Abstract
This paper illustrates a method of transforming an initial specification expression, which is not necessarily algorithmic, into an efficient functional implementation using a refinement calculus for expressions. In doing this, we benefit from the ease of manipulation that state-less expressions allow. However, implementations of functional algorithms are not as cheap as imperative implementations. We further show how an imperative program can be derived from a functional expression using algebraic transformations based on the state monad model. The example used to illustrate the method is Bresenham’s line drawing algorithm.
Supported by a postgraduate research studentship from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
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© 1995 Springer-Verlag London
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Bunkenburg, A., Flynn, S. (1995). Expression Refinement: Deriving Bresenham’s Algorithm. In: Hammond, K., Turner, D.N., Sansom, P.M. (eds) Functional Programming, Glasgow 1994. Workshops in Computing. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3573-9_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3573-9_1
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