntax for an E-R model in which entity sets are mutually disjoint and each entity type has a unique, perhaps multiattribute, key are presented. The syntax for a more limited model restricted to binary relationships between entity types and without attributes is presented. Some implementation considerations are discussed     

Choosing a programming language

This paper evaluates the use of a functional language for implementing domain-specific functionality. The factors we consider when choosing a programming language are programmer productivity, maintainability, efficiency, portability, tool support, and software and hardware interfaces. The choice of programming language is a fine balancing act. Modern object-oriented languages such as Java and C# are more orthogonal and hide fewer surprises for the programmer, although the inevitable accumulation of features makes this statement less true with every new version of each language.     

Incremental programming language development

One of the well-known properties of software systems is that they are subject to changes. Incremental software development enables making such program changes in a non-destructive manner. In the area of programming language definition the language designer/implementer wants to include new language features incrementally as the programming language evolves. In the paper our approach to incremental programming language development is presented. The proposed approach has been successfully used in the development of real programming languages, which confirms feasibility in practice.     

Ada programming language standardization

The need for software management and standardization of programming languages used in military systems was first identified by DoD in 1975. DoD at that time supported many limited use languages for what are now called embedded computer applications. This diversity of languages contributed to high software costs. In November 1976, DoD first established seven approved , , , -J3, -J73, , -2, -1. Eventually the number of approved DoD languages may be reduced to three, Ada, , and . Ada was established as Military Standard 1815, on 10 December 1980. The ANSI standardization process for Ada is in progress. The Ada concept places restrictions on what may be called an Ada compiler. Compilers may not be called Ada compilers until they have passed validation tests. Up to 80% of software costs are incurred after the software has been put into service. Ada can promote a programming style that leads to maintainable software. It is in the program maintenance phase of the software life cycle where large savings will be achieved through the use of Ada.     

The programming language ACTUS

This paper describes, in an informal manner, the programming language ACTUS which was designed to facilitate programming array processing and vector processing ‘supercomputers’. ACTUS extends the program structuring and data structuring facilities of Pascal to the synchronous parallel environment as represented by array and vector processor architectures. A knowledge of Pascal is assumed and only the parallel features of ACTUS are described.     

The programming language superpascal

This paper defines SuperPascal—a secure programming language for publication of parallel scientific algorithms. SuperPascal extends a subset of IEEE Standard Pascal with deterministic statements for parallel processes and synchronous message communication. A parallel statement denotes parallel execution of a fixed number of statements. A forall statement denotes parallel execution of the same statement by a dynamic number of processes. Recursive procedures may be combined with parallel and forall statements to define recursive parallel processes. Parallel processes communicate by sending typed messages through channels created dynamically. SuperPascal omits ambiguous and insecure features of Pascal. Restrictions on the use of variables enable a single-pass compiler to check that parallel processes are disjoint, even if the processes use procedures with global variables.     

The programming language PASCAL

The first two parts of this series described some of the basic elements of a PASCAL program: declarations, simple data types, and statements. In this final installment some of the more sophisticated program elements responsible for the power and structure of the language are described: arrays, procedures and functions.