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Implementing typed intermediate languages

Authors:

Christopher League,

Stefan MonnierAuthors Info & Claims

ACM SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 34, Issue 1

Pages 313 - 323

https://doi.org/10.1145/291251.289460

Published: 29 September 1998 Publication History

Abstract

Recent advances in compiler technology have demonstrated the benefits of using strongly typed intermediate languages to compile richly typed source languages (e.g., ML). A type-preserving compiler can use types to guide advanced optimizations and to help generate provably secure mobile code. Types, unfortunately, are very hard to represent and manipulate efficiently; a naive implementation can easily add exponential overhead to the compilation and execution of a program. This paper describes our experience with implementing the FLINT typed intermediate language in the SML/NJ production compiler. We observe that a type-preserving compiler will not scale to handle large types unless all of its type-preserving stages preserve the asymptotic time and space usage in representing and manipulating types. We present a series of novel techniques for achieving this property and give empirical evidence of their effectiveness.

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Cited By

Jay BPeyton Jones S(2008)Scrap Your Type ApplicationsProceedings of the 9th international conference on Mathematics of Program Construction10.1007/978-3-540-70594-9_2(2-27)Online publication date: 15-Jul-2008
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/978-3-540-70594-9_2
Nadathur G(2002)The Suspension Notation for Lambda Terms and its Use in Metalanguage ImplementationsElectronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science10.1016/S1571-0661(04)80539-567(35-48)Online publication date: Oct-2002
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1571-0661(04)80539-5
Grossman DMorrisett G(2001)Scalable Certification for Typed Assembly LanguageTypes in Compilation10.1007/3-540-45332-6_5(117-145)Online publication date: 13-Jun-2001
https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45332-6_5
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Implementing typed intermediate languages
1. Software and its engineering
  1. Software notations and tools
    1. Compilers
    2. General programming languages
      1. Language types
2. Theory of computation
  1. Semantics and reasoning
    1. Program constructs
      1. Type structures

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Copyright © 1998 ACM.

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Publication History

Published: 29 September 1998

Published in SIGPLAN Volume 34, Issue 1

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Cited By

Jay BPeyton Jones S(2008)Scrap Your Type ApplicationsProceedings of the 9th international conference on Mathematics of Program Construction10.1007/978-3-540-70594-9_2(2-27)Online publication date: 15-Jul-2008
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/978-3-540-70594-9_2
Nadathur G(2002)The Suspension Notation for Lambda Terms and its Use in Metalanguage ImplementationsElectronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science10.1016/S1571-0661(04)80539-567(35-48)Online publication date: Oct-2002
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1571-0661(04)80539-5
Grossman DMorrisett G(2001)Scalable Certification for Typed Assembly LanguageTypes in Compilation10.1007/3-540-45332-6_5(117-145)Online publication date: 13-Jun-2001
https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45332-6_5
Dimock AWestmacott IMuller RTurbak FWells JConsidine J(2001)Program Representation Size in an Intermediate Language with Intersection and Union TypesTypes in Compilation10.1007/3-540-45332-6_2(27-52)Online publication date: 13-Jun-2001
https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45332-6_2
Crary K(2001)Sound and Complete Elimination of Singleton KindsTypes in Compilation10.1007/3-540-45332-6_1(1-25)Online publication date: 13-Jun-2001
https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45332-6_1
Blaauwbroek LOlšák MGeuvers H(2024)Hashing Modulo Context-Sensitive 𝛼-EquivalenceProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/36564598:PLDI(2027-2050)Online publication date: 20-Jun-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3656459
Maziarz KEllis TLawrence AFitzgibbon APeyton Jones SFreund SYahav E(2021)Hashing modulo alpha-equivalenceProceedings of the 42nd ACM SIGPLAN International Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation10.1145/3453483.3454088(960-973)Online publication date: 19-Jun-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3453483.3454088
MacQueen DHarper RReppy J(2020)The history of Standard MLProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/33863364:HOPL(1-100)Online publication date: 12-Jun-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3386336
Ingalls D(2020)The evolution of Smalltalk: from Smalltalk-72 through SqueakProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/33863354:HOPL(1-101)Online publication date: 12-Jun-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3386335
Syme D(2020)The early history of F#Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/33863254:HOPL(1-58)Online publication date: 12-Jun-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3386325
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