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Computing in unpredictable environments: Semantics, reduction strategies, and program transformations

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Trees in Algebra and Programming — CAAP '96 (CAAP 1996)

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Abstract

We study systems where deterministic computations take place in environments which may behave nondeterministically. We give a simple formalization by unions of abstract reduction systems, on which various semantics can be based in a straightforward manner. We then prove that under a simple condition on the reduction systems, the following holds: reduction strategies which are cofinal for the deterministic reduction system will implement the semantics for the combined system, provided the environment behaves in a“fair” manner, and certain program transformations, such as folding and unfolding, will preserve the semantics. An application is evaluation strategies and program transformations for concurrent languages.

This work was done while the author was with Swedish Institute of Computer Science, under the support of the ESPRIT BRA project CONFER, project no. 6454, and with travel support from the HCM network EXPRESS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teleinformatics, Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 204, S-164 40, Kista, Sweden

    Björn Lisper

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  1. Björn Lisper
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Hélène Kirchner

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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lisper, B. (1996). Computing in unpredictable environments: Semantics, reduction strategies, and program transformations. In: Kirchner, H. (eds) Trees in Algebra and Programming — CAAP '96. CAAP 1996. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1059. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-61064-2_36

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-61064-2_36

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