My PhD dissertation at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland https://www.dhil.net/research/
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%%
%% Load macros.
%%
\input{macros}
%% Information about the title, etc.
% \title{Higher-Order Theories of Handlers for Algebraic Effects}
% \title{Handlers for Algebraic Effects: Applications, Compilation, and Expressiveness}
% \title{Applications, Compilation, and Expressiveness for Effect Handlers}
% \title{Handling Computational Effects}
% \title{Programming Computable Effectful Functions}
% \title{Handling Effectful Computations}
\title{Foundations for Programming and Implementing Effect Handlers}
%\title{Foundations for Programming with Control via Effect Handlers}
\author{Daniel Hillerström}
%% If the year of submission is not the current year, uncomment this line and
%% specify it here:
\submityear{2021}
%% Specify the abstract here.
\abstract{%
% Virtually every programming language is equipped with multiple
% different control operators which enable the programmer to manipulate
% the flow of control.
% %
% For example, the operator \emph{if-then-else} lets the programmer
% conditionally select between two distinct \emph{continuations}. The
% operator \emph{async-await} lets the programmer run multiple
% distinct continuations asynchronously and await their results.
%
First-class control operators provide programmers with an expressive
and efficient means for manipulating control through reification of
the current control state as a first-class object, enabling
programmers to implement their own computational effects and control
idioms as shareable libraries.
%
Effect handlers provide a particularly structured approach to
programming with first-class control by separating control reifying
operations from their handling.
This thesis is composed of three strands in which I develop
operational foundations for programming and implementing effect
handlers as well as exploring the expressive power of effect
handlers.
The first strand develops a fine-grain call-by-value core calculus
of a statically typed programming language a \emph{structural}
notion of effects, as opposed to the \emph{nominal} notion of
effects that dominants the literature.
%
With the structural approach, effects need not be declared before
use. The usual safety properties of statically typed programming are
retained by making crucial use of \emph{row polymorphism} to build
and track effect signatures.
%
The calculus features three forms of handlers: deep, shallow, and
parameterised. They each offer a different approach to manipulate
the control state of programs. Traditional deep handlers are defined
by folds over computation trees, and are the original con-struct
proposed by Plotkin and Pretnar. Shallow handlers are defined by
case splits (rather than folds) over computation
trees. Parameterised handlers are deep handlers extended with a
state value that is threaded through the folds over computation
trees.
%
To demonstrate the usefulness of effects and handlers as a practical
programming abstraction I implement the essence of a small
\UNIX{}-style operating system complete with multi-user environment,
time-sharing, and file I/O.
The second strand studies \emph{continuation passing style} (CPS)
and \emph{abstract machine semantics}, which are foundational
techniques that admit a unified basis for implementing deep,
shallow, and parameterised effect handlers in the same environment.
%
The CPS translation is obtained through a series refinements by
starting from a basic first-order CPS translation for a fine-grain
call-by-value language into an untyped language. The initial
refinement adds support for deep handlers by representing stacks of
continuations and handlers as a curried sequence of arguments.
%
The resulting translation is not \emph{properly tail-recursive},
meaning some function application terms do not appear in tail
position. To rectify this the CPS translation is refined once more
to obtain an uncurried representation of stacks of continuations and
handlers. Each refinement moves toward a more intensional
representation of continuations eventually arriving at the notion of
\emph{generalised continuation}, which admit simultaneous support
for deep, shallow, and parameterised handlers. Finally, the
translation is made higher-order in order to contract administrative
redexes at translation time.
%
The generalised continuation representation is used to construct an
abstract machine that supports the three kinds of handlers.
The third strand explores the expressiveness of effect
handlers. First, I show that deep, shallow, and parameterised
notions of handlers are interdefinable by way of \emph{typed
macro-expressiveness}, which provides a syntactic notion of
expressiveness that merely affirms existence of encodings between
handlers, but it provides no information about the computational
content of the encodings. Second, using the semantic notion of
\emph{type-respecting expressiveness} I show that for a class of
programs a programming language with first-class (e.g. effect
handlers) admits asymptotically faster implementations than possible
in a language without first-class.
%
}
%% Now we start with the actual document.
\begin{document}
\raggedbottom
%% First, the preliminary pages
\begin{preliminary}
%% This creates the title page
\maketitle
%% Acknowledgements
\begin{acknowledgements}
Firstly, I want to thank Sam Lindley for his guidance, advice, and
encouragement throughout my studies. He has been enthusiastic
supervisor, and he has always been generous with his time. I am
fortunate to have been supervised by him.
Throughout my studies I have received funding from the
\href{https://www.ed.ac.uk/informatics}{School of Informatics} at
The University of Edinburgh, as well as an
\href{https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/}{EPSRC} grant
\href{http://pervasiveparallelism.inf.ed.ac.uk}{EP/L01503X/1} (EPSRC
Centre for Doctoral Training in Pervasive Parallelism), and by ERC
Consolidator Grant Skye (grant number 682315).
List of people to thank
\begin{itemize}
\item Sam Lindley
\item John Longley
\item Christophe Dubach
\item KC Sivaramakrishnan
\item Stephen Dolan
\item Anil Madhavapeddy
\item Gemma Gordon
\item Leo White
\item Andreas Rossberg
\item Robert Atkey
\item Jeremy Yallop
\item Simon Fowler
\item Craig McLaughlin
\item Garrett Morris
\item James McKinna
\item Brian Campbell
\item Paul Piho
\item Amna Shahab
\item Gordon Plotkin
\item Ohad Kammar
\item School of Informatics (funding)
\item Google (Kevin Millikin, Dmitry Stefantsov)
\item Microsoft Research (Daan Leijen)
\end{itemize}
\end{acknowledgements}
%% Next we need to have the declaration.
% \standarddeclaration
\begin{declaration}
I declare that this thesis was composed by myself, that the work
contained herein is my own except where explicitly stated otherwise
in the text, and that this work has not been submitted for any other
degree or professional qualification except as specified.
The following previously published work of mine features prominently
within this dissertation. Each chapter details the relevant
relations to my previous work.
%
\begin{itemize}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromL16}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromLAS17}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromL18}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromLA20}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromLL20}
\end{itemize}
%
\end{declaration}
%% Finally, a dedication (this is optional -- uncomment the following line if
%% you want one).
% \dedication{To my mummy.}
% \dedication{\emph{To be or to do}}
\dedication{\emph{Bara du sätter gränserna}}
% \begin{preface}
% A preface will possibly appear here\dots
% \end{preface}
%% Create the table of contents
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{2} % Numbering on sections and subsections
\setcounter{tocdepth}{1} % Show chapters, sections and subsections in TOC
%\singlespace
\tableofcontents
%\doublespace
%% If you want a list of figures or tables, uncomment the appropriate line(s)
% \listoffigures
% \listoftables
\end{preliminary}
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% Main content %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%
%% Introduction
%%
\chapter{Introduction}
\label{ch:introduction}
An enthralling introduction\dots
%
Motivation: 1) compiler perspective: unifying control abstraction,
lean runtime, desugaring of async/await, generators/iterators, 2)
giving control to programmers, safer microkernels, everything as a
library.
\section{Why first-class control matters}
\subsection{Flavours of control}
\paragraph{Undelimited control}
\paragraph{Delimited control}
\paragraph{Composable control}
\subsection{Why effect handlers}
\section{Thesis outline}
Thesis outline\dots
\section{Typographical conventions}
Explain conventions\dots
\part{Background}
\label{p:background}
\chapter{Mathematical preliminaries}
\label{ch:maths-prep}
Only a modest amount of mathematical proficiency should be necessary
to be able to wholly digest this dissertation.
%
This chapter introduces some key mathematical concepts that will
either be used directly or indirectly throughout this dissertation.
%
I assume familiarity with basic programming language theory including
structural operational semantics~\cite{Plotkin04a} and System F type
theory~\cite{Girard72}. For a practical introduction to programming
language theory I recommend consulting \citeauthor{Pierce02}'s
excellent book \emph{Types and Programming
Languages}~\cite{Pierce02}. For the more theoretical inclined I
recommend \citeauthor{Harper16}'s book \emph{Practical Foundations for
Programming Languages}~\cite{Harper16} (do not let the ``practical''
qualifier deceive you) --- the two books complement each other nicely.
\section{Relations and functions}
\label{sec:functions}
Relations and functions feature prominently in the design and
understanding of the static and dynamic properties of programming
languages. The interested reader is likely to already be familiar with
the basic concepts of relations and functions, although this section
briefly introduces the concepts, its purpose is to introduce the
notation that I am using pervasively throughout this dissertation.
%
I assume familiarity with basic set theory.
\begin{definition}
The Cartesian product of two sets $A$ and $B$, written $A \times B$,
is the set of all ordered pairs $(a, b)$, where $a$ is drawn from
$A$ and $b$ is drawn from $B$, i.e.
%
\[
A \times B \defas \{ (a, b) \mid a \in A, b \in B \}
\]
%
\end{definition}
%
Since the Cartesian product is itself a set, we can take the Cartesian
product of it with another set, e.g. $A \times B \times C$. However,
this raises the question in which order the product operator
($\times$) is applied. In this dissertation the product operator is
taken to be right associative, meaning
$A \times B \times C = A \times (B \times C)$.
%
\dhil{Define tuples (and ordered pairs)?}
%
% To make the notation more compact for the special case of $n$-fold
% product of some set $A$ with itself we write
% $A^n \defas A \underbrace{\times \cdots \times}_{n \text{ times}} A$.
%
\begin{definition}
A relation $R$ is a subset of the Cartesian product of two sets $A$
and $B$, i.e. $R \subseteq A \times B$.
%
An element $a \in A$ is related to an element $b \in B$ if
$(a, b) \in R$, sometimes written using infix notation $a\,R\,b$.
%
If $A = B$ then $R$ is said to be a homogeneous relation.
\end{definition}
%
\begin{definition}
For any two relations $R \subseteq A \times B$ and
$S \subseteq B \times C$ their composition is defined as follows.
%
\[
S \circ R \defas \{ (a,c) \mid (a,b) \in R, (b, c) \in S \}
\]
\end{definition}
The composition operator ($\circ$) is associative, meaning
$(T \circ S) \circ R = T \circ (S \circ R)$.
%
For $n \in \N$ the $n$th relational power of a relation $R$, written
$R^n$, is defined inductively.
\[
R^0 \defas \emptyset, \quad\qquad R^1 \defas R, \quad\qquad R^{1 + n} \defas R \circ R^n.
\]
%
Homogeneous relations play a prominent role in the operational
understanding of programming languages as they are used to give
meaning to program reductions. There are two particular properties and
associated closure operations of homogeneous relations that reoccur
throughout this dissertation.
%
\begin{definition}
A homogeneous relation $R \subseteq A \times A$ is said to be
reflexive and transitive if its satisfies the following criteria,
respectively.
\begin{itemize}
\item Reflexive: $\forall a \in A$ it holds that $a\,R\,a$.
\item Transitive: $\forall a,b,c \in A$ if $a\,R\,b$ and $b\,R\,c$
then $a\,R\,c$.
\end{itemize}
\end{definition}
\begin{definition}[Closure operations]
Let $R \subseteq A \times A$ denote a homogeneous relation. The
reflexive closure $R^{=}$ of $R$ is the smallest reflexive relation
over $A$ containing $R$
%
\[
R^{=} \defas \{ (a, a) \mid a \in A \} \cup R.
\]
%
The transitive closure $R^+$ of $R$ is the smallest transitive
relation over $A$ containing $R$
%
\[
R^+ \defas \displaystyle\bigcup_{n \in \N} R^n.
\]
%
The reflexive and transitive closure $R^\ast$ of $R$ is the smallest
reflexive and transitive relation over $A$ containing $R$
%
\[
R^\ast \defas (R^+)^{=}.
\]
\end{definition}
%
\begin{definition}
A relation $R \subseteq A \times B$ is functional and serial if it
satisfies the following criteria, respectively.
%
\begin{itemize}
\item Functional: $\forall a \in A, b,b' \in B$ if $a\,R\,b$ and $a\,R\,b'$ then $b = b'$.
\item Serial: $\forall a \in A,\exists b \in B$ such that
$a\,R\,b$.
\end{itemize}
\end{definition}
%
The functional property guarantees that every $a \in A$ is at most
related to one $b \in B$. Note this does not mean that every $a$
\emph{is} related to some $b$. The serial property guarantees that
every $a \in A$ is related to one or more elements in $B$.
%
We use these properties to define partial and total functions.
%
\begin{definition}
A partial function $f : A \pto B$ is a functional relation
$f \subseteq A \times B$.
%
A total function $f : A \to B$ is a functional and serial relation
$f \subseteq A \times B$.
\end{definition}
%
A total function is also simply called a `function'. Throughout this
dissertation the terms (partial) mapping and (partial) function are
synonymous.
%
For a function $f : A \to B$ (or partial function $f : A \pto B$) we
write $f(a) = b$ to mean $(a, b) \in f$, and say that $f$ applied to
$a$ returns $b$. The notation $f(a)$ means the application of $f$ to
$a$, and we say that $f(a)$ is defined whenever $f(a) = b$ for some
$b$.
%
The domain of a function is a set, $\dom(-)$, consisting of all the
elements for which it is defined. Thus the domain of a total function
is its domain of definition, e.g. $\dom(f : A \to B) = A$.
%
For a partial function $f$ its domain is a proper subset of the domain
of definition.
%
\[
\dom(f : A \pto B) \defas \{ a \mid a \in A,\, f(a) \text{ is defined} \} \subset A.
\]
%
The codomain of a total function $f : A \to B$ (or partial function
$f : A \pto B$) is $B$, written $\dec{cod}(f) = B$. A related notion
is that of \emph{image}. The image of a total or partial function $f$,
written $\dec{Im}(f)$, is the set of values that it can return, i.e.
%
\[
\dec{Im}(f) \defas \{\, f(a) \mid a \in \dom(f) \}.
\]
\begin{definition}
A function $f : A \to B$ is injective and surjective if it satisfies
the following criteria, respectively.
\begin{itemize}
\item Injective: $\forall a,a' \in A$ if $f(a) = f(a')$ then $a = a'$.
\item Surjective: $\forall b \in B,\exists a \in A$ such that $f(a) = b$.
\end{itemize}
If a function is both injective and surjective, then it is said to
be a bijective.
\end{definition}
%
An injective function guarantees that each element in its image is
uniquely determined by some element of its domain.
%
A surjective function guarantees that its domain covers the codomain,
meaning that the codomain and image coincide.
%
A partial function $f$ is injective, surjective, and bijective
whenever the function $f' : \dom(f) \to \dec{cod}(f)$, obtained by
restricting $f$ to its domain, is injective, surjective, and bijective
respectively.
\section{Universal algebra}
\label{sec:universal-algebra}
Universal algebra studies \emph{algebraic theories}.
\begin{definition}[Operations]
\end{definition}
\begin{definition}[Algebraic theory]\label{def:algebra}
\end{definition}
\section{Algebraic effects and their handlers}
\label{sec:algebraic-effects}
See \citeauthor{Bauer18}'s tutorial~\cite{Bauer18} for an excellent
thorough account of the mathematics underpinning algebraic effects and
handlers.
\section{Typed programming languages}
\label{sec:pls}
%
\dhil{Definition of (typed) programming language, conservative extension, macro-expressiveness~\cite{Felleisen90,Felleisen91}}
\chapter{State of effectful programming}
\label{ch:related-work}
% \section{Type and effect systems}
% \section{Monadic programming}
\section{Golden age of impurity}
\section{Monadic enlightenment}
\dhil{Moggi's seminal work applies the notion of monads to effectful
programming by modelling effects as monads. More importantly,
Moggi's work gives a precise characterisation of what's \emph{not}
an effect}
\section{Direct-style revolution}
\subsection{Monadic reflection: best of both worlds}
\chapter{Continuations}
\label{ch:continuations}
A continuation represents the control state of computation at a given
point during evaluation. The control state contains the necessary
operational information for evaluation to continue. As such,
continuations drive computation. % Continuations are a ubiquitous
% phenomenon as they exist both semantically and programmatically.
%
Continuations are one of those canonical ideas, that have been
discovered multiple times and whose definition predates their
use~\cite{Reynolds93}. The term `continuation' first appeared in the
literature in 1974, when \citet{StracheyW74} used continuations to
give a denotational semantics to programming languages with
unrestricted jumps~\cite{StracheyW00}.
The inaugural use of continuations came well before
\citeauthor{StracheyW00}'s definition. About a decade earlier
continuation passing style had already been conceived, if not in name
then in spirit, as a compiler transformation for eliminating labels
and goto statements~\cite{Reynolds93}. In the mid 1960s
\citet{Landin98} introduced the J operator as a programmatic mechanism
for manipulating continuations.
\citeauthor{Landin98}'s J operator is an instance of a first-class
control operator, which is a mechanism that lets programmers reify
continuations as first-class objects, that can be invoked, discarded,
or stored for later use. There exists a wide variety of control
operators, which expose continuations of varying extent and behaviour.
The purpose of this chapter is to examine control operators and their
continuations in
programming. Section~\ref{sec:classifying-continuations} examines
different notions of continuations by characterising their extent and
behaviour operationally. Section~\ref{sec:controlling-continuations}
contains a detailed overview of various control operators that appear
in programming languages and in the
literature. Section~\ref{sec:programming-continuations} summarises
some applications of continuations, whilst
Section~\ref{sec:constraining-continuations} contains a brief summary
of ideas for constraining the power of continuations. Lastly,
Section~\ref{sec:implementing-continuations} outlines some
implementation strategies for continuations.
% A lot of literature has been devoted to study continuations. Whilst
% the literature recognises the importance and significance of
% continuations
% continuations are widely recognised as important in the programming
% language literature,
% The concrete structure and behaviour of continuations differs
% Continuations, when exposed programmatically, imbue programmers with
% the power to take control of programs. This power enables programmers
% to implement their own control idioms as user-definable libraries.
% The significance of continuations in the programming languages
% literature is inescapable as continuations have found widespread use .
