The F# Computation Expression Zoo

Petříček, Tomáš; Syme, Don

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-04132-2_3

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The assumption that abstraction is desirable is another part of the Algol research programme. Similarly, there are only few papers discussing syntax for using monads [16,46] and those focus on formal properties of the notation, rather than on its cognitive aspects [3].…”

Section: Monads and Research Paradigmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, thinking of monads as computations is likely the reason why most formal definitions now prefer bind over map and join (the former is more convenient for programming, but the latter is simpler for proving). Similarly, thinking of monads more generally as non-standard computations likely contributed to their introduction in F# [46]. As an impure language, F# does not need monads for implementing state or exceptions, but they become useful for asynchronous computations [52].…”

Section: How Programming Concepts Evolvementioning

confidence: 99%

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What we talk about when we talk about monads

Petříček

2018

Programming

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Computer science provides an in-depth understanding of technical aspects of programming concepts, but if we want to understand how programming concepts evolve, how programmers think and talk about them and how they are used in practice, we need to consider a broader perspective that includes historical, philosophical and cognitive aspects. In this paper, we develop such broader understanding of monads, a programming concept that has an infamous formal definition, syntactic support in several programming languages and a reputation for being elegant and powerful, but also intimidating and difficult to grasp. This paper is not a monad tutorial. It will not tell you what a monad is. Instead, it helps you understand how computer scientists and programmers talk about monads and why they do so. To answer these questions, we review the history of monads in the context of programming and study the development through the perspectives of philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics and cognitive sciences.More generally, we present a framework for understanding programming concepts that considers them at three levels: formal, metaphorical and implementation. We base such observations on established results about the scientific method and mathematical entities -cognitive sciences suggest that the metaphors used when thinking about monads are more important than widely accepted, while philosophy of science explains how the research paradigm from which monads originate influences and restricts their use.Finally, we provide evidence for why a broader philosophical, sociological look at programming concepts should be of interest for programmers. It lets us understand programming concepts better and, fundamentally, choose more appropriate abstractions as illustrated in a number of case studies that conclude the paper. ACM CCS 2012General and reference → Surveys and overviews; Social and professional topics → History of computing;

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Section: Monads and Research Paradigmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How Programming Concepts Evolvementioning

confidence: 99%

What we talk about when we talk about monads

Petříček

2018

Programming

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“….} block, which is an F# computation expression [22]. The F# compiler performs de-sugaring similar to the CPS transformation and interprets keywords such as let!…”

Section: Loading Data and Updating The User Interfacementioning

confidence: 99%

In the Age of Web: Typed Functional-First Programming Revisited

Petříček

Syme

Bray³

2015

Electron. Proc. Theor. Comput. Sci.

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Most programming languages were designed before the age of web. This matters because the web changes many assumptions that typed functional language designers take for granted. For example, programs do not run in a closed world, but must instead interact with (changing and likely unreliable) services and data sources, communication is often asynchronous or event-driven, and programs need to interoperate with untyped environments.In this paper, we present how the F# language and libraries face the challenges posed by the web. Technically, this comprises using type providers for integration with external information sources and for integration with untyped programming environments, using lightweight meta-programming for targeting JavaScript and computation expressions for writing asynchronous code.In this inquiry, the holistic perspective is more important than each of the features in isolation. We use a practical case study as a starting point and look at how F# language and libraries approach the challenges posed by the web. The specific lessons learned are perhaps less interesting than our attempt to uncover hidden assumptions that no longer hold in the age of web.

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“…Petricek and Syme [20] describe a novel use of F# computation expression syntax to write idiom computations using let notation, which is partly inspired by syntax for formlets [5], an abstraction for building web forms that is an idiom.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%