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Abstract : |
In functional programming, small programs are often combined to construct larger, more complex ones. The component reuse encouraged by this modular style of programming yields many benefits, but, unfortunately, modular programs also tend to be less efficient than their monolithic counterparts. Inefficiency is significantly attributable to the construction of intermediate data structures which "glue " together the smaller program components into larger ones. Fusion is the process of removing intermediate data structures from modularly constructed programs. Two particularly successful approaches to achieving fusion in functional languages have emerged in recent years. The first is a catamorphic fusion technique based on the promotion theorems of category theory. The second is a shortcut based on parametricity which fuses compositional programs via canned applications of traditional fold/unfold program transformation steps. Both techniques apply only to programs written in terms of certain special language constructs, but each contributes significantly to the elimination of intermediate data structures in such programs. Warm fusion combines catamorphic fusion and the shortcut to arrive at a two-step method for fusing programs written not in some highly stylized form, but, |