%
% A continuation is an abstract data structure that captures the
% remainder of the computation from some given point in the computation.
% %
% The exact nature of the data structure and the precise point at which
% the remainder of the computation is captured depends largely on the
% exact notion of continuation under consideration.
% %
% It can be difficult to navigate the existing literature on
% continuations as sometimes the terminologies for different notions of
% continuations are overloaded or even conflated.
% %
% As there exist several notions of continuations, there exist several
% mechanisms for programmatic manipulation of continuations. These
% mechanisms are known as control operators.
% %
% A substantial amount of existing literature has been devoted to
% understand how to program with individual control operators, and to a
% lesser extent how the various operators compare.
% The purpose of this chapter is to provide a contemporary and
% unambiguous characterisation of the notions of continuations in
% literature. This characterisation is used to classify and discuss a
% wide range of control operators from the literature.
% % Undelimited control: Landin's J~\cite{Landin98}, Reynolds'
% % escape~\cite{Reynolds98a}, Scheme75's catch~\cite{SussmanS75} ---
% % which was based the less expressive MacLisp catch~\cite{Moon74},
% % callcc is a procedural variation of catch. It was invented in
% % 1982~\cite{AbelsonHAKBOBPCRFRHSHW85}.
% A full formal comparison of the control operators is out of scope of
% this chapter. The literature contains comparisons of various control
% operators along various dimensions, e.g.
% %
% \citet{Thielecke02} studies a handful of operators via double
% barrelled continuation passing style. \citet{ForsterKLP19} compare the
% relative expressiveness of untyped and simply-typed variations of
% effect handlers, shift/reset, and monadic reflection by means of
% whether they are macro-expressible. Their work demonstrates that in an
% untyped setting each operator is macro-expressible, but in most cases
% the macro-translations do not preserve typeability, for instance the
% simple type structure is insufficient to type the image of
% macro-translation between effect handlers and shift/reset.
% %
% However, \citet{PirogPS19} show that with a polymorphic type system
% the translation preserve typeability.
% %
% \citet{Shan04} shows that dynamic delimited control and static
% delimited control is macro-expressible in an untyped setting.
\section{Classifying continuations}
\label{sec:classifying-continuations}
The term `continuation' is really an umbrella term that covers several
distinct notions of continuations. It is common in the literature to
find the word `continuation' accompanied by a qualifier such as full,
partial, abortive, escape, undelimited, delimited, composable, or
functional (in Chapter~\ref{ch:cps} I will extend this list by three
new ones). Some of these notions of continuations synonyms, whereas
others have distinct meaning. Common to all notions of continuations
is that in essence they represent the control state. However, the
extent and behaviour of continuations differ widely from notion to
notion. The essential notions of continuations are
undelimited/delimited and abortive/composable. To tell them apart, we
will classify them by their operational behaviour.
The extent and behaviour of a continuation in programming are
determined by its introduction and elimination forms,
respectively. Programmatically, a continuation is introduced via a
control operator, which reifies the control state as a first-class
object, e.g. a function, that can be eliminated via some form of
application.
\subsection{Introduction of continuations}
%
The extent of a continuation determines how much of the control state
is contained with the continuation.
%
The extent can be either undelimited or delimited, and it is
determined at the point of capture by the control operator.
%
We need some notation for control operators in order to examine the
introduction of continuations operationally. We will use the syntax
$\CC~k.M$ to denote a control operator, or control reifier, which that
reifies the control state and binds it to $k$ in the computation
$M$. Here the control state will simply be an evaluation context. We
will denote continuations by a special value $\cont_{\EC}$, which is
indexed by the reified evaluation context $\EC$ to make notionally
convenient to reflect the context again. To characterise delimited
continuations we also need a control delimiter. We will write
$\Delim{M}$ to denote a syntactic marker that delimits some
computation $M$.
\paragraph{Undelimited continuation} The extent of an undelimited
continuation is indefinite as it ranges over the entire remainder of
computation.
%
In functional programming languages undelimted control operators most
commonly expose the \emph{current} continuation, which is the
precisely continuation following the control operator. The following
is the characteristic reduction for the introduction of the current
continuation.
% The indefinite extents means that undelimited continuation capture can
% only be understood in context. The characteristic reduction is as
% follows.
%
\[
\EC[\CC~k.M] \reducesto \EC[M[\cont_{\EC}/k]]
\]
%
The evaluation context $\EC$ is the continuation of $\CC$. The
evaluation context on the left hand side gets reified as a
continuation object, which is accessible inside of $M$ via $k$. On the
right hand side the entire context remains in place after
reification. Thus, the current continuation is evaluated regardless of
whether the continuation object is invoked. This is an instance of
non-abortive undelimited control. Alternatively, the control operator
can abort the current continuation before proceeding as $M$, i.e.
%
\[
\EC[\CC~k.M] \reducesto M[\cont_{\EC}/k]
\]
%
This is the characteristic reduction rule for abortive undelimited
control. The rule is nearly the same as the previous, except that on
the right hand side the evaluation context $\EC$ is discarded after
reification. Now, the programmer has control over the whole
continuation, since it is entirely up to the programmer whether $\EC$
gets evaluated.
Imperative statement-oriented programming languages commonly expose
the \emph{caller} continuation, typically via a return statement. The
caller continuation is the continuation of the invocation context of
the control operator. Characterising undelimited caller continuations
is slightly more involved as we have to remember the continuation of
the invocation context. We will use a bold lambda $\llambda$ as a
syntactic runtime marker to remember the continuation of an
application. In addition we need three reduction rules, where the
first is purely administrative, the second is an extension of regular
application, and the third is the characteristic reduction rule for
undelimited control with caller continuations.
%
\begin{reductions}
& \llambda.V &\reducesto& V\\
& (\lambda x.N)\,V &\reducesto& \llambda.N[V/x]\\
& \EC[\llambda.\EC'[\CC~k.M]] &\reducesto& \EC[\llambda.\EC'[M[\cont_{\EC}/k]]], \quad \text{where $\EC'$ contains no $\llambda$}
\end{reductions}
%
The first rule accounts for the case where $\llambda$ marks a value,
in which case the marker is eliminated. The second rule marks inserts
a marker after an application such that this position can be recalled
later. The third rule is the interesting rule. Here an occurrence of
$\CC$ reifies $\EC$, the continuation of some application, rather than
its current continuation $\EC'$. The side condition ensures that $\CC$
reifies the continuation of the inner most application. This rule
characterises a non-abortive control operator as both contexts, $\EC$
and $\EC'$, are left in place after reification. It is straightforward
to adapt this rule to an abortive operator. Although, there is no
abortive undelimited control operator that captures the caller
continuation in the literature.
It is worth noting that the two first rules can be understood locally,
that is without mentioning the enclosing context, whereas the third
rule must be understood globally.
In the literature an undelimited continuation is also known as a
`full' continuation.
\paragraph{Delimited continuation} A delimited continuation is in some
sense a refinement of a undelimited continuation as its extent is
definite. A delimited continuation ranges over some designated part of
computation. A delimited continuation is introduced by a pair
operators: a control delimiter and a control reifier. The control
delimiter acts as a barrier, which prevents the reifier from reaching
beyond it, e.g.
%
\begin{reductions}
& \Delim{V} &\reducesto& V\\
& \Delim{\EC[\CC~k.M]} &\reducesto& \Delim{\EC[M[\cont_{\EC}/k]]}
\end{reductions}
%
The first rule applies whenever the control delimiter delimits a
value, in which case the delimiter is eliminated. The second rule is
the characteristic reduction rule for a non-abortive delimited control
reifier. It reifies the context $\EC$ up to the control delimiter, and
then continues as $M$ under the control delimiter. Note that the
continuation of $\keyw{del}$ is invisible to $\CC$, and thus, the
behaviour of $\CC$ can be understood locally.
The design space of delimited control is somewhat richer than that of
undelimited control, as the control delimiter may remain in place
after reification, as above, or be discarded. Similarly, the control
reifier may reify the continuation up to and including the delimiter
or, as above, without the delimiter.
%
The most common variation of delimited control in the literature is
abortive and reifies the current continuation up to, but not including
the delimiter, i.e.
\begin{reductions}
& \Delim{\EC[\CC~k.M]} &\reducesto& M[\cont_{\EC}/k]
\end{reductions}
%
In the literature a delimited continuation is also known as a
`partial' continuation.
\subsection{Elimination of continuations}
The purpose of continuation application is to reinstall the captured
context.
%
However, a continuation application may affect the control state in
various ways. The literature features two distinct behaviours of
continuation application: abortive and composable. We need some
notation for application of continuations in order to characterise
abortive and composable behaviours. We will write
$\Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V$ to denote the application of some
continuation object $\cont$ to some value $V$.
\paragraph{Abortive continuation} Upon invocation an abortive
continuation discards the entire evaluation context before
reinstalling the captured context. In other words, an abortive
continuation replaces the current context with its captured context,
i.e.
%
\[
\EC[\Continue~\cont_{\EC'}~V] \reducesto \EC'[V]
\]
%
The current context $\EC$ is discarded in favour of the captured
context $\EC'$ (whether the two contexts coincide depends on the
control operator). Abortive continuations are a global phenomenon due
to their effect on the current context. However, in conjunction with a
control delimiter the behaviour of an abortive continuation can be
localised, i.e.
%
\[
\Delim{\EC[\Continue~\cont_{\EC'}~V]} \reducesto \EC'[V]
\]
%
Here, the behaviour of continuation does not interfere with the
context of $\keyw{del}$, and thus, the behaviour can be understood and
reasoned about locally with respect to $\keyw{del}$.
A key characteristic of an abortive continuation is that composition
is meaningless. For example, composing an abortive continuation with
itself have no effect.
%
\[
\EC[\Continue~\cont_{\EC'}~(\Continue~\cont_{\EC'}~V)] \reducesto \EC'[V]
\]
%
The innermost application erases the outermost application term,
consequently only the first application of $\cont$ occurs during
runtime. It is as if the first application occurred in tail position.
The continuations introduced by the early control operators were all
abortive, since they were motivated by modelling unrestricted jumps
akin to $\keyw{goto}$ in statement-oriented programming languages.
An abortive continuation is also known as an `escape' continuation in
the literature.
\paragraph{Composable continuation} A composable continuation splices
its captured context with the its invocation context, i.e.
%
\[
\Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V \reducesto \EC[V]
\]
%
The application of a composable continuation can be understood
locally, because it has no effect on its invocation context. A
composable continuation behaves like a function in the sense that it
returns to its caller, and thus composition is well-defined, e.g.
%
\[
\Continue~\cont_{\EC}~(\Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V) \reducesto \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~\EC[V]
\]
%
The innermost application composes the captured context with the
outermost application. Thus, the outermost application occurs when
$\EC[V]$ has been reduced to a value.
In the literature, virtually every delimited control operator provides
composable continuations. However, the notion of composable
continuation is not intimately connected to delimited control. It is
perfect possible to conceive of a undelimited composable continuation,
just as a delimited abortive continuation is conceivable.
A composable continuation is also known as a `functional' continuation
in the literature.
\section{Controlling continuations}
\label{sec:controlling-continuations}
As suggested in the previous section, the design space for
continuation is rich. This richness is to an extent reflected by the
large amount of control operators that appear in the literature
and in practice.
%
The purpose of this section is to survey a considerable subset of the
first-class \emph{sequential} control operators that occur in the
literature and in practice. Control operators for parallel programming
will not be considered here.
%
Table~\ref{tbl:classify-ctrl} provides a classification of a
non-exhaustive list of first-class control operators.
Note that a \emph{first-class} control operator is typically not
itself a first-class citizen, rather, the label `first-class' means
that the reified continuation is a first-class object. Control
operators that reify the current continuation can be made first-class
by enclosing them in a $\lambda$-abstraction. Obviously, this trick
does not work for operators that reify the caller continuation.
To study the control operators we will make use of a small base
language.
%
\begin{table}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{| l | l | l | l |}
\hline
\multicolumn{1}{| l |}{\textbf{Name}} & \multicolumn{1}{l |}{\textbf{Extent}} & \multicolumn{1}{l |}{\textbf{Continuation behaviour}} & \multicolumn{1}{l |}{\textbf{Canonical reference}}\\
\hline
C & Undelimited & Abortive & \citet{FelleisenF86} \\
\hline
callcc & Undelimited & Abortive & \citet{AbelsonHAKBOBPCRFRHSHW85} \\
\hline
\textCallcomc{} & Undelimited & Composable & \citet{Flatt20} \\
\hline
catch & Undelimited & Abortive & \citet{SussmanS75} \\
\hline
catchcont & Delimited & Composable & \citet{Longley09}\\
\hline
cupto & Delimited & Composable & \citet{GunterRR95}\\
\hline
control/prompt & Delimited & Composable & \citet{Felleisen88}\\
\hline
effect handlers & Delimited & Composable & \citet{PlotkinP13} \\
\hline
escape & Undelimited & Abortive & \citet{Reynolds98a}\\
\hline
F & Undelimited & Composable & \citet{FelleisenFDM87}\\
\hline
fcontrol & Delimited & Composable & \citet{Sitaram93} \\
\hline
J & Undelimited & Abortive & \citet{Landin98}\\
\hline
shift/reset & Delimited & Composable & \citet{DanvyF90}\\
\hline
spawn & Delimited & Composable & \citet{HiebD90}\\
\hline
splitter & Delimited & Abortive, composable & \citet{QueinnecS91}\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\caption{Classification of first-class sequential control operators.}\label{tbl:classify-ctrl}
\dhil{TODO: Possibly split into two tables: undelimited and delimited. Change the table to display the behaviour of control reifiers.}
\end{table}
%
\paragraph{A small calculus for control}
%
To look at control we will use a simply typed fine-grain call-by-value
calculus. Although, we will sometimes have to discard the types, as
many of the control operators were invented and studied in a untyped
setting. The calculus is essentially the same as the one used in
Chapter~\ref{ch:handlers-efficiency}, except that here we will have an
explicit invocation form for continuations. Although, in practice most
systems disguise continuations as first-class functions, but for a
theoretical examination it is convenient to treat them specially such
that continuation invocation is a separate reduction rule from
ordinary function application. Figure~\ref{fig:pcf-lang-control}
depicts the syntax of types and terms in the calculus.
%
\begin{figure}
\centering
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Types} & A,B &::=& \UnitType \mid A \to B \mid A \times B \mid \Cont\,\Record{A;B} \mid A + B \smallskip\\
\slab{Values} & V,W &::=& \Unit \mid \lambda x^A.M \mid \Record{V;W} \mid \cont_\EC \mid \Inl~V \mid \Inr~W \mid x\\
\slab{Computations} & M,N &::=& \Return\;V \mid \Let\;x \revto M \;\In\;N \mid \Let\;\Record{x;y} = V \;\In\; N \\
& &\mid& V\,W \mid \Continue~V~W \smallskip\\
\slab{Evaluation\textrm{ }contexts} & \EC &::=& [\,] \mid \Let\;x \revto \EC \;\In\;N
\end{syntax}
\caption{Types and term syntax}\label{fig:pcf-lang-control}
\end{figure}
%
The types are the standard simple types with the addition of the
continuation object type $\Cont\,\Record{A;B}$, which is parameterised
by an argument type and a result type, respectively. The static
semantics is standard as well, except for the continuation invocation
primitive $\Continue$.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*
{\typ{\Gamma}{V : A} \\ \typ{\Gamma}{W : \Cont\,\Record{A;B}}}
{\typ{\Gamma}{\Continue~W~V : B}}
\end{mathpar}
%
Although, it is convenient to treat continuation application specially
for operational inspection, it is rather cumbersome to do so when
studying encodings of control operators. Therefore, to obtain the best
of both worlds, the control operators will reify their continuations
as first-class functions, whose body is $\Continue$-expression. To
save some ink, we will use the following notation.
%
\[
\qq{\cont_{\EC}} \defas \lambda x. \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~x
\]
\subsection{Undelimited control operators}
%
The early inventions of undelimited control operators were driven by
the desire to provide a `functional' equivalent of jumps as provided
by the infamous goto in imperative programming.
%
In 1965 Peter \citeauthor{Landin65} unveiled \emph{first} first-class
control operator: the J
operator~\cite{Landin65,Landin65a,Landin98}. Later in 1972 influenced
by \citeauthor{Landin65}'s J operator John \citeauthor{Reynolds98a}
designed the escape operator~\cite{Reynolds98a}. Influenced by escape,
\citeauthor{SussmanS75} designed, implemented, and standardised the
catch operator in Scheme in 1975. A while thereafter the perhaps most
famous undelimited control operator appeared: callcc. It initially
designed in 1982 and was standardised in 1985 as a core feature of
Scheme. Later another batch of control operators based on callcc
appeared. A common characteristic of the early control operators is
that their capture mechanisms were abortive and their captured
continuations were abortive, save for one, namely,
\citeauthor{Felleisen88}'s F operator. Later a non-abortive and
composable variant of callcc appeared. Moreover, every operator,
except for \citeauthor{Landin98}'s J operator, capture the current
continuation.
\paragraph{\citeauthor{Reynolds98a}' escape} The escape operator was introduced by
\citeauthor{Reynolds98a} in 1972~\cite{Reynolds98a} to make
statement-oriented control mechanisms such as jumps and labels
programmable in an expression-oriented language.
%
The operator introduces a new computation form.
%
\[
M, N \in \CompCat ::= \cdots \mid \Escape\;k\;\In\;M
\]
%
The variable $k$ is called the \emph{escape variable} and it is bound
in $M$. The escape variable exposes the current continuation of the
$\Escape$-expression to the programmer. The captured continuation is
abortive, thus an invocation of the escape variable in the body $M$
has the effect of performing a non-local exit.
%
In terms of jumps and labels the $\Escape$-expression can be
understood as corresponding to a kind of label and an application of
the escape variable $k$ can be understood as corresponding to a jump
to the label.
\citeauthor{Reynolds98a}' original treatise of escape was untyped, and
as such, the escape variable could escape its captor, e.g.
