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A Simple Semantics for Polymorphic Recursion

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Programming Languages and Systems (APLAS 2005)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 3780))

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Abstract

Polymorphic recursion is a useful extension of Hindley- Milner typing and has been incorporated in the functional programming language Haskell. It allows the expression of efficient algorithms that take advantage of non-uniform data structures and provides key support for generic programming. However, polymorphic recursion is, perhaps, not as broadly understood as it could be and this, in part, motivates the denotational semantics presented here. The semantics reported here also contributes an essential building block to any semantics of Haskell: a model for first-order polymorphic recursion. Furthermore, Haskell-style type classes may be described within this semantic framework in a straightforward and intuitively appealing manner.

This research supported in part by subcontract GPACS0016, System Information Assurance II, through OGI/Oregon Health & Sciences University.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Computer Science, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA

    William L. Harrison

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  1. William L. Harrison
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Seoul National University, Korea

    Kwangkeun Yi

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© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Harrison, W.L. (2005). A Simple Semantics for Polymorphic Recursion. In: Yi, K. (eds) Programming Languages and Systems. APLAS 2005. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3780. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11575467_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11575467_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-29735-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-32247-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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