Thunks and the tex2html_wrap_inline28 -Calculus

John Hatcliff
Olivier Danvy

June 1996

Abstract:

Thirty-five years ago, thunks were used to simulate call-by-name under call-by-value in Algol 60. Twenty years ago, Plotkin presented continuation-based simulations of call-by-name under call-by-value and vice versa in the tex2html_wrap_inline28 -calculus. We connect all three of these classical simulations by factorizing the continuation-based call-by-name simulation tex2html_wrap_inline32 with a thunk-based call-by-name simulation tex2html_wrap_inline34 followed by the continuation-based call-by-value simulation tex2html_wrap_inline36 extended to thunks.

We show that tex2html_wrap_inline34 actually satisfies all of Plotkin's correctness criteria for tex2html_wrap_inline32 (i.e., his Indifference, Simulation, and Translation theorems). Furthermore, most of the correctness theorems for tex2html_wrap_inline32 can now be seen as simple corollaries of the corresponding theorems for tex2html_wrap_inline36 and tex2html_wrap_inline34 .

Available as PostScript, PDF, DVI.

 
Last modified: 2003-06-08 by webmaster.