%
\[
\Let\;k \revto (\Escape\;k\;\In\;k)\;\In\; N
\]
%
Here the current continuation, $N$, gets bound to $k$ in the
$\Escape$-expression, which returns $k$ as-is, and thus becomes
available for use within $N$. \citeauthor{Reynolds98a} recognised the
power of this idiom and noted that it could be used to implement
coroutines and backtracking~\cite{Reynolds98a}.
%
\citeauthor{Reynolds98a} did not develop the static semantics for
$\Escape$, however, it is worth noting that this idiom require
recursive types to type check. Even in a language without recursive
types, the continuation may propagate outside its binding
$\Escape$-expression if the language provides an escape hatch such as
mutable references.
% In our simply-typed setting it is not possible for the continuation to
% propagate outside its binding $\Escape$-expression as it would require
% the addition of either recursive types or some other escape hatch like
% mutable reference cells.
% %
% The typing of $\Escape$ and $\Continue$ reflects that the captured
% continuation is abortive.
% %
% \begin{mathpar}
% \inferrule*
% {\typ{\Gamma,k : \Cont\,\Record{A;\Zero}}{M : A}}
% {\typ{\Gamma}{\Escape\;k\;\In\;M : A}}
% % \inferrule*
% % {\typ{\Gamma}{V : A} \\ \typ{\Gamma}{W : \Cont\,\Record{A;\Zero}}}
% % {\typ{\Gamma}{\Continue~W~V : \Zero}}
% \end{mathpar}
% %
% The return type of the continuation object can be taken as a telltale
% sign that an invocation of this object never returns, since there are
% no inhabitants of the empty type.
%
An invocation of the continuation discards the invocation context and
plugs the argument into the captured context.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Capture} & \EC[\Escape\;k\;\In\;M] &\reducesto& \EC[M[\qq{\cont_{\EC}}/k]]\\
\slab{Resume} & \EC[\Continue~\cont_{\EC'}~V] &\reducesto& \EC'[V]
\end{reductions}
%
The \slab{Capture} rule leaves the context intact such that if the
body $M$ does not invoke $k$ then whatever value $M$ reduces is
plugged into the context. The \slab{Resume} discards the current
context $\EC$ and installs the captured context $\EC'$ with the
argument $V$ plugged in.
\paragraph{\citeauthor{SussmanS75}'s catch}
%
In 1975 \citet{SussmanS75} designed and implemented the catch operator
in Scheme. It is a more powerful variant of the catch operator in
MacLisp~\cite{Moon74}. The MacLisp catch operator had a companion
throw operation, which would unwind the evaluation stack until it was
caught by an instance of catch. \citeauthor{SussmanS75}'s catch
operator dispenses with the throw operation and instead provides the
programmer with access to the current continuation. Their operator is
identical to \citeauthor{Reynolds98a}' escape operator, save for the
syntax.
%
\[
M,N ::= \cdots \mid \Catch~k.M
\]
%
Although, their syntax differ, their dynamic semantics are the same.
%
% \begin{mathpar}
% \inferrule*
% {\typ{\Gamma,k : \Cont\,\Record{A;\Zero}}{M : A}}
% {\typ{\Gamma}{\Catch~k.M : A}}
% % \inferrule*
% % {\typ{\Gamma}{V : A} \\ \typ{\Gamma}{W : \Cont\,\Record{A;B}}}
% % {\typ{\Gamma}{\Continue~W~V : B}}
% \end{mathpar}
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Capture} & \EC[\Catch~k.M] &\reducesto& \EC[M[\qq{\cont_{\EC}}/k]]\\
\slab{Resume} & \EC[\Continue~\cont_{\EC'}~V] &\reducesto& \EC'[V]
\end{reductions}
%
As an aside it is worth to mention that \citet{CartwrightF92} used a
variation of $\Catch$ to show that control operators enable programs
to observe the order of evaluation.
\paragraph{Call-with-current-continuation} In 1982 the Scheme
implementors observed that they could dispense of the special syntax
for $\Catch$ in favour of a higher-order function that would apply its
argument to the current continuation, and thus callcc was born (callcc
is short for
call-with-current-continuation)~\cite{AbelsonHAKBOBPCRFRHSHW85}.
%
Unlike the previous operators, callcc augments the syntactic
categories of values.
%
\[
V,W \in \ValCat ::= \cdots \mid \Callcc
\]
%
The value $\Callcc$ is essentially a hard-wired function name. Being a
value means that the operator itself is a first-class entity which
entails it can be passed to functions, returned from functions, and
stored in data structures. Operationally, $\Callcc$ captures the
current continuation and aborts it before applying it on its argument.
%
% The typing rule for $\Callcc$ testifies to the fact that it is a
% particular higher-order function.
%
% \begin{mathpar}
% \inferrule*
% {~}
% {\typ{\Gamma}{\Callcc : (\Cont\,\Record{A;\Zero} \to A) \to A}}
% % \inferrule*
% % {\typ{\Gamma}{V : A} \\ \typ{\Gamma}{W : \Cont\,\Record{A;B}}}
% % {\typ{\Gamma}{\Continue~W~V : B}}
% \end{mathpar}
% %
% An invocation of $\Callcc$ returns a value of type $A$. This value can
% be produced in one of two ways, either the function argument returns
% normally or it applies the provided continuation object to a value
% that then becomes the result of $\Callcc$-application.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Capture} & \EC[\Callcc~V] &\reducesto& \EC[V~\qq{\cont_{\EC}}]\\
\slab{Resume} & \EC[\Continue~\cont_{\EC'}~V] &\reducesto& \EC'[V]
\end{reductions}
%
From the dynamic semantics it is evident that $\Callcc$ is a
syntax-free alternative to $\Catch$ (although, it is treated as a
special value form here; in actual implementation it suffices to
recognise the object name of $\Callcc$). They are trivially
macro-expressible.
%
\begin{equations}
\sembr{\Catch~k.M} &\defas& \Callcc\,(\lambda k.\sembr{M})\\
\sembr{\Callcc} &\defas& \lambda f. \Catch~k.f\,k
\end{equations}
\paragraph{Call-with-composable-continuation} A variation of callcc is
call-with-composable-continuation, abbreviated \textCallcomc{}.
%
As the name suggests the captured continuation is composable rather
than abortive. It was introduced by \citet{FlattYFF07} in 2007, and
and implemented in November 2006 according to the history log of
Racket (Racket was then known as MzScheme, version
360)~\cite{Flatt20}. The history log classifies it as a delimited
control operator.
%
Truth to be told nowadays in Racket virtually all control operators
are delimited, even callcc, because they are parameterised by an
optional prompt tag. If the programmer does not supply a prompt tag at
invocation time then the optional parameter assume the actual value of
the top-level prompt, effectively making the extent of the captured
continuation undelimited.
%
In other words its default mode of operation is undelimited, hence the
justification for categorising it as such.
%
Like $\Callcc$ this operator is a value.
%
\[
V,W \in \ValCat ::= \cdots \mid \Callcomc
\]
%
% Unlike $\Callcc$, the continuation returns, which the typing rule for
% $\Callcomc$ reflects.
% %
% \begin{mathpar}
% \inferrule*
% {~}
% {\typ{\Gamma}{\Callcomc : (\Cont\,\Record{A;A} \to A) \to A}}
% \inferrule*
% {\typ{\Gamma}{V : A} \\ \typ{\Gamma}{W : \Cont\,\Record{A;B}}}
% {\typ{\Gamma}{\Continue~W~V : B}}
% \end{mathpar}
% %
% Both the domain and codomain of the continuation are the same as the
% body type of function argument.
Unlike $\Callcc$, captured continuations behave as functions.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Capture} & \EC[\Callcomc~V] &\reducesto& \EC[V~\qq{\cont_{\EC}}]\\
\slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V &\reducesto& \EC[V]
\end{reductions}
%
The capture rule for $\Callcomc$ is identical to the rule for
$\Callcomc$, but the resume rule is different.
%
The effect of continuation invocation can be understood locally as it
does not erase the global evaluation context, but rather composes with
it.
%
To make this more tangible consider the following example reduction
sequence.
%
\begin{derivation}
&1 + \Callcomc\,(\lambda k. \Continue~k~(\Continue~k~0))\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{\slab{Capture} $\EC = 1 + [~]$}\\
% &1 + ((\lambda k. \Continue~k~(\Continue~k~0))\,\cont_\EC)\\
% \reducesto & \reason{$\beta$-reduction}\\
&1 + (\Continue~\cont_\EC~(\Continue~\cont_\EC~0))\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{\slab{Resume} with $\EC[0]$}\\
&1 + (\Continue~\cont_\EC~1)\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{\slab{Resume} with $\EC[1]$}\\
&1 + 2 \reducesto 3
\end{derivation}
%
The operator reifies the current evaluation context as a continuation
object and passes it to the function argument. The evaluation context
is left in place. As a result an invocation of the continuation object
has the effect of duplicating the context. In this particular example
the context has been duplicated twice to produce the result $3$.
%
Contrast this result with the result obtained by using $\Callcc$.
%
\begin{derivation}
&1 + \Callcc\,(\lambda k. \Absurd\;\Continue~k~(\Absurd\;\Continue~k~0))\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{\slab{Capture} $\EC = 1 + [~]$}\\
% &1 + ((\lambda k. \Continue~k~(\Continue~k~0))\,\cont_\EC)\\
% \reducesto & \reason{$\beta$-reduction}\\
&1 + (\Absurd\;\Continue~\cont_\EC~(\Absurd\;\Continue~\cont_\EC~0))\\
\reducesto & \reason{\slab{Resume} with $\EC[0]$}\\
&1\\
\end{derivation}
%
The second invocation of $\cont_\EC$ never enters evaluation position,
because the first invocation discards the entire evaluation context.
%
Our particular choice of syntax and static semantics already makes it
immediately obvious that $\Callcc$ cannot be directly substituted for
$\Callcomc$, and vice versa, in a way that preserves operational
behaviour. % The continuations captured by the two operators behave
% differently.
An interesting question is whether $\Callcc$ and $\Callcomc$ are
interdefinable. Presently, the literature does not seem to answer to
this question. I conjecture that the operators exhibit essential
differences, meaning they cannot encode each other.
%
The intuition behind this conjecture is that for any encoding of
$\Callcomc$ in terms of $\Callcc$ must be able to preserve the current
evaluation context, e.g. using a state cell akin to how
\citet{Filinski94} encodes composable continuations using abortive
continuations and state.
%
The other way around also appears to be impossible, because neither
the base calculus nor $\Callcomc$ has the ability to discard an
evaluation context.
%
\dhil{Remark that $\Callcomc$ was originally obtained by decomposing
$\fcontrol$ a continuation composing primitive and an abortive
primitive. Source: Matthew Flatt, comp.lang.scheme, May 2007}
\paragraph{\FelleisenC{} and \FelleisenF{}}
%
The C operator is a variation of callcc that provides control over the
whole continuation as it aborts the current continuation after
capture, whereas callcc implicitly invokes the current continuation on
the value of its argument. The C operator was introduced by
\citeauthor{FelleisenFKD86} in two papers during
1986~\cite{FelleisenF86,FelleisenFKD86}. The following year,
\citet{FelleisenFDM87} introduced the F operator which is a variation
of C, whose captured continuation is composable.
In our framework both operators are value forms.
%
\[
V,W \in \ValCat ::= \cdots \mid \FelleisenC \mid \FelleisenF
\]
%
% The static semantics of $\FelleisenC$ are the same as $\Callcc$,
% whilst the static semantics of $\FelleisenF$ are the same as
% $\Callcomc$.
% \begin{mathpar}
% \inferrule*
% {~}
% {\typ{\Gamma}{\FelleisenC : (\Cont\,\Record{A;\Zero} \to A) \to A}}
% \inferrule*
% {~}
% {\typ{\Gamma}{\FelleisenF : (\Cont\,\Record{A;A} \to A) \to A}}
% \end{mathpar}
%
The dynamic semantics of $\FelleisenC$ and $\FelleisenF$ are as
follows.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{C\textrm{-}Capture} & \EC[\FelleisenC\,V] &\reducesto& V~\qq{\cont_{\EC}}\\
\slab{C\textrm{-}Resume} & \EC[\Continue~\cont_{\EC'}~V] &\reducesto& \EC'[V] \medskip\\
\slab{F\textrm{-}Capture} & \EC[\FelleisenF\,V] &\reducesto& V~\qq{\cont_{\EC}}\\
\slab{F\textrm{-}Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V &\reducesto& \EC[V]
\end{reductions}
%
Their capture rules are identical. Both operators abort the current
continuation upon capture. This is what set $\FelleisenF$ apart from
the other composable control operator $\Callcomc$.
%
The resume rules of $\FelleisenC$ and $\FelleisenF$ show the
difference between the two operators. The $\FelleisenC$ operator
aborts the current continuation and reinstall the then-current
continuation just like $\Callcc$, whereas the resumption of a
continuation captured by $\FelleisenF$ composes the current
continuation with the then-current continuation.
\citet{FelleisenFDM87} show that $\FelleisenF$ can simulate
$\FelleisenC$.
%
\[
\sembr{\FelleisenC} \defas \lambda m.\FelleisenF\,(\lambda k. m\,(\lambda v.\FelleisenF\,(\lambda\_.k~v)))
\]
%
The first application of $\FelleisenF$ has the effect of aborting the
current continuation, whilst the second application of $\FelleisenF$
aborts the invocation context.
\citet{FelleisenFDM87} also postulate that $\FelleisenC$ cannot express $\FelleisenF$.
\paragraph{\citeauthor{Landin98}'s J operator}
%
The J operator was introduced by Peter Landin in 1965 (making it the
world's \emph{first} first-class control operator) as a means for
translating jumps and labels in the statement-oriented language
\Algol{} into an expression-oriented
language~\cite{Landin65,Landin65a,Landin98}. Landin used the J
operator to account for the meaning of \Algol{} labels.
%
The following example due to \citet{DanvyM08} provides a flavour of
the correspondence between labels and J.
%
\[
\ba{@{}l@{~}l}
&\mathcal{S}\sembr{\keyw{begin}\;s_1;\;\keyw{goto}\;L;\;L:\,s_2\;\keyw{end}}\\
=& \lambda\Unit.\Let\;L \revto \J\,\mathcal{S}\sembr{s_2}\;\In\;\Let\;\Unit \revto \mathcal{S}\sembr{s_1}\,\Unit\;\In\;\Continue~L\,\Unit
\ea
\]
%
Here $\mathcal{S}\sembr{-}$ denotes the translation of statements. In the image,
the label $L$ manifests as an application of $\J$ and the
$\keyw{goto}$ manifests as an application of continuation captured by
$\J$.
%
The operator extends the syntactic category of values with a new
form.
%
\[
V,W \in \ValCat ::= \cdots \mid \J
\]
%
The previous example hints at the fact that the J operator is quite
different to the previously considered undelimited control operators
in that the captured continuation is \emph{not} the current
continuation, but rather, the continuation of statically enclosing
$\lambda$-abstraction. In other words, $\J$ provides access to the
continuation of its the caller.
%
To this effect, the continuation object produced by an application of
$\J$ may be thought of as a first-class variation of the return
statement commonly found in statement-oriented languages. Since it is
a first-class object it can be passed to another function, meaning
that any function can endow other functions with the ability to return
from it, e.g.
%
\[
\dec{f} \defas \lambda g. \Let\;return \revto \J\,(\lambda x.x) \;\In\; g~return;~\True
\]
%
If the function $g$ does not invoke its argument, then $\dec{f}$
returns $\True$, e.g.
\[
\dec{f}~(\lambda return.\False) \reducesto^+ \True
\]
%
However, if $g$ does apply its argument, then the value provided to
the application becomes the return value of $\dec{f}$, e.g.
%
\[
\dec{f}~(\lambda return.\Continue~return~\False) \reducesto^+ \False
\]
%
The function argument gets post-composed with the continuation of the
calling context.
%
The particular application $\J\,(\lambda x.x)$ is so idiomatic that it
has its own name: $\JI$, where $\keyw{I}$ is the identity function.
% Clearly, the return type of a continuation object produced by an $\J$
% application must be the same as the caller of $\J$. Thus to type $\J$
% we must track the type of calling context. Formally, we track the type
% of the context by extending the typing judgement relation with an
% additional singleton context $\Delta$. This context is modified by the
% typing rule for $\lambda$-abstraction and used by the typing rule for
% $\J$-applications. This is similar to type checking of return
% statements in statement-oriented programming languages.
% %
% \begin{mathpar}
% \inferrule*
% {\typ{\Gamma,x:A;B}{M : B}}
% {\typ{\Gamma;\Delta}{\lambda x.M : A \to B}}
% \inferrule*
% {~}
% {\typ{\Gamma;B}{\J : (A \to B) \to \Cont\,\Record{A;B}}}
% % \inferrule*
% % {\typ{\Gamma;\Delta}{V : A} \\ \typ{\Gamma;\Delta}{W : \Cont\,\Record{A;B}}}
% % {\typ{\Gamma;\Delta}{\Continue~W~V : B}}
% \end{mathpar}
%
Any meaningful applications of $\J$ must appear under a
$\lambda$-abstraction, because the application captures its caller's
continuation. In order to capture the caller's continuation we
annotate the evaluation contexts for ordinary applications.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Annotate} & \EC[(\lambda x.M)\,V] &\reducesto& \EC_\lambda[M[V/x]]\\
\slab{Capture} & \EC_{\lambda}[\mathcal{D}[\J\,W]] &\reducesto& \EC_{\lambda}[\mathcal{D}[\qq{\cont_{\Record{\EC_{\lambda};W}}}]]\\
\slab{Resume} & \EC[\Continue~\cont_{\Record{\EC';W}}\,V] &\reducesto& \EC'[W\,V]
\end{reductions}
%
% \dhil{The continuation object should have time $\Cont\,\Record{A;\Zero}$}
%
The $\slab{Capture}$ rule only applies if the application of $\J$
takes place inside an annotated evaluation context. The continuation
object produced by a $\J$ application encompasses the caller's
continuation $\EC_\lambda$ and the value argument $W$.
%
This continuation object may be invoked in \emph{any} context. An
invocation discards the current continuation $\EC$ and installs $\EC'$
instead with the $\J$-argument $W$ applied to the value $V$.
\citeauthor{Landin98} and \citeauthor{Thielecke02} noticed that $\J$
can be recovered from the special form
$\JI$~\cite{Thielecke02}. Taking $\JI$ to be a primitive, we can
translate $\J$ to a language with $\JI$ as follows.
%
\[
\sembr{\J} \defas (\lambda k.\lambda f.\lambda x.\Continue\;k\,(f\,x))\,(\JI)
\]
%
The term $\JI$ captures the caller continuation, which gets bound to
$k$. The shape of the residual term is as expected: when $\sembr{\J}$
is applied to a function, it returns another function, which when
applied ultimately invokes the captured continuation.
%
% Strictly speaking in our setting this encoding is not faithful,
% because we do not treat continuations as first-class functions,
% meaning the types are not going to match up. An application of the
% left hand side returns a continuation object, whereas an application
% of the right hand side returns a continuation function.
Let us end by remarking that the J operator is expressive enough to
encode a familiar control operator like $\Callcc$~\cite{Thielecke98}.
%
\[
\sembr{\Callcc} \defas \lambda f. f\,\JI
\]
%
\citet{Felleisen87b} has shown that the J operator can be
syntactically embedded using callcc.
%
\[
\sembr{\lambda x.M} \defas \lambda x.\Callcc\,(\lambda k.\sembr{M}[\J \mapsto \lambda f.\lambda y. k~(f\,y)])
\]
%
The key point here is that $\lambda$-abstractions are not translated
homomorphically. The occurrence of $\Callcc$ immediately under the
binder reifies the current continuation of the function, which is the
precisely the caller continuation in the body $M$. In $M$ the symbol
$\J$ is substituted with a function that simulates $\J$ by
post-composing the captured continuation with the function argument
provided to $\J$.
\subsection{Delimited control operators}
%
The main problem with undelimited control is that it is the
programmatic embodiment of the proverb \emph{all or nothing} in the
sense that an undelimited continuation always represent the entire
residual program from its point of capture. In its basic form
undelimited control does not offer the flexibility to reify only some
segments of the evaluation context.
%
Delimited control rectifies this problem by associating each control
operator with a control delimiter such that designated segments of the
evaluation context can be captured individually without interfering
with the context beyond the delimiter. This provides a powerful and
modular programmatic tool that enables programmers to isolate the
control flow of specific parts of their programs, and thus enables
local reasoning about the behaviour of control infused program
segments.
%
One may argue that delimited control to an extent is more first-class
than undelimited control, because, in contrast to undelimited control,
it provides more fine-grain control over the evaluation context.
%
% Essentially, delimited control adds the excluded middle: \emph{all,
% some, or nothing}.
In 1988 \citeauthor{Felleisen88} introduced the first control
delimiter known as `prompt', as a companion to the composable control
operator F (alias control)~\cite{Felleisen88}.
%
\citeauthor{Felleisen88}'s line of work was driven by a dynamic
interpretation of composable continuations in terms of algebraic
manipulation of control component of abstract machines. In the
context of abstract machines, a continuation is defined as a sequence
of frames, whose end is denoted by a prompt, and continuation
composition is concatenation of their
sequences~\cite{Felleisen87,FelleisenF86,FelleisenWFD88}.
%
The natural outcome of this interpretation is the control phenomenon
known as \emph{dynamic delimited control}, where the control operator
is dynamically bound by its delimiter. An application of a control
operator causes the machine to scour through control component to
locate the corresponding delimiter.
The following year, \citet{DanvyF89} introduced an alternative pair of
operators known as `shift' and `reset', where `shift' is the control
operator and `reset' is the control delimiter. Their line of work were
driven by a static interpretation of composable continuations in terms
of continuation passing style (CPS). In ordinary CPS a continuation is
represented as a function, however, there is no notion of composition,
because every function call must appear in tail position. The `shift'
operator enables composition of continuation functions as it provides
a means for abstracting over control contexts. Technically, this works
by iterating the CPS transform twice on the source program, where
`shift' provides access to continuations that arise from the second
transformation. The `reset' operator acts as the identity for
continuation functions, which effectively delimits the extent of
`shift' as in terms of CPS the identity function denotes the top-level
continuation.
%
This interpretation of composable continuations as functions naturally
leads to the control phenomenon known as \emph{static delimited
control}, where the control operator is statically bound by its
delimiter.
The machine interpretation and continuation passing style
interpretation of composable continuations were eventually connected
through defunctionalisation and refunctionalisation in a line of work
by \citeauthor{Danvy04a} and
collaborators~\cite{DanvyN01,AgerBDM03,Danvy04,AgerDM04,Danvy04a,AgerDM05,DanvyM09}.
% The following year, \citet{DanvyF89} introduced an alternative pair of
% operators known as `shift' and `reset', where `shift' is the control
% operator and `reset' is the control delimiter. Their line of work were
% driven by a static interpretation of composable continuations in terms
% of algebraic manipulation of continuations arising from hierarchical
% continuation passing style (CPS) transformations. In ordinary CPS a
% continuation is represented as a function, which is abortive rather
% than composable, because every function application appear in tail
% position.
% %
% The operators `shift' and `reset' were introduced as a programmatic
% way to manipulate and compose continuations. Algebraically `shift'
% corresponds to the composition operation for continuation functions,
% whereas `reset' corresponds to the identity
% element~\cite{DanvyF89,DanvyF90,DanvyF92}.
% %
% Technically, the operators operate on a meta layer, which is obtained
% by CPS transforming the image again. An indefinite amount of meta
% layers can be obtained by iterating the CPS transformation on its
% image, leading to a whole hierarchy of CPS.
% %
% %
% \dhil{Consider dropping the blurb about hierarchy/meta layers.}
Since control/prompt and shift/reset a whole variety of alternative
delimited control operators has appeared.
% Delimited control: Control delimiters form the basis for delimited
% control. \citeauthor{Felleisen88} introduced control delimiters in
% 1988, although allusions to control delimiters were made a year
% earlier by \citet{FelleisenFDM87} and in \citeauthor{Felleisen87}'s
% PhD dissertation~\cite{Felleisen87}. The basic idea was teased even
% earlier in \citeauthor{Talcott85}'s teased the idea of control
% delimiters in her PhD dissertation~\cite{Talcott85}.
% %
% Common Lisp resumable exceptions (condition system)~\cite{Steele90},
% F~\cite{FelleisenFDM87,Felleisen88}, control/prompt~\cite{SitaramF90},
% shift/reset~\cite{DanvyF89,DanvyF90}, splitter~\cite{QueinnecS91},
% fcontrol~\cite{Sitaram93}, catchcont~\cite{LongleyW08}, effect
% handlers~\cite{PlotkinP09}.
% Comparison of various delimited control
% operators~\cite{Shan04}. Simulation of delimited control using
% undelimited control~\cite{Filinski94}
\paragraph{\citeauthor{Felleisen88}'s control and prompt}
%
Control and prompt were introduced by \citeauthor{Felleisen88} in
1988~\cite{Felleisen88}. The control operator `control' is a
rebranding of the F operator. Although, the name `control' was first
introduced a little later by \citet{SitaramF90}. A prompt acts as a
control-flow barrier that delimits different parts of a program,
enabling programmers to manipulate and reason about control locally in
different parts of a program. The name `prompt' is intended to draw
connections to shell prompts, and how they act as barriers between the
user and operating system.
%
In this presentation both control and prompt appear as computation
forms.
%
\begin{syntax}
&M,W \in \CompCat &::=& \cdots \mid \Control~k.M \mid \Prompt~M
\end{syntax}
%
The $\Control~k.M$ expression reifies the context up to the nearest,
dynamically determined, enclosing prompt and binds it to $k$ inside of
$M$. A prompt is written using the sharp ($\Prompt$) symbol.
%
The prompt remains in place after the reification, and thus any
subsequent application of $\Control$ will be delimited by the same
prompt.
%
Presenting $\Control$ as a binding form may conceal the fact that it
is same as $\FelleisenF$. However, the presentation here is close to
\citeauthor{SitaramF90}'s presentation, which in turn is close to
actual implementations of $\Control$.
The static semantics of control and prompt were absent in
\citeauthor{Felleisen88}'s original treatment.
%
\dhil{Mention Yonezawa and Kameyama's type system.}
%
\citet{DybvigJS07} gave a typed embedding of multi-prompts in
Haskell. In the multi-prompt setting the prompts are named and an
instance of $\Control$ is indexed by the prompt name of its designated
delimiter.
% Typing them, particularly using a simple type system,
% affect their expressivity, because the type of the continuation object
% produced by $\Control$ must be compatible with the type of its nearest
% enclosing prompt -- this type is often called the \emph{answer} type
% (this terminology is adopted from typed continuation passing style
% transforms, where the codomain of every function is transformed to
% yield the type of whatever answer the entire program
% yields~\cite{MeyerW85}).
% %
% \dhil{Give intuition for why soundness requires the answer type to be fixed.}
% %
% In the static semantics we extend the typing judgement relation to
% contain an up front fixed answer type $A$.
% %
% \begin{mathpar}
% \inferrule*
% {\typ{\Gamma;A}{M : A}}
% {\typ{\Gamma;A}{\Prompt~M : A}}
% \inferrule*
% {~}
% {\typ{\Gamma;A}{\Control : (\Cont\,\Record{A;A} \to A) \to A}}
% \end{mathpar}
% %
% A prompt has the same type as its computation constituent, which in
% turn must have the same type as fixed answer type.
% %
% Similarly, the type of $\Control$ is governed by the fixed answer
% type. Discarding the answer type reveals that $\Control$ has the same
% typing judgement as $\FelleisenF$.
% %
The dynamic semantics for control and prompt consist of three rules:
1) handle return through a prompt, 2) continuation capture, and 3)
continuation invocation.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Value} &
\Prompt~V &\reducesto& V\\
\slab{Capture} &
\Prompt~\EC[\Control~k.M] &\reducesto& \Prompt~M[\qq{\cont_{\EC}}/k], \text{ where $\EC$ contains no \Prompt}\\
\slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V &\reducesto& \EC[V]
\end{reductions}
%
The \slab{Value} rule accounts for the case when the computation
constituent of $\Prompt$ has been reduced to a value, in which case
the prompt is removed and the value is returned.
%
The \slab{Capture} rule states that an application of $\Control$
captures the current continuation up to the nearest enclosing
prompt. The current continuation (up to the nearest prompt) is also
aborted. If we erase $\Prompt$ from the rule, then it is clear that
$\Control$ has the same dynamic behaviour as $\FelleisenF$.
%
It is evident from the \slab{Resume} rule that control and prompt are
an instance of a dynamic control operator, because resuming the
continuation object produced by $\Control$ does not install a new
prompt.
To illustrate $\Prompt$ and $\Control$ in action, let us consider a
few simple examples.
%
\begin{derivation}
& 1 + \Prompt~2 + (\Control~k.3 + k~0) + (\Control~k'.k'~4)\\
\reducesto^+& \reason{Capture $\EC = 2 + [\,] + (\Control~k'.k'~4)$}\\
& 1 + \Prompt~3+\Continue~\cont_{\EC}~0\\
\reducesto & \reason{Resume with 0}\\
& 1 + \Prompt~3 + (2 + 0) + (\Control~k'.k'~4)\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{Capture $\EC' = 5 + [\,]$}\\
& 1 + \Prompt~\Continue~\cont_{\EC'}~4\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{Resume with 4}\\
& 1 + \Prompt~5 + 4\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{\slab{Value} rule}\\
& 1 + 9 \reducesto 10
\end{derivation}
%
The continuation captured by the either application of $\Control$ is
oblivious to the continuation $1 + [\,]$ of $\Prompt$. Since the
captured continuation is composable it returns to its call site. The
invocation of the captured continuation $k$ returns the value 0, but
splices the captured context into the context $3 + [\,]$. The second
application of $\Control$ captures the new context up to the
delimiter. The continuation is immediately applied to the value 4,
which causes the captured context to be reinstated with the value 4
plugged in. Ultimately the delimited context reduces to the value $9$,
after which the prompt $\Prompt$ gets eliminated, and the continuation
of the $\Prompt$ is applied to the value $9$, resulting in the final
result $10$.
Let us consider a slight variation of the previous example.
%
\begin{derivation}
& 1 + \Prompt~2 + (\Control~k.3 + k~0) + (\Control~k'.4)\\
\reducesto^+& \reason{Capture $\EC = 2 + [\,] + (\Control~k'.4)$}\\
& 1 + \Prompt~3+\Continue~\cont_{\EC}~0\\
\reducesto & \reason{Resume with 0}\\
& 1 + \Prompt~3 + (2 + 0) + (\Control~k'.4)\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{Capture $\EC' = 5 + [\,]$}\\
& 1 + \Prompt~4\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{\slab{Value} rule}\\
& 1 + 4 \reducesto 5
\end{derivation}
%
Here the computation constituent of the second application of
$\Control$ drops the captured continuation, which has the effect of
erasing the previous computation, ultimately resulting in the value
$5$ rather than $10$.
% \begin{derivation}
% & 1 + \Prompt~2 + (\Control~k.\Continue~k~0) + (\Control~k'. 0)\\
% \reducesto^+& \reason{Capture $\EC = 2 + [\,] + (\Control~k'.0)$}\\
% & 1 + \Prompt~\Continue~\cont_{\EC}~0\\
% \reducesto & \reason{Resume with 0}\\
% & 1 + \Prompt~2 + 0 + (\Control~k'. 0)\\
% \reducesto^+ & \reason{Capture $\EC' = 2 + [\,]$}\\
% & 1 + \Prompt~0 \\
% \reducesto & \reason{\slab{Value} rule}\\
% & 1 + 0 \reducesto 1
% \end{derivation}
%
The continuation captured by the first application of $\Control$
contains another application of $\Control$. The application of the
continuation immediate reinstates the captured context filling the
hole left by the first instance of $\Control$ with the value $0$. The
second application of $\Control$ captures the remainder of the
computation of to $\Prompt$. However, the captured context gets
discarded, because the continuation $k'$ is never invoked.
%
\dhil{Mention control0/prompt0 and the control hierarchy}
\paragraph{\citeauthor{DanvyF90}'s shift and reset} Shift and reset
first appeared in a technical report by \citeauthor{DanvyF89} in
1989. Although, perhaps the most widely known account of shift and
reset appeared in \citeauthor{DanvyF90}'s treatise on abstracting
control the following year~\cite{DanvyF90}.
%
Shift and reset differ from control and prompt in that the contexts
abstracted by shift are statically scoped by reset.
% As with control and prompt, in our setting, shift appears as a value,
% whilst reset appear as a computation.
In our setting both shift and reset appear as computation forms.
%
\begin{syntax}
% & V, W &::=& \cdots \mid \shift\\
& M, N &::=& \cdots \mid \shift\; k.M \mid \reset{M}
\end{syntax}
%
The $\shift$ construct captures the continuation delimited by an
enclosing $\reset{-}$ and binds it to $k$ in the computation $M$.
\citeauthor{DanvyF89}'s original development of shift and reset stands
out from the previous developments of control operators, as they
presented a type system for shift and reset, whereas previous control
operators were originally studied in untyped settings.
%
The standard inference-based approach to type
checking~\cite{Plotkin81,Plotkin04a} is inadequate for type checking
shift and reset, because shift may alter the \emph{answer type} of the
expression (the terminology `answer type' is adopted from typed
continuation passing style transforms, where the codomain of every
function is transformed to yield the type of whatever answer the
entire program yields~\cite{MeyerW85}).
%
To capture the potent power of shift in the type system they
introduced the notion of \emph{answer type
modification}~\cite{DanvyF89}.
%
The addition of answer type modification changes type judgement to be
a five place relation.
%
\[
\typ{\Gamma;B}{M : A; B'}
\]
%
This would be read as: in a context $\Gamma$ where the original result
type was $B$, the type of $M$ is $A$, and modifies the result type to
$B'$. In this system the typing rule for $\shift$ is as follows.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*
{\typ{\Gamma,k : A / C \to B / C;D}{M : D;B'}}
{\typ{\Gamma;B}{\shift\;k.M : A;B'}}
\end{mathpar}
%
Here the function type constructor $-/- \to -/-$ has been endowed with
the domain and codomain of the continuation. The left hand side of
$\to$ contains the domain type of the function and the codomain of the
continuation, respectively. The right hand side contains the domain of
the continuation and the codomain of the function, respectively.
Answer type modification is a powerful feature that can be used to
type embedded languages, an illustrious application of this is
\citeauthor{Danvy98}'s typed $\dec{printf}$~\cite{Danvy98}. A
polymorphic extension of answer type modification has been
investigated by \citet{AsaiK07}, \citet{KiselyovS07} developed a
substructural type system with answer type modification, whilst
\citet{KoboriKK16} demonstrated how to translate from a source
language with answer type modification into a system without using
typed multi-prompts.
Differences between shift/reset and control/prompt manifests in the
dynamic semantics as well.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Value} & \reset{V} &\reducesto& V\\
\slab{Capture} & \reset{\EC[\shift\;k.M]} &\reducesto& \reset{M[\qq{\cont_{\EC}}/k]}, \text { where $\EC$ contains no $\reset{-}$}\\
% \slab{Resume} & \reset{\EC[\Continue~\cont_{\reset{\EC'}}~V]} &\reducesto& \reset{\EC[\reset{\EC'[V]}]}\\
\slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V &\reducesto& \reset{\EC[V]}\\
\end{reductions}
%
The $\slab{Value}$ and $\slab{Capture}$ rules are the same as for
control/prompt (modulo the syntactic differences). The static nature
of shift/reset manifests operationally in the $\slab{Resume}$ rule,
where the reinstalled context $\EC$ gets enclosed in a new reset. The
extra reset has ramifications for the operational behaviour of
subsequent occurrences of $\shift$ in $\EC$. To put this into
perspective, let us revisit the second control/prompt example with
shift/reset instead.
%
\begin{derivation}
& 1 + \reset{2 + (\shift\;k.3 + k\,0) + (\shift\;k'.4)}\\
\reducesto^+& \reason{Capture $\EC = 2 + [\,] + (\shift\;k.4)$}\\
& 1 + \reset{\Continue~\cont_{\EC}~0}\\
\reducesto & \reason{Resume with 0}\\
& 1 + \reset{3 + \reset{2 + 0 + (\shift\;k'. 4)}}\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{Capture $\EC' = 2 + [\,]$}\\
& 1 + \reset{3 + \reset{4}} \\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{\slab{Value} rule}\\
& 1 + \reset{7} \reducesto^+ 8 \\
\end{derivation}
%
Contrast this result with the result $5$ obtained when using
control/prompt. In essence the insertion of a new reset after
resumption has the effect of remembering the local context of the
previous continuation invocation.
This difference naturally raises the question whether shift/reset and
control/prompt are interdefinable or exhibit essential expressivity
differences. This question was answered by \citet{Shan04}, who
demonstrated that shift/reset and control/prompt are
macro-expressible. The translations are too intricate to be reproduced
here, however, it is worth noting that \citeauthor{Shan04} were
working in the untyped setting of Scheme and the translation of
control/prompt made use of recursive
continuations. \citet{BiernackiDS05} typed and reimplemented this
translation in Standard ML New Jersey~\cite{AppelM91}, using
\citeauthor{Filinski94}'s encoding of shift/reset in terms of callcc
and state~\cite{Filinski94}.
%
%
\dhil{Maybe mention the implication is that control/prompt has CPS semantics.}
\dhil{Mention shift0/reset0, dollar0\dots}
% \begin{reductions}
% % \slab{Value} & \reset{V} &\reducesto& V\\
% \slab{Capture} & \reset{\EC[\shift\,k.M]} &\reducesto& M[\cont_{\reset{\EC}}/k]\\
% % \slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\reset{\EC}}~V &\reducesto& \reset{\EC[V]}\\
% \end{reductions}
%
\paragraph{\citeauthor{QueinnecS91}'s splitter} The `splitter' control
operator reconciles abortive undelimited control and composable
delimited control. It was introduced by \citet{QueinnecS91} in
1991. The name `splitter' is derived from it operational behaviour, as
an application of `splitter' marks evaluation context in order for it
to be split into two parts, where the context outside the mark
represents the rest of computation, and the context inside the mark
may be reified into a delimited continuation. The operator supports
two operations `abort' and `calldc' to control the splitting of
evaluation contexts. The former has the effect of escaping to the
outer context, whilst the latter reifies the inner context as a
delimited continuation (the operation name is short for ``call with
delimited continuation'').
Splitter and the two operations abort and calldc are value forms.
%
\[
V,W ::= \cdots \mid \splitter \mid \abort \mid \calldc
\]
%
In their treatise of splitter, \citeauthor{QueinnecS91} gave three
different presentations of splitter. The presentation that I have
opted for here is close to their second presentation, which is in
terms of multi-prompt continuations. This variation of splitter admits
a pleasant static semantics too. Thus, we further extend the syntactic
categories with the machinery for first-class prompts.
%
\begin{syntax}
& A,B &::=& \cdots \mid \prompttype~A \smallskip\\
& V,W &::=& \cdots \mid p\\
& M,N &::=& \cdots \mid \Prompt_V~M
\end{syntax}
%
The type $\prompttype~A$ classifies prompts whose answer type is
$A$. Prompt names are first-class values and denoted by $p$. The
computation $\Prompt_V~M$ denotes a computation $M$ delimited by a
parameterised prompt, whose value parameter $V$ is supposed to be a
prompt name.
%
The static semantics of $\splitter$, $\abort$, and $\calldc$ are as
follows.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*
{~}
{\typ{\Gamma}{\splitter : (\prompttype~A \to A) \to A}}
\inferrule*
{~}
{\typ{\Gamma}{\abort : \prompttype~A \times (\UnitType \to A) \to B}}
\inferrule*
{~}
{\typ{\Gamma}{\calldc : \prompttype~A \times ((B \to A) \to B) \to B}}
\end{mathpar}
%
In this presentation, the operator and the two operations all amount
to special higher-order function symbols. The argument to $\splitter$
is parameterised by a prompt name. This name is injected by
$\splitter$ upon application. The operations $\abort$ and $\calldc$
both accept as their first argument the name of the delimiting
prompt. The second argument of $\abort$ is a thunk, whilst the second
argument of $\calldc$ is a higher-order function, which accepts a
continuation as its argument.
For the sake of completeness the prompt primitives are typed as
follows.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*
{~}
{\typ{\Gamma,p:\prompttype~A}{p : \prompttype~A}}
\inferrule*
{\typ{\Gamma}{V : \prompttype~A} \\ \typ{\Gamma}{M : A}}
{\typ{\Gamma}{\Prompt_V~M : A}}
\end{mathpar}
%
The dynamic semantics of this presentation require a bit of
generativity in order to generate fresh prompt names. Therefore the
reduction relation is extended with an additional component to keep
track of which prompt names have already been allocated.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{AppSplitter} & \splitter~V,\rho &\reducesto& \Prompt_p~V\,p,\rho \uplus \{p\}\\
\slab{Value} & \Prompt_p~V,\rho &\reducesto& V,\rho\\
\slab{Abort} & \Prompt_p~\EC[\abort~\Record{p;V}],\rho &\reducesto& V\,\Unit,\rho,\quad \text{where $\EC$ contains no $\Prompt_p$}\\
\slab{Capture} & \Prompt_p~\EC[\calldc~V] &\reducesto& V~\qq{\cont_{\EC}},\rho\\
\slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V,\rho &\reducesto& \EC[V],\rho
\end{reductions}
%
We see by the $\slab{AppSplitter}$ rule that an application of
$\splitter$ generates a fresh named prompt, whose name is applied on
the function argument.
%
The $\slab{Value}$ rule is completely standard.
%
The $\slab{Abort}$ rule show that an invocation of $\abort$ causes the
current evaluation context $\EC$ up to and including the nearest
enclosing prompt.
%
The next rule $\slab{Capture}$ show that $\calldc$ captures and aborts
the context up to the nearest enclosing prompt. The captured context
is applied on the function argument of $\calldc$. As part of the
operation the prompt is removed. % Thus, $\calldc$ behaves as a
% delimited variation of $\Callcc$.
%
It is clear by the prompt semantics that invocation of either $\abort$
and $\calldc$ is only well-defined within the dynamic extent of
$\splitter$. Since the prompt is eliminated after use of either
operation subsequent operation invocations must be guarded by a new
instance of $\splitter$.
%
\dhil{Show an example}
% \begin{reductions}
% \slab{Value} & \splitter~abort~calldc.V &\reducesto& V\\
% \slab{Throw} & \splitter~abort~calldc.\EC[\,abort~V] &\reducesto& V~\Unit\\
% \slab{Capture} &
% \splitter~abort~calldc.\EC[calldc~V] &\reducesto& V~\qq{\cont_{\EC}} \\
% \slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V &\reducesto& \EC[V]
% \end{reductions}
\paragraph{Spawn}
\dhil{TODO: Canonical reference \citet{HiebDA94}}
\paragraph{\citeauthor{Sitaram93}'s fcontrol} The control operator
`fcontrol' was introduced by \citet{Sitaram93} in 1993. It is a
refinement of control0/prompt0, and thus, it is a dynamic delimited
control operator. The main novelty of fcontrol is that it shifts the
handling of continuations from control capture operator to the control
delimiter. The prompt interface for fcontrol lets the programmer
attach a handler to it. This handler is activated whenever a
continuation captured.
%
\citeauthor{Sitaram93}'s observation was that with previous control
operators the handling of control happens at continuation capture
point, meaning that the control handling logic gets intertwined with
application logic. The inspiration for the interface of fcontrol and
its associated prompt came from exception handlers, where the handling
of exceptions is separate from the invocation site of
exceptions~\cite{Sitaram93}.
The operator fcontrol is a value and prompt with handler is a
computation.
%
\begin{syntax}
& V, W &::=& \cdots \mid \fcontrol\\
& M, N &::=& \cdots \mid \fprompt~V.M
\end{syntax}
%
As with $\Callcc$, the value $\fcontrol$ may be regarded as a special
unary function symbol. The syntax $\fprompt$ denotes a prompt (in
\citeauthor{Sitaram93}'s terminology it is called run). The value
constituent of $\fprompt$ is the control handler. It is a binary
function, that gets applied to the argument of $\fcontrol$ and the
continuation up to the prompt.
%
The dynamic semantics elucidate this behaviour formally.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Value} &
\fprompt~V.W &\reducesto& W\\
\slab{Capture} &
\fprompt~V.\EC[\fcontrol~W] &\reducesto& V~W~\qq{\cont_{\EC}}, \text{ where $\EC$ contains no \fprompt}\\
\slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V &\reducesto& \EC[V]
\end{reductions}
%
The $\slab{Value}$ is similar to the previous $\slab{Value}$
rules. The interesting rule is the $\slab{Capture}$. When $\fcontrol$
is applied to some value $W$ the enclosing context $\EC$ gets reified
and aborted up to the nearest enclosing prompt, which invokes the
handler $V$ with the argument $W$ and the continuation.
%
\dhil{Show an example\dots}
\paragraph{Cupto} The control operator cupto is a variation of
control0/prompt0 designed to fit into the typed ML-family of
languages. It was introduced by \citet{GunterRR95} in 1995. The name
cupto is an abbreviation for ``control up to''~\cite{GunterRR95}.
%
The control operator comes with a set of companion constructs, and
thus, augments the syntactic categories of types, values, and
computations.
%
\begin{syntax}
& A,B &::=& \cdots \mid \prompttype~A \smallskip\\
& V,W &::=& \cdots \mid p \mid \newPrompt\\
& M,N &::=& \cdots \mid \Set\;V\;\In\;N \mid \Cupto~V~k.M
\end{syntax}
%
The type $\prompttype~A$ is the type of prompts. It is parameterised
by an answer type $A$ for the prompt context. Prompts are first-class
values, which we denote by $p$. The construct $\newPrompt$ is a
special function symbol, which returns a fresh prompt. The computation
form $\Set\;V\;\In\;N$ activates the prompt $V$ to delimit the dynamic
extent of continuations captured inside $N$. The $\Cupto~V~k.M$
computation binds $k$ to the continuation up to (the first instance
of) the active prompt $V$ in the computation $M$.
\citet{GunterRR95} gave a Hindley-Milner type
system~\cite{Hindley69,Milner78} for $\Cupto$, since they were working
in the context of ML languages. I do not reproduce the full system
here, only the essential rules for the $\Cupto$ constructs.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*
{~}
{\typ{\Gamma,p:\prompttype~A}{p : \prompttype~A}}
\inferrule*
{~}
{\typ{\Gamma}{\newPrompt} : \UnitType \to \prompttype~A}
\inferrule*
{\typ{\Gamma}{V : \prompttype~A} \\ \typ{\Gamma}{N : A}}
{\typ{\Gamma}{\Set\;V\;\In\;N : A}}
\inferrule*
{\typ{\Gamma}{V : \prompttype~B} \\ \typ{\Gamma,k : A \to B}{M : B}}
{\typ{\Gamma}{\Cupto\;V\;k.M : A}}
\end{mathpar}
%
%val cupto : 'b prompt -> (('a -> 'b) -> 'b) -> 'a
%
The typing rule for $\Set$ uses the type embedded in the prompt to fix
the type of the whole computation $N$. Similarly, the typing rule for
$\Cupto$ uses the prompt type of its value argument to fix the answer
type for the continuation $k$. The type of the $\Cupto$ expression is
the same as the domain of the continuation, which at first glance may
seem strange. The intuition is that $\Cupto$ behaves as a let binding
for the continuation in the context of a $\Set$ expression, i.e.
%
\[
\bl
\Set\;p^{\prompttype~B}\;\In\;\EC[\Cupto\;p\;k^{A \to B}.M^B]^B\\
\reducesto \Let\;k \revto \lambda x^{A}.\EC[x]^B \;\In\;M^B
\el
\]
%
The dynamic semantics is generative to accommodate generation of fresh
prompts. Formally, the reduction relation is augmented with a store
$\rho$ that tracks which prompt names have already been allocated.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Value} &
\Set\; p \;\In\; V, \rho &\reducesto& V, \rho\\
\slab{NewPrompt} &
\newPrompt~\Unit, \rho &\reducesto& p, \rho \uplus \{p\}\\
\slab{Capture} &
\Set\; p \;\In\; \EC[\Cupto~p~k.M], \rho &\reducesto& M[\qq{\cont_{\EC}}/k], \rho,\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{\hfill\text{where $p$ is not active in $\EC$}}\\
\slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V, \rho &\reducesto& \EC[V], \rho
\end{reductions}
%
The $\slab{Value}$ rule is akin to value rules of shift/reset and
control/prompt. The rule $\slab{NewPrompt}$ allocates a fresh prompt
name $p$ and adds it to the store $\rho$. The $\slab{Capture}$ rule
reifies and aborts the evaluation context up to the nearest enclosing
active prompt $p$. After reification the prompt is removed and
evaluation continues as $M$. The $\slab{Resume}$ rule reinstalls the
captured context $\EC$ with the argument $V$ plugged in.
%
\dhil{Show some example of use\dots}
\paragraph{\citeauthor{PlotkinP09}'s effect handlers} In 2009,
\citet{PlotkinP09} introduced handlers for \citeauthor{PlotkinP01}'s
algebraic effects~\cite{PlotkinP01,PlotkinP03,PlotkinP13}. In contrast
to the previous control operators, the mathematical foundations of
handlers were not an afterthought, rather, their origin is deeply
rooted in mathematics. Nevertheless, they turn out to provide a
pragmatic interface for programming with control. Operationally,
effect handlers can be viewed as a small extension to exception
handlers, where exceptions are resumable. Effect handlers are similar
to fcontrol in that handling of control happens at the delimiter and
not at the point of control capture. Unlike fcontrol, the interface of
effect handlers provide a mechanism for handling the return value of a
computation similar to \citeauthor{BentonK01}'s exception handlers
with success continuations~\cite{BentonK01}.
Effect handler definitions occupy their own syntactic category.
%
\begin{syntax}
&A,B \in \ValTypeCat &::=& \cdots \mid A \Harrow B \smallskip\\
&H \in \HandlerCat &::=& \{ \Return \; x \mapsto M \}
\mid \{ \OpCase{\ell}{p}{k} \mapsto N \} \uplus H\\
\end{syntax}
%
An effect handler consists of a $\Return$-clause and zero or more
operation clauses. Each operation clause binds the payload of the
matching operation $\ell$ to $p$ and the continuation of the operation
invocation to $k$ in $N$.
Effect handlers introduces a new syntactic category of signatures, and
extends the value types with operation types. Operation and handler
application both appear as computation forms.
%
\begin{syntax}
&\Sigma \in \mathsf{Sig} &::=& \emptyset \mid \{ \ell : A \opto B \} \uplus \Sigma\\
&A,B,C,D \in \ValTypeCat &::=& \cdots \mid A \opto B \smallskip\\
&M,N \in \CompCat &::=& \cdots \mid \Do\;\ell\,V \mid \Handle \; M \; \With \; H\\[1ex]
\end{syntax}
%
A signature is a collection of labels with operation types. An
operation type $A \opto B$ is similar to the function type in that $A$
denotes the domain (type of the argument) of the operation, and $B$
denotes the codomain (return type). For simplicity, we will just
assume a global fixed signature. The form $\Do\;\ell\,V$ is the
application form for operations. It applies an operation $\ell$ with
payload $V$. The construct $\Handle\;M\;\With\;H$ handles a
computation $M$ with handler $H$.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*
{{\bl
% C = A \eff \{(\ell_i : A_i \opto B_i)_i; R\} \\
% D = B \eff \{(\ell_i : P_i)_i; R\}\\
\{\ell_i : A_i \opto B_i\}_i \in \Sigma \\
H = \{\Return\;x \mapsto M\} \uplus \{ \OpCase{\ell_i}{p_i}{k_i} \mapsto N_i \}_i \\
\el}\\\\
\typ{\Gamma, x : A;\Sigma}{M : D}\\\\
[\typ{\Gamma,p_i : A_i, k_i : B_i \to D;\Sigma}{N_i : D}]_i
}
{\typ{\Gamma;\Sigma}{H : C \Harrow D}}
\end{mathpar}
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*
{\{ \ell : A \opto B \} \in \Sigma \\ \typ{\Gamma;\Sigma}{V : A}}
{\typ{\Gamma;\Sigma}{\Do\;\ell\,V : B}}
\inferrule*
{
\typ{\Gamma}{M : C} \\
\typ{\Gamma}{H : C \Harrow D}
}
{\typ{\Gamma;\Sigma}{\Handle \; M \; \With\; H : D}}
\end{mathpar}
%
The first typing rule checks that the operation label of each
operation clause is declared in the signature $\Sigma$. The signature
provides the necessary information to construct the type of the
payload parameters $p_i$ and the continuations $k_i$. Note that the
domain of each continuation $k_i$ is compatible with the codomain of
$\ell_i$, and the codomain of $k_i$ is compatible with the codomain of
the handler.
%
The second and third typing rules are application of operations and
handlers, respectively. The rule for operation application simply
inspects the signature to check that the operation is declared, and
that the type of the payload is compatible with the declared type.
This particular presentation is nominal, because operations are
declared up front. Nominal typing is the only sound option in the
absence of an effect system (unless we restrict operations to work
over a fixed type, say, an integer). In
Chapter~\ref{ch:unary-handlers} we see a different presentation based
on structural typing.
The dynamic semantics of effect handlers are similar to that of
$\fcontrol$, though, the $\slab{Value}$ rule is more interesting.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Value} & \Handle\; V \;\With\;H &\reducesto& M[V/x], \text{ where } \{\Return\;x \mapsto M\} \in H\\
\slab{Capture} & \Handle\;\EC[\Do\;\ell~V] \;\With\; H &\reducesto& M[V/p,\qq{\cont_{\Record{\EC;H}}}/k],\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{\hfill\bl\text{where $\ell$ is not handled in $\EC$}\\\text{and }\{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{k} \mapsto M\} \in H\el}\\
\slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\Record{\EC;H}}~V &\reducesto& \Handle\;\EC[V]\;\With\;H\\
\end{reductions}
%
The \slab{Value} rule differs from previous operators as it is not
just the identity. Instead the $\Return$-clause of the handler
definition is applied to the return value of the computation.
%
The \slab{Capture} rule handles operation invocation by checking
whether the handler $H$ handles the operation $\ell$, otherwise the
operation implicitly passes through the term to the context outside
the handler. This behaviour is similar to how exceptions pass through
the context until a suitable handler has been found.
%
If $H$ handles $\ell$, then the context $\EC$ from the operation
invocation up to and including the handler $H$ are reified as a
continuation object, which gets bound in the corresponding clause for
$\ell$ in $H$ along with the payload of $\ell$.
%
This form of effect handlers is known as \emph{deep} handlers. They
are deep in the sense that they embody a structural recursion scheme
akin to fold over computation trees induced by effectful
operations. The recursion is evident from $\slab{Resume}$ rule, as
continuation invocation causes the same handler to be reinstalled
along with the captured context.
A classic example of handlers in action is handling of
nondeterminism. Let us fix a signature with two operations.
%
\[
\Sigma \defas \{\Fail : \UnitType \opto \ZeroType; \Choose : \UnitType \opto \Bool\}
\]
%
The $\Fail$ operation is essentially an exception as its codomain is
the empty type, meaning that its continuation can never be
invoked. The $\Choose$ operation returns a boolean.
We will define a handler for each operation.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
H^{A}_{f} : A \Harrow \Option~A\\
H_{f} \defas \{ \Return\; x \mapsto \Some~x; &\OpCase{\Fail}{\Unit}{k} \mapsto \None \}\\
H^B_{c} : B \Harrow \List~B\\
H_{c} \defas \{ \Return\; x \mapsto [x]; &\OpCase{\Choose}{\Unit}{k} \mapsto k~\True \concat k~\False \}
\ea
\]
%
The handler $H_f$ handles an invocation of $\Fail$ by dropping the
continuation and simply returning $\None$ (due to the lack
polymorphism, the definitions are parameterised by types $A$ and $B$
respectively. We may consider them as universal type variables). The
$\Return$-case of $H_f$ tags its argument with $\Some$.
%
The $H_c$ definition handles an invocation of $\Choose$ by first
invoking the continuation $k$ with $\True$ and subsequently with
$\False$. The two results are ultimately concatenated. The
$\Return$-case lifts its argument into a singleton list.
%
Now, let us define a simple nondeterministic coin tossing computation
with failure (by convention let us interpret $\True$ as heads and
$\False$ as tails).
%
\[
\bl
\toss : \UnitType \to \Bool\\
\toss~\Unit \defas
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\If\;\Do\;\Choose~\Unit\\
\Then\;\Do\;\Choose~\Unit\\
\Else\;\Absurd\;\Do\;\Fail~\Unit
\ea
\el
\]
%
The computation $\toss$ first performs $\Choose$ in order to
branch. If it returns $\True$ then a second instance of $\Choose$ is
performed. Otherwise, it raises the $\Fail$ exception.
%
If we apply $\toss$ outside of $H_c$ and $H_f$ then the computation
gets stuck as either $\Choose$ or $\Fail$, or both, would be
unhandled. Thus, we have to run the computation in the context of both
handlers. However, we have a choice to make as we can compose the
handlers in either order. Let us first explore the composition, where
$H_c$ is the outermost handler. Thus instantiate $H_c$ at type
$\Option~\Bool$ and $H_f$ at type $\Bool$.
%
\begin{derivation}
& \Handle\;(\Handle\;\toss~\Unit\;\With\; H_f)\;\With\;H_c\\
\reducesto & \reason{$\beta$-reduction, $\EC = \If\;[\,]\;\Then \cdots$}\\
& \Handle\;(\Handle\; \EC[\Do\;\Choose~\Unit] \;\With\; H_f)\;\With\;H_c\\
\reducesto & \reason{\slab{Capture}, $\{\OpCase{\Choose}{\Unit}{k} \mapsto \cdots\} \in H_c$, $\EC' = (\Handle\;\EC\;\cdots)$}\\
& k~\True \concat k~\False, \qquad \text{where $k = \qq{\cont_{\Record{\EC';H_c}}}$}\\
\reducesto^+ & \reason{\slab{Resume} with $\True$}\\
& (\Handle\;(\Handle\;\EC[\True] \;\With\;H_f)\;\With\;H_c) \concat k~\False\\
\reducesto & \reason{$\beta$-reduction}\\
& (\Handle\;(\Handle\; \Do\;\Choose~\Unit \;\With\; H_f)\;\With\;H_c) \concat k~\False\\
\reducesto & \reason{\slab{Capture}, $\{\OpCase{\Choose}{\Unit}{k'} \mapsto \cdots\} \in H_c$, $\EC'' = (\Handle\;[\,]\;\cdots)$}\\
& (k'~\True \concat k'~\False) \concat k~\False, \qquad \text{where $k' = \qq{\cont_{\Record{\EC'';H_c}}}$}\\
\reducesto& \reason{\slab{Resume} with $\True$}\\
&((\Handle\;(\Handle\; \True \;\With\; H_f)\;\With\;H_c) \concat k'~\False) \concat k~\False\\
\reducesto& \reason{\slab{Value}, $\{\Return\;x \mapsto \cdots\} \in H_f$}\\
&((\Handle\;\Some~\True\;\With\;H_c) \concat k'~\False) \concat k~\False\\
\reducesto& \reason{\slab{Value}, $\{\Return\;x \mapsto \cdots\} \in H_c$}\\
& ([\Some~\True] \concat k'~\False) \concat k~\False\\
\reducesto^+& \reason{\slab{Resume} with $\False$, \slab{Value}, \slab{Value}}\\
& [\Some~\True] \concat [\Some~\False] \concat k~\False\\
\reducesto^+& \reason{\slab{Resume} with $\False$}\\
& [\Some~\True, \Some~\False] \concat (\Handle\;(\Handle\; \Absurd\;\Do\;\Fail\,\Unit \;\With\; H_f)\;\With\;H_c)\\
\reducesto& \reason{\slab{Capture}, $\{\OpCase{\Fail}{\Unit}{k} \mapsto \cdots\} \in H_f$}\\
& [\Some~\True, \Some~\False] \concat (\Handle\; \None\; \With\; H_c)\\
\reducesto& \reason{\slab{Value}, $\{\Return\;x \mapsto \cdots\} \in H_c$}\\
& [\Some~\True, \Some~\False] \concat [\None] \reducesto [\Some~\True,\Some~\False,\None]
\end{derivation}
%
Note how the invocation of $\Choose$ passes through $H_f$, because
$H_f$ does not handle the operation. This is a key characteristic of
handlers, and it is called \emph{effect forwarding}. Any handler will
implicitly forward every operation that it does not handle.
Suppose we were to swap the order of $H_c$ and $H_f$, then the
computation would yield $\None$, because the invocation of $\Fail$
would transfer control to $H_f$, which is the now the outermost
handler, and it would drop the continuation and simply return $\None$.
The alternative to deep handlers is known as \emph{shallow}
handlers. They do not embody a particular recursion scheme, rather,
they correspond to case splits to over computation trees.
%
To distinguish between applications of deep and shallow handlers, we
will mark the latter with a dagger superscript, i.e.
$\ShallowHandle\; - \;\With\;-$. Syntactically deep and shallow
handler definitions are identical, however, their typing differ.
%
\begin{mathpar}
%\mprset{flushleft}
\inferrule*
{{\bl
% C = A \eff \{(\ell_i : A_i \opto B_i)_i; R\} \\
% D = B \eff \{(\ell_i : P_i)_i; R\}\\
\{\ell_i : A_i \opto B_i\}_i \in \Sigma \\
H = \{\Return\;x \mapsto M\} \uplus \{ \OpCase{\ell_i}{p_i}{k_i} \mapsto N_i \}_i \\
\el}\\\\
\typ{\Gamma, x : A;\Sigma}{M : D}\\\\
[\typ{\Gamma,p_i : A_i, k_i : B_i \to C;\Sigma}{N_i : D}]_i
}
{\typ{\Gamma;\Sigma}{H : C \Harrow D}}
\end{mathpar}
%
The difference is in the typing of the continuation $k_i$. The
codomains of continuations must now be compatible with the return type
$C$ of the handled computation. The typing suggests that an invocation
of $k_i$ does not reinstall the handler. The dynamic semantics reveal
that a shallow handler does not reify its own definition.
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Capture} & \ShallowHandle\;\EC[\Do\;\ell~V] \;\With\; H &\reducesto& M[V/p,\qq{\cont_{\EC}}/k],\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{\hfill\bl\text{where $\ell$ is not handled in $\EC$}\\\text{and }\{\ell~p~k \mapsto M\} \in H\el}\\
\slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V &\reducesto& \EC[V]\\
\end{reductions}
%
The $\slab{Capture}$ reifies the continuation up to the handler, and
thus the $\slab{Resume}$ rule can only reinstate the captured
continuation without the handler.
%
\dhil{Revisit the toss example with shallow handlers}
% \begin{reductions}
% \slab{Capture} & \Handle\;\EC[\Do\;\ell~V] \;\With\; H &\reducesto& M[V/p,\qq{\cont_{\EC}}/k],\\
% \multicolumn{4}{l}{\hfill\bl\text{where $\ell$ is not handled in $\EC$}\\\text{and }\{\ell~p~k \mapsto M\} \in H\el}\\
% \slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V &\reducesto& \EC[V]\\
% \end{reductions}
%
Chapter~\ref{ch:unary-handlers} contains further examples of deep and
shallow handlers in action.
%
\dhil{Consider whether to present the below encodings\dots}
%
Deep handlers can be used to simulate shift0 and
reset0~\cite{KammarLO13}.
%
\begin{equations}
\sembr{\shiftz~k.M} &\defas& \Do\;\dec{Shift0}~(\lambda k.M)\\
\sembr{\resetz{M}} &\defas&
\ba[t]{@{~}l}\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;x &\mapsto& x\\
\OpCase{\dec{Shift0}}{f}{k} &\mapsto& f\,k
\ea
\ea
\end{equations}
%
Shallow handlers can be used to simulate control0 and
prompt0~\cite{KammarLO13}.
%
\begin{equations}
\sembr{\Controlz~k.M} &\defas& \Do\;\dec{Control0}~(\lambda k.M)\\
\sembr{\Promptz~M} &\defas&
\bl
prompt0\,(\lambda\Unit.M)\\
\textbf{where}\;
\bl
prompt0~m \defas
\ba[t]{@{~}l}\ShallowHandle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;x &\mapsto& x\\
\OpCase{\dec{Control0}}{f}{k} &\mapsto& prompt0\,(\lambda\Unit.f\,k)
\ea
\ea
\el
\el
\end{equations}
%
%Recursive types are required to type the image of this translation
\paragraph{\citeauthor{Longley09}'s catch-with-continue}
%
\dhil{TODO}
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*
{\typ{\Gamma, f : A \to B}{M : C \times D} \\ \Ground\;C}
{\typ{\Gamma}{\Catchcont\;f.M : C \times ((A \to B) \to D) + (A \times (B \to (A \to B) \to C \times D))}}
\end{mathpar}
%
\begin{reductions}
\slab{Value} &
\Catchcont \; f . \Record{V;W} &\reducesto& \Inl\; \Record{V;\lambda\,f. W}\\
\slab{Capture} &
\Catchcont \; f .\EC[\,f\,V] &\reducesto& \Inr\; \Record{V; \lambda x. \lambda f. \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~x}\\
\slab{Resume} & \Continue~\cont_{\EC}~V &\reducesto& \EC[V]
\end{reductions}
% \subsection{Second-class control operators}
% Coroutines, async/await, generators/iterators, amb.
% Backtracking: Amb~\cite{McCarthy63}.
% Coroutines~\cite{DahlDH72} as introduced by Simula
% 67~\cite{DahlMN68}. The notion of coroutines was coined by Melvin
% Conway, who used coroutines as a code idiom in assembly
% programs~\cite{Knuth97}. Canonical reference for implementing
% coroutines with call/cc~\cite{HaynesFW86}.
\section{Programming continuations}
\label{sec:programming-continuations}
%Blind vs non-blind backtracking. Engines. Web
% programming. Asynchronous
% programming. Coroutines.
Amongst the first uses of continuations were modelling of unrestricted
jumps, such as \citeauthor{Landin98}'s modelling of \Algol{} labels
and gotos using the J
operator~\cite{Landin65,Landin65a,Landin98,Reynolds93}.
Backtracking is another early and prominent use of continuations. For
example, \citet{Burstall69} used the J operator to implement a
heuristic-driven search procedure with continuation-backed
backtracking for tree-based search.
%
Somewhat related to backtracking, \citet{FriedmanHK84} posed the
\emph{devils and angels problem} as an example that has no direct
solution in a programming language without first-class control. Any
solution to the devils and angels problem involves extensive
manipulation of control to jump both backwards and forwards to resume
computation.
If the reader ever find themselves in a quiz show asked to single out
a canonical example of continuation use, then implementation of
concurrency would be a qualified guess. Cooperative concurrency in
terms of various forms of coroutines as continuations occur so
frequently in the literature and in the wild that they have become
routine.
%
\citet{HaynesFW86} published one of the first implementations of
coroutines using first-class control.
%
Preemptive concurrency in the form of engines were implemented by
\citet{DybvigH89}. An engine is a control abstraction that runs
computations with an allotted time budget~\cite{HaynesF84}. They used
continuations to represent strands of computation and timer interrupts
to suspend continuations.
%
\citet{KiselyovS07a} used delimited continuations to explain various
phenomena of operating systems, including multi-tasking and file
systems.
%
On the web, \citet{Queinnec04} used continuations to model the
client-server interactions. This model was adapted by
\citet{CooperLWY06} in Links with support for an Erlang-style
concurrency model~\cite{ArmstrongVW93}.
%
\citet{Leijen17a} and \citet{DolanEHMSW17} gave two different ways of
implementing the asynchronous programming operator async/await as a
user-definable library.
%
In the setting of distributed programming, \citet{BracevacASEEM18}
describe a modular event correlation system that makes crucial use of
effect handlers. \citeauthor{Bracevec19}'s PhD dissertation
explicates the theory, design, and implementation of event correlation
by way of effect handlers~\cite{Bracevec19}.
Continuations have also been used in meta-programming to speed up
partial evaluation and
multi-staging~\cite{LawallD94,KameyamaKS11,OishiK17,Yallop17,WeiBTR20}. Let
insertion is a canonical example of use of continuations in
multi-staging~\cite{Yallop17}.
Probabilistic programming is yet another application domain of
continuations. \citet{KiselyovS09} used delimited continuations to
speed up probabilistic programs. \citet{GorinovaMH20} used
continuations to achieve modularise probabilistic programs and to
provide a simple and efficient mechanism for reparameterisation of
inference algorithms.
%
In the subject of differentiable programming \citet{WangZDWER19}
explained reverse-mode automatic differentiation operators in terms of
delimited continuations.
The aforementioned applications of continuations are by no means
exhaustive, though, the diverse application spectrum underlines the
versatility of continuations.
\section{Constraining continuations}
\label{sec:constraining-continuations}
\citet{FriedmanH85} advocated for constraining the power of
(undelimited) continuations~\cite{HaynesF87}.
%
Even though, they were concerned with callcc and undelimited
continuations some of their arguments are applicable to other control
operators and delimited continuations.
%
For example, they argued in favour of restricting continuations to be
one-shot, which means continuations may only be invoked once. Firstly,
because one-shot continuations admit particularly efficient
implementations. Secondly, many applications involve only single use
of continuations. Thirdly, one-shot continuations interact more
robustly with resources, such as file handles, than general multi-shot
continuations, because multiple use of a continuation may accidentally
interact with a resource after it has been released.
One-shot continuations by themselves are no saving grace for avoiding
resource leakage as they may be dropped or used to perform premature
exits from a block with resources. For example, Racket provides the
programmer with a facility known as \emph{dynamic-wind} to protect a
context with resources such that non-local exits properly release
whatever resources the context has acquired~\cite{Flatt20}.
%
An alternative approach is taken by Multicore OCaml, whose
implementation of effect handlers with one-shot continuations provides
both a \emph{continue} primitive for continuing a given continuation
and a \emph{discontinue} primitive for aborting a given
continuation~\cite{DolanWSYM15,DolanEHMSW17}. The latter throws an
exception at the operation invocation site to which can be caught by
local exception handlers to release resources properly.
%
This approach is also used by \citet{Fowler19}, who uses a
substructural type system to statically enforce the use of
continuations, either by means of a continue or a discontinue.
% For example callec is a variation of callcc where continuation
% invocation is only defined during the dynamic extent of
% callec~\cite{Flatt20}.
\section{Implementing continuations}
\label{sec:implementing-continuations}
There are numerous strategies for implementing continuations. There is
no best implementation strategy. Each strategy has different
trade-offs, and as such, there is no ``best'' strategy. In this
section, I will briefly outline the gist of some implementation
strategies and their trade-offs. For an in depth analysis the
interested reader may consult the respective work of
\citet{ClingerHO88} and \citet{FarvardinR20}, which contain thorough
studies of implementation strategies for first-class continuations.
%
Table~\ref{tbl:ctrl-operators-impls} lists some programming languages
with support for first-class control operators and their
implementation strategies.
\begin{table}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{| l | >{\raggedright}p{4.3cm} | l |}
\hline
\multicolumn{1}{|c|}{\textbf{Language}} & \multicolumn{1}{c |}{\textbf{Control operators}} & \multicolumn{1}{c|}{\textbf{Implementation strategies}}\\
\hline
Eff & Effect handlers & Virtual machine, interpreter \\
\hline
Effekt & Lexical effect handlers & ??\\
\hline
Frank & N-ary effect handlers & CEK machine \\
\hline
Gauche & callcc, shift/reset & Virtual machine \\
\hline
Helium & Effect handlers & CEK machine \\
\hline
Koka & Effect handlers & Continuation monad\\
\hline
Links & Effect handlers, escape & CEK machine, CPS\\
\hline
MLton & callcc & Stack copying\\
\hline
Multicore OCaml & Affine effect handlers & Segmented stacks\\
\hline
OchaCaml & shift/reset & Virtual machine\\
\hline
Racket & callcc, \textCallcomc{}, cupto, fcontrol, control/prompt, shift/reset, splitter, spawn & Segmented stacks\\
\hline
% Rhino JavaScript & JI & Interpreter \\
% \hline
Scala & shift/reset & CPS\\
\hline
SML/NJ & callcc & CPS\\
\hline
Wasm/k & control/prompt & Virtual machine \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\caption{Some languages and their implementation strategies for continuations.}\label{tbl:ctrl-operators-impls}
\dhil{TODO: Figure out which implementation strategy Effekt uses}
\end{table}
%
The control stack provides a adequate runtime representation of
continuations as the contiguous sequence of activation records quite
literally represent what to do next.
%
Thus continuation capture can be implemented by making a copy of the
current stack (possibly up to some delimiter), and continuation
invocation as reinstatement of the stack. This implementation strategy
works well if continuations are captured infrequently. The MLton
implementation of Standard ML utilises this strategy~\cite{Fluet20}.
A slight variation is to defer the first copy action until the
continuation is invoked, which requires marking the stack to remember
which sequence of activation records to copy.
Obviously, frequent continuation use on top of a stack copying
implementation can be expensive time wise as well as space wise,
because with undelimited continuations multiple copies of the stack
may be alive simultaneously.
%
Typically the prefix of copies will be identical, which suggests they
ought to be shared. One way to achieve optimal sharing is to move from
a contiguous stack to a non-contiguous stack representation,
e.g. representing the stack as a heap allocated linked list of
activation records~\cite{Danvy87}. With such a representation copying
is a constant time and space operation, because there is no need to
actually copy anything as the continuation is just a pointer into the
stack.
%
The disadvantage of this strategy is that it turns every operation
into an indirection.
Segmented stacks provide a middle ground between contiguous stack and
non-contiguous stack representations. With this representation the
control stack is represented as a linked list of contiguous stacks
which makes it possible to only copy a segment of the stack. The
stacks grown and shrink dynamically as needed. This representation is
due to \citet{HiebDB90}. It is used by Chez Scheme, which is the
runtime that powers Racket~\cite{FlattD20}.
%
For undelimited continuations the basic idea is to create a pointer to
the current stack upon continuation capture, and then allocate a new
stack where subsequent computation happens.
%
For delimited continuations the control delimiter identify when a new
stack should be allocated.
%
A potential problem with this representation is \emph{stack
thrashing}, which is a phenomenon that occurs when a stack is being
continuously resized.
%
This problem was addressed by \citet{BruggemanWD96}, who designed a
slight variation of segmented stacks optimised for one-shot
continuations, which has been adapted by Multicore
OCaml~\cite{DolanEHMSW17}.
Full stack copying and segmented stacks both depend on being able to
manipulate the stack directly. This is seldom possible if the language
implementer do not have control over the target runtime,
e.g. compilation to JavaScript. However, it is possible to emulate
stack copying and segmented stacks in lieu of direct stack access. For
example, \citet{PettyjohnCMKF05} describe a technique that emulates
stack copying by piggybacking on the facile stack inception facility
provided by exception handlers in order to lazily reify the control
stack.
%
\citet{KumarBD98} emulated segmented stacks via threads. Each thread
has its own local stack, and as such, a collection of threads
effectively models segmented stacks. To actually implement
continuations as threads \citeauthor{KumarBD98} also made use of
standard synchronisation primitives.
%
The advantage of these techniques is that they are generally
applicable and portable. The disadvantage is the performance overhead
induced by emulation.
Abstract and virtual machines are a form of full machine emulation. An
abstract machine is an idealised machine. Abstract machines, such as
the CEK machine~\cite{FelleisenF86}, are attractive because they
provide a suitably high-level framework for defining language
semantics in terms of control string manipulations, whilst admitting a
direct implementation.
%
We will discuss abstract machines in more detail in
Chapter~\ref{ch:abstract-machine}.
%
The term virtual machine typically connotes an abstract machine that
works on a byte code representation of programs, whereas the default
connotation of abstract machine is a machine that works on a rich
abstract syntax tree representation of programs.
% \citeauthor{Landin64}'s SECD machine was the
% first abstract machine for evaluating $\lambda$-calculus
% terms~\cite{Landin64,Danvy04}.
%
% Either machine model has an explicit representation of the control
% state in terms of an environment and a control string. Thus either machine can to the
% interpretative overhead.
The disadvantage of abstract machines is their interpretative
overhead, although, techniques such as just-in-time compilation can be
utilised to reduce this overhead.
Continuation passing style (CPS) is a canonical implementation
strategy for continuations --- the word `continuation' even feature in
its name.
%
CPS is a particular idiomatic notation for programs, where every
function takes an additional argument, the current continuation, as
input and every function call appears in tail position. Consequently,
every aspect of control flow is made explicit, which makes CPS a good
fit for implementing control abstraction. In classic CPS the
continuation argument is typically represented as a heap allocated
closure~\cite{Appel92}, however, as we shall see in
Chapter~\ref{ch:cps} richer representations of continuations are
possible.
%
At first thought it may seem that CPS will not work well in
environments that lack proper tail calls such as JavaScript. However,
the contrary is true, because the stackless nature of CPS means it can
readily be implemented with a trampoline~\cite{GanzFW99}. Alas, at the
cost of the indirection induced by the trampoline.
\part{Design}
\chapter{An ML-flavoured programming language based on rows}
\label{ch:base-language}
In this chapter we introduce a core calculus, \BCalc{}, which we shall
later use as the basis for exploration of design considerations for
effect handlers. This calculus is based on \CoreLinks{} by
\citet{LindleyC12}, which distils the essence of the functional
multi-tier web-programming language
\Links{}~\cite{CooperLWY06}. \Links{} belongs to the
ML-family~\cite{MilnerTHM97} of programming languages as it features
typical characteristics of ML languages such as a static type system
supporting parametric polymorphism with type inference (in fact Links
supports first-class polymorphism), and its evaluation semantics is
strict. However, \Links{} differentiates itself from the rest of the
ML-family by making crucial use of \emph{row polymorphism} to support
extensible records, variants, and tracking of computational
effects. Thus \Links{} has a rather strong emphasis on structural
types rather than nominal types.
\CoreLinks{} captures all of these properties of \Links{}. Our
calculus \BCalc{} differs in several aspects from \CoreLinks{}. For
example, the underlying formalism of \CoreLinks{} is call-by-value,
whilst the formalism of \BCalc{} is \emph{fine-grain
call-by-value}~\cite{LevyPT03}, which shares similarities with
A-normal form (ANF)~\cite{FlanaganSDF93} as it syntactically
distinguishes between value and computation terms by mandating every
intermediate computation being named. However unlike ANF, fine-grain
call-by-value remains closed under $\beta$-reduction. The reason for
choosing fine-grain call-by-value as our formalism is entirely due to
convenience. As we shall see in Chapter~\ref{ch:unary-handlers}
fine-grain call-by-value is a convenient formalism for working with
continuations. Another point of difference between \CoreLinks{} and
\BCalc{} is that the former models the integrated database query
sublanguage of \Links{}. We do not consider the query sublanguage at
all, and instead our focus is entirely on modelling the interaction
and programming with computational effects.
\section{Syntax and static semantics}
\label{sec:syntax-base-language}
As \BCalc{} is intrinsically typed, we begin by presenting the syntax
of kinds and types in
Section~\ref{sec:base-language-types}. Subsequently in
Section~\ref{sec:base-language-terms} we present the term syntax,
before presenting the formation rules for types in
Section~\ref{sec:base-language-type-rules}.
% Typically the presentation of a programming language begins with its
% syntax. If the language is typed there are two possible starting
% points: Either one presents the term syntax first, or alternatively,
% the type syntax first. Although the choice may seem rather benign
% there is, however, a philosophical distinction to be drawn between
% them. Terms are, on their own, entirely meaningless, whilst types
% provide, on their own, an initial approximation of the semantics of
% terms. This is particularly true in an intrinsic typed system perhaps
% less so in an extrinsic typed system. In an intrinsic system types
% must necessarily be precursory to terms, as terms ultimately depend on
% the types. Following this argument leaves us with no choice but to
% first present the type syntax of \BCalc{} and subsequently its term
% syntax.
\subsection{Types and their kinds}
\label{sec:base-language-types}
%
\begin{figure}
\begin{syntax}
% \slab{Value types} &A,B &::= & A \to C
% \mid \alpha
% \mid \forall \alpha^K.C
% \mid \Record{R}
% \mid [R]\\
% \slab{Computation types}
% &C,D &::= & A \eff E \\
% \slab{Effect types} &E &::= & \{R\}\\
% \slab{Row types} &R &::= & \ell : P;R \mid \rho \mid \cdot \\
% \slab{Presence types} &P &::= & \Pre{A} \mid \Abs \mid \theta\\
% %\slab{Labels} &\ell & & \\
% % \slab{Types} &T &::= & A \mid C \mid E \mid R \mid P \\
% \slab{Kinds} &K &::= & \Type \mid \Row_\mathcal{L} \mid \Presence
% \mid \Comp \mid \Effect \\
% \slab{Label sets} &\mathcal{L} &::=& \emptyset \mid \{\ell\} \uplus \mathcal{L}\\
% %\slab{Type variables} &\alpha, \rho, \theta& \\
% \slab{Type environments} &\Gamma &::=& \cdot \mid \Gamma, x:A \\
% \slab{Kind environments} &\Delta &::=& \cdot \mid \Delta, \alpha:K
\slab{Value\mathrm{~}types} &A,B \in \ValTypeCat &::= & A \to C
\mid \forall \alpha^K.C
\mid \Record{R} \mid [R]
\mid \alpha \\
\slab{Computation\mathrm{~}types\!\!}
&C,D \in \CompTypeCat &::= & A \eff E \\
\slab{Effect\mathrm{~}types} &E \in \EffectCat &::= & \{R\}\\
\slab{Row\mathrm{~}types} &R \in \RowCat &::= & \ell : P;R \mid \rho \mid \cdot \\
\slab{Presence\mathrm{~}types\!\!\!\!\!} &P \in \PresenceCat &::= & \Pre{A} \mid \Abs \mid \theta\\
\\
\slab{Types} &T \in \TypeCat &::= & A \mid C \mid E \mid R \mid P \\
\slab{Kinds} &K \in \KindCat &::= & \Type \mid \Comp \mid \Effect \mid \Row_\mathcal{L} \mid \Presence \\
\slab{Label\mathrm{~}sets} &\mathcal{L} \in \LabelCat &::=& \emptyset \mid \{\ell\} \uplus \mathcal{L}\\\\
\slab{Type\mathrm{~}environments} &\Gamma \in \TyEnvCat &::=& \cdot \mid \Gamma, x:A \\
\slab{Kind\mathrm{~}environments} &\Delta \in \KindEnvCat &::=& \cdot \mid \Delta, \alpha:K \\
\end{syntax}
\caption{Syntax of types, kinds, and their environments.}
\label{fig:base-language-types}
\end{figure}
%
The types are divided into several distinct syntactic categories which
are given in Figure~\ref{fig:base-language-types} along with the
syntax of kinds and environments.
%
\paragraph{Value types}
We distinguish between values and computations at the level of
types. Value types comprise the function type $A \to C$, which maps
values of type $A$ to computations of type $C$; the polymorphic type
$\forall \alpha^K . C$ is parameterised by a type variable $\alpha$ of
kind $K$; and the record type $\Record{R}$ represents records with
fields constrained by row $R$. Dually, the variant type $[R]$
represents tagged sums constrained by row $R$.
\paragraph{Computation types and effect types}
The computation type $A \eff E$ is given by a value type $A$ and an
effect type $E$, which specifies the effectful operations a
computation inhabiting this type may perform. An effect type
$E = \{R\}$ is constrained by row $R$.
\paragraph{Row types}
Row types play a pivotal role in our type system as effect, record,
and variant types are uniformly given by row types. A \emph{row type}
describes a collection of distinct labels, each annotated by a
presence type. A presence type indicates whether a label is
\emph{present} with type $A$ ($\Pre{A}$), \emph{absent} ($\Abs$) or
\emph{polymorphic} in its presence ($\theta$).
%
For example, the effect row $\{\Read:\Pre{\Int},\Write:\Abs,\cdot\}$
denotes a read-only context in which the operation label $\Read$ may
occur to access some integer value, whilst the operation label
$\Write$ cannot appear.
%
Row types are either \emph{closed} or \emph{open}. A closed row type
ends in~$\cdot$, whilst an open row type ends with a \emph{row
variable} $\rho$ (in an effect row we usually use $\varepsilon$
rather than $\rho$ and refer to it as an \emph{effect variable}).
%
The example effect row above is closed, an open variation of it ends
in an effect variable $\varepsilon$,
i.e. $\{\Read:\Pre{\Int},\Write:\Abs,\varepsilon\}$.
%
The row variable in an open row type can be instantiated with
additional labels subject to the restriction that each label may only
occur at most once (we enforce this restriction at the level of
kinds). We identify rows up to the reordering of labels as follows.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*[Lab=\rowlab{Closed}]
{~}
{\cdot \equiv_{\mathrm{row}} \cdot}
\inferrule*[Lab=\rowlab{Open}]
{~}
{\rho \equiv_{\mathrm{row}} \rho'}
\inferrule*[Lab=\rowlab{Head}]
{R \equiv_{\mathrm{row}} R'}
{\ell:P;R \equiv_{\mathrm{row}} \ell:P;R'}
\inferrule*[Lab=\rowlab{Swap}]
{R \equiv_{\mathrm{row}} R'}
{\ell:P;\ell':P';R \equiv_{\mathrm{row}} \ell':P';\ell:P;R'}
\end{mathpar}
%
% The last rule $\rowlab{Swap}$ let us identify rows up to the
% reordering of labels. For instance, the two rows
% $\ell_1 : P_1; \cdots; \ell_n : P_n; \cdot$ and
% $\ell_n : P_n; \cdots ; \ell_1 : P_1; \cdot$ are equivalent.
%
The \rowlab{Closed} rule states that the closed marker $\cdot$ is
equivalent to itself, similarly the \rowlab{Open} rule states that any
two row variables are equivalent if and only if they have the same
syntactic name. The \rowlab{Head} rule compares the head of two given
rows and inductively compares their tails. The \rowlab{Swap} rule
permits reordering of labels. We assume structural equality on
labels. The \rowlab{Head} rule
%
The standard zero and unit types are definable using rows. We define
the zero type as the empty, closed variant $\ZeroType \defas
[\cdot]$. Dually, the unit type is defined as the empty, closed record
type, i.e. $\UnitType \defas \Record{\cdot}$.
% As absent labels in closed rows are redundant we will, for example,
% consider the following two rows equivalent
% $\Read:\Pre{\Int},\Write:\Abs,\cdot \equiv_{\mathrm{row}}
% \Read:\Pre{\Int},\cdot$.
For brevity, we shall often write $\ell : A$
to mean $\ell : \Pre{A}$ and omit $\cdot$ for closed rows.
%
\begin{figure}
\begin{mathpar}
% alpha : K
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{TyVar}]
{ }
{\Delta, \alpha : K \vdash \alpha : K}
% Computation
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{Comp}]
{ \Delta \vdash A : \Type \\
\Delta \vdash E : \Effect \\
}
{\Delta \vdash A \eff E : \Comp}
% A -E-> B, A : Type, E : Row, B : Type
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{Fun}]
{ \Delta \vdash A : \Type \\
\Delta \vdash C : \Comp \\
}
{\Delta \vdash A \to C : \Type}
% forall alpha : K . A : Type
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{Forall}]
{ \Delta, \alpha : K \vdash C : \Comp}
{\Delta \vdash \forall \alpha^K . \, C : \Type}
% Record
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{Record}]
{ \Delta \vdash R : \Row_\emptyset}
{\Delta \vdash \Record{R} : \Type}
% Variant
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{Variant}]
{ \Delta \vdash R : \Row_\emptyset}
{\Delta \vdash [R] : \Type}
% Effect
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{Effect}]
{ \Delta \vdash R : \Row_\emptyset}
{\Delta \vdash \{R\} : \Effect}
% Present
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{Present}]
{\Delta \vdash A : \Type}
{\Delta \vdash \Pre{A} : \Presence}
% Absent
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{Absent}]
{ }
{\Delta \vdash \Abs : \Presence}
% Empty row
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{EmptyRow}]
{ }
{\Delta \vdash \cdot : \Row_\mathcal{L}}
% Extend row
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{ExtendRow}]
{ \Delta \vdash P : \Presence \\
\Delta \vdash R : \Row_{\mathcal{L} \uplus \{\ell\}}
}
{\Delta \vdash \ell : P;R : \Row_\mathcal{L}}
\end{mathpar}
\caption{Kinding rules}
\label{fig:base-language-kinding}
\end{figure}
%
\paragraph{Kinds}
The kinds classify the different categories of types. The $\Type$ kind
classifies value types, $\Presence$ classifies presence annotations,
$\Comp$ classifies computation types, $\Effect$ classifies effect
types, and lastly $\Row_{\mathcal{L}}$ classifies rows.
%
The formation rules for kinds are given in
Figure~\ref{fig:base-language-kinding}. The kinding judgement
$\Delta \vdash T : K$ states that type $T$ has kind $K$ in kind
environment $\Delta$.
%
The row kind is annotated by a set of labels $\mathcal{L}$. We use
this set to track the labels of a given row type to ensure uniqueness
amongst labels in each row type. For example, the kinding rule
$\klab{ExtendRow}$ uses this set to constrain which labels may be
mentioned in the tail of $R$. We shall elaborate on this in
Section~\ref{sec:row-polymorphism}.
\paragraph{Environments}
Kind and type environments are right-extended sequences of bindings. A
kind environment binds type variables to their kinds, whilst a type
environment binds term variables to their types.
\paragraph{Type variables} The type structure has three syntactically
distinct type variables (the kinding system gives us five semantically
distinct notions of type variables). As we sometimes wish to refer
collectively to type variables, we define the set of type variables,
$\TyVarCat$, to be generated by:
%
\[
\TyVarCat \defas
\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\{ A \in \ValTypeCat \mid A \text{ has the form } \alpha \}\\
\cup &\{ R \in \RowCat \mid R \text{ has the form } \rho \}\\
\cup &\{ P \in \PresenceCat \mid P \text{ has the form } \theta \}
\ea
\]
% Value types comprise the function type $A \to C$, whose domain
% is a value type and its codomain is a computation type $B \eff E$,
% where $E$ is an effect type detailing which effects the implementing
% function may perform. Value types further comprise type variables
% $\alpha$ and quantification $\forall \alpha^K.C$, where the quantified
% type variable $\alpha$ is annotated with its kind $K$. Finally, the
% value types also contains record types $\Record{R}$ and variant types
% $[R]$, which are built up using row types $R$. An effect type $E$ is
% also built up using a row type. A row type is a sequence of fields of
% labels $\ell$ annotated with their presence information $P$. The
% presence information denotes whether a label is present $\Pre{A}$ with
% some type $A$, absent $\Abs$, or polymorphic in its presence
% $\theta$. A row type may be either \emph{open} or \emph{closed}. An
% open row ends in a row variable $\rho$ which can be instantiated with
% additional fields, effectively growing the row, whilst a closed row
% ends in $\cdot$, meaning the row cannot grow further.
% The kinds comprise $\Type$ for regular type variables, $\Presence$ for
% presence variables, $\Comp$ for computation type variables, $\Effect$
% for effect variables, and lastly $\Row_{\mathcal{L}}$ for row
% variables. The row kind is annotated by a set of labels
% $\mathcal{L}$. We use this set to track the labels of a given row type
% to ensure uniqueness amongst labels in each row type. We shall
% elaborate on this in Section~\ref{sec:row-polymorphism}.
\paragraph{Free type variables} Sometimes we need to compute the free
type variables ($\FTV$) of a given type. To this end we define a
metafunction $\FTV$ by induction on the type structure, $T$, and
point-wise on type environments, $\Gamma$. Note that we always work up
to $\alpha$-conversion~\cite{Church32} of types.
%
\[
\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~~~~~~}c@{~}l}
\multicolumn{3}{c}{\begin{eqs}
\FTV &:& \TypeCat \to \TyVarCat
\end{eqs}}\\
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\begin{eqs}
% \FTV &:& \ValTypeCat \to \TyVarCat\\
\FTV(\alpha) &\defas& \{\alpha\}\\
\FTV(\forall \alpha^K.C) &\defas& \FTV(C) \setminus \{\alpha\}\\
\FTV(A \to C) &\defas& \FTV(A) \cup \FTV(C)\\
\FTV(A \eff E) &\defas& \FTV(A) \cup \FTV(E)\\
\FTV(\{R\}) &\defas& \FTV(R)\\
\FTV(\Record{R}) &\defas& \FTV(R)\\
\FTV([R]) &\defas& \FTV(R)\\
% \FTV(l:P;R) &\defas& \FTV(P) \cup \FTV(R)\\
% \FTV(\Pre{A}) &\defas& \FTV(A)\\
% \FTV(\Abs) &\defas& \emptyset\\
% \FTV(\theta) &\defas& \{\theta\}
\end{eqs}\ea & &
\begin{eqs}
% \FTV([R]) &\defas& \FTV(R)\\
% \FTV(\Record{R}) &\defas& \FTV(R)\\
% \FTV(\{R\}) &\defas& \FTV(R)\\
% \FTV &:& \RowCat \to \TyVarCat\\
\FTV(\cdot) &\defas& \emptyset\\
\FTV(\rho) &\defas& \{\rho\}\\
\FTV(l:P;R) &\defas& \FTV(P) \cup \FTV(R)\\
% \FTV &:& \PresenceCat \to \TyVarCat\\
\FTV(\theta) &\defas& \{\theta\}\\
\FTV(\Abs) &\defas& \emptyset\\
\FTV(\Pre{A}) &\defas& \FTV(A)\\
\end{eqs}\\\\
\multicolumn{3}{c}{\begin{eqs}
\FTV &:& \TyEnvCat \to \TyVarCat\\
\FTV(\cdot) &\defas& \emptyset\\
\FTV(\Gamma,x : A) &\defas& \FTV(\Gamma) \cup \FTV(A)
\end{eqs}}
% \begin{eqs}
% \FTV(\theta) &\defas& \{\theta\}\\
% \FTV(\Abs) &\defas& \emptyset\\
% \FTV(\Pre{A}) &\defas& \FTV(A)
% \end{eqs} & &
% \begin{eqs}
% \FTV(\cdot) &\defas& \emptyset\\
% \FTV(\Gamma,x : A) &\defas& \FTV(\Gamma) \cup \FTV(A)
% \end{eqs}
\ea
\]
%
\paragraph{Type substitution}
We define a type substitution map,
$\sigma : (\TyVarCat \times \TypeCat)^\ast$ as list of pairs mapping a
type variable to its replacement. We denote a single mapping as
$T/\alpha$ meaning substitute $T$ for the variable $\alpha$. We write
multiple mappings using list notation,
i.e. $[T_0/\alpha_0,\dots,T_n/\alpha_n]$. The domain of a substitution
map is set generated by projecting the first component, i.e.
%
\[
\bl
\dom : (\TyVarCat \times \TypeCat)^\ast \to \TyVarCat\\
\dom(\sigma) \defas \{ \alpha \mid (\_/\alpha) \in \sigma \}
\el
\]
%
The application of a type substitution map on a type term, written
$T\sigma$ for some type $T$, is defined inductively on the type
structure as follows.
%
\[
\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}r}
\multicolumn{3}{c}{
\begin{eqs}
(A \eff E)\sigma &\defas& A\sigma \eff E\sigma\\
(A \to C)\sigma &\defas& A\sigma \to C\sigma\\
(\forall \alpha^K.C)\sigma &\simdefas& \forall \alpha^K.C\sigma\\
\alpha\sigma &\defas& \begin{cases}
A & \text{if } (\alpha,A) \in \sigma\\
\alpha & \text{otherwise}
\end{cases}
\end{eqs}}\\
\begin{eqs}
\Record{R}\sigma &\defas& \Record{R[B/\beta]}\\
{[R]}\sigma &\defas& [R\sigma]\\
\{R\}\sigma &\defas& \{R\sigma\}\\
\cdot\sigma &\defas& \cdot\\
\rho\sigma &\defas& \begin{cases}
R & \text{if } (\rho, R) \in \sigma\\
\rho & \text{otherwise}
\end{cases}\\
\end{eqs}
& ~~~~~~~~~~ &
\begin{eqs}
(\ell : P;R)\sigma &\defas& (\ell : P\sigma; R\sigma)\\
\theta\sigma &\defas& \begin{cases}
P & \text{if } (\theta,P) \in \sigma\\
\theta & \text{otherwise}
\end{cases}\\
\Abs\sigma &\defas& \Abs\\
\Pre{A}\sigma &\defas& \Pre{A\sigma}
\end{eqs}
\ea
\]
%
\paragraph{Types and their inhabitants}
We now have the basic vocabulary to construct types in $\BCalc$. For
instance, the signature of the standard polymorphic identity function
is
%
\[
\forall \alpha^\Type. \alpha \to \alpha \eff \emptyset.
\]
%
Modulo the empty effect signature, this type is akin to the type one
would give for the identity function in System
F~\cite{Girard72,Reynolds74}, and thus we can use standard techniques
from parametricity~\cite{Wadler89} to reason about inhabitants of this
signature. However, in our system we can give an even more general
type to the identity function:
%
\[
\forall \alpha^\Type,\varepsilon^{\Row_\emptyset}. \alpha \to \alpha \eff \{\varepsilon\}.
\]
%
This type is polymorphic in its effect signature as signified by the
singleton open effect row $\{\varepsilon\}$, meaning it may be used in
an effectful context. By contrast, the former type may only be used in
a strictly pure context, i.e. the effect-free context.
%
\dhil{Maybe say something about reasoning effect types}
%
We can use the effect system to give precise types to effectful
computations. For example, we can give the signature of some
polymorphic computation that may only be run in a read-only context
%
\[
\forall \alpha^\Type, \varepsilon^{\Row_{\{\Read,\Write\}}}. \alpha \eff \{\Read:\Int,\Write:\Abs,\varepsilon\}.
\]
%
The effect row comprise a nullary $\Read$ operation returning some
integer and an absent operation $\Write$. The absence of $\Write$
means that the computation cannot run in a context that admits a
present $\Write$. It can, however, run in a context that admits a
presence polymorphic $\Write : \theta$ as the presence variable
$\theta$ may instantiated to $\Abs$. An inhabitant of this type may be
run in larger effect contexts, i.e. contexts that admit more
operations, because the row ends in an effect variable.
%
The type and effect system is also precise about how a higher-order
function may use its function arguments. For example consider the
signature of a map-operation over some datatype such as
$\dec{Option}~\alpha^\Type \defas [\dec{None};\dec{Some}:\alpha]$
%
\[
\forall \alpha^\Type,\beta^\Type,\varepsilon^{\Row_\emptyset}. \Record{\alpha \to \beta \eff \{\varepsilon\}, \dec{Option}~\alpha} \to \dec{Option}~\beta \eff \{\varepsilon\}.
\]
%
% The $\dec{map}$ function for
% lists is a canonical example of a higher-order function which is
% parametric in its own effects and the effects of its function
% argument. Supposing $\BCalc$ have some polymorphic list datatype
% $\List$, then we would be able to ascribe the following signature to
% $\dec{map}$
% %
% \[
% \forall \alpha^\Type,\beta^\Type,\varepsilon^{\Row_\emptyset}. \Record{\alpha \to \beta \eff \{\varepsilon\},\List~\alpha} \to \List~\beta \eff \{\varepsilon\}.
% \]
%
The first argument is the function that will be applied to the data
carried by second argument. Note that the two effect rows are
identical and share the same effect variable $\varepsilon$, it is thus
evident that an inhabitant of this type can only perform whatever
effects its first argument is allowed to perform.
Higher-order functions may also transform their function arguments,
e.g. modify their effect rows. The following is the signature of a
higher-order function which restricts its argument's effect context
%
\[
\forall \alpha^\Type, \varepsilon^{\Row_{\{\Read\}}},\varepsilon'^{\Row_\emptyset}. (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \{\Read:\Int,\varepsilon\}) \to (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \{\Read:\Abs,\varepsilon\}) \eff \{\varepsilon'\}.
\]
%
The function argument is allowed to perform a $\Read$ operation,
whilst the returned function cannot. Moreover, the two functions share
the same effect variable $\varepsilon$. Like the option-map signature
above, an inhabitant of this type performs no effects of its own as
the (right-most) effect row is a singleton row containing a distinct
effect variable $\varepsilon'$.
\paragraph{Syntactic sugar}
Detail the syntactic sugar\dots
\subsection{Terms}
\label{sec:base-language-terms}
%
\begin{figure}
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Variables} &x \in \VarCat&&\\
\slab{Values} &V,W \in \ValCat &::= & x
\mid \lambda x^A .\, M \mid \Lambda \alpha^K .\, M
\mid \Record{} \mid \Record{\ell = V;W} \mid (\ell~V)^R \\
& & &\\
\slab{Computations} &M,N \in \CompCat &::= & V\,W \mid V\,T\\
& &\mid& \Let\; \Record{\ell=x;y} = V \; \In \; N\\
& &\mid& \Case\; V \{\ell~x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\} \mid \Absurd^C~V\\
& &\mid& \Return~V \mid \Let \; x \revto M \; \In \; N\\
\slab{Terms} &t \in \TermCat &::= & x \mid V \mid M
\end{syntax}
\caption{Term syntax of \BCalc{}.}
\label{fig:base-language-term-syntax}
\end{figure}
%
The syntax for terms is given in
Figure~\ref{fig:base-language-term-syntax}. We assume a countably
infinite set of names $\VarCat$ from which we draw fresh variable
names. We shall typically denote term variables by $x$, $y$, or $z$.
%
The syntax partitions terms into values and computations.
%
Value terms comprise variables ($x$), lambda abstraction
($\lambda x^A . \, M$), type abstraction ($\Lambda \alpha^K . \, M$),
and the introduction forms for records and variants. Records are
introduced using the empty record $(\Record{})$ and record extension
$(\Record{\ell = V; W})$, whilst variants are introduced using
injection $((\ell~V)^R)$, which injects a field with label $\ell$ and
value $V$ into a row whose type is $R$. We include the row type
annotation in to support bottom-up type reconstruction.
All elimination forms are computation terms. Abstraction and type
abstraction are eliminated using application ($V\,W$) and type
application ($V\,A$) respectively.
%
The record eliminator $(\Let \; \Record{\ell=x;y} = V \; \In \; N)$
splits a record $V$ into $x$, the value associated with $\ell$, and
$y$, the rest of the record. Non-empty variants are eliminated using
the case construct ($\Case\; V\; \{\ell~x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\}$),
which evaluates the computation $M$ if the tag of $V$ matches
$\ell$. Otherwise it falls through to $y$ and evaluates $N$. The
elimination form for empty variants is ($\Absurd^C~V$).
%
There is one computation introduction form, namely, the trivial
computation $(\Return~V)$ which returns value $V$. Its elimination
form is the expression $(\Let \; x \revto M \; \In \; N)$ which evaluates
$M$ and binds the result value to $x$ in $N$.
%
%
As our calculus is intrinsically typed, we annotate terms with type or
kind information (term abstraction, type abstraction, injection,
operations, and empty cases). However, we shall omit these annotations
whenever they are clear from context.
\paragraph{Free variables} A given term is said to be \emph{closed} if
every applied occurrence of a variable is preceded by some
corresponding binding occurrence. Any applied occurrence of a variable
that is not preceded by a binding occurrence is said be \emph{free
variable}. We define the function $\FV : \TermCat \to \VarCat$
inductively on the term structure to compute the free variables of any
given term.
%
\[
\bl
\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\begin{eqs}
\FV(x) &\defas& \{x\}\\
\FV(\lambda x^A.M) &\defas& \FV(M) \setminus \{x\}\\
\FV(\Lambda \alpha^K.M) &\defas& \FV(M)\\[1.0ex]
\FV(V\,W) &\defas& \FV(V) \cup \FV(W)\\
\FV(\Return~V) &\defas& \FV(V)\\
\end{eqs}
& \qquad\qquad &
\begin{eqs}
\FV(\Record{}) &\defas& \emptyset\\
\FV(\Record{\ell = V; W}) &\defas& \FV(V) \cup \FV(W)\\
\FV((\ell~V)^R) &\defas& \FV(V)\\[1.0ex]
\FV(V\,T) &\defas& \FV(V)\\
\FV(\Absurd^C~V) &\defas& \FV(V)\\
\end{eqs}
\ea\\
\begin{eqs}
\FV(\Let\;x \revto M \;\In\;N) &\defas& \FV(M) \cup (\FV(N) \setminus \{x\})\\
\FV(\Let\;\Record{\ell=x;y} = V\;\In\;N) &\defas& \FV(V) \cup (\FV(N) \setminus \{x, y\})\\
\FV(\Case~V~\{\ell\,x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\} &\defas& \FV(V) \cup (\FV(M) \setminus \{x\}) \cup (\FV(N) \setminus \{y\})
\end{eqs}
\el
\]
%
The function computes the set of free variables bottom-up. Most cases
are homomorphic on the syntax constructors. The interesting cases are
those constructs which feature term binders: lambda abstraction, let
bindings, pair deconstructing, and case splitting. In each of those
cases we subtract the relevant binder(s) from the set of free
variables.
\paragraph{Tail recursion}
In practice implementations of functional programming languages tend
to be tail-recursive in order to enable unbounded iteration. Otherwise
nested (repeated) function calls would quickly run out of stack space
on a conventional computer.
%
Intuitively, tail-recursion permits an already allocated stack frame
for some on-going function call to be reused by a nested function
call, provided that this nested call is the last thing to occur before
returning from the on-going function call.
%
A special case is when the nested function call is a fresh invocation
of the on-going function call, i.e. a self-reference. In this case the
nested function call is known as a \emph{tail recursive call},
otherwise it is simply known as a \emph{tail call}.
%
Thus the qualifier ``tail-recursive'' may be somewhat confusing as for
an implementation to be tail-recursive it must support recycling of
stack frames for tail calls; it is not sufficient to support tail
recursive calls.
%
Any decent implementation of Standard ML~\cite{MilnerTHM97},
OCaml~\cite{LeroyDFGRV20}, or Scheme~\cite{SperberDFSFM10} will be
tail-recursive. I deliberately say implementation rather than
specification, because it is often the case that the specification or
the user manual do not explicitly require a suitable implementation to
be tail-recursive; in fact of the three languages just mentioned only
Scheme explicitly mandates an implementation to be
tail-recursive~\cite{SperberDFSFM10}.
%
% The Scheme specification actually goes further and demands that an
% implementation is \emph{properly tail-recursive}, which provides
% strict guarantees on the asymptotic space consumption of tail
% calls~\cite{Clinger98}.
Tail calls will become important in Chapter~\ref{ch:cps} when we will
discuss continuation passing style as an implementation technique for
effect handlers, as tail calls happen to be ubiquitous in continuation
passing style.
%
Therefore let us formally characterise tail calls.
%
For our purposes, the most robust characterisation is a syntactic
characterisation, as opposed to a semantic characterisation, because
in the presence of control effects (which we will add in
Chapter~\ref{ch:unary-handlers}) it surprisingly tricky to describe
tail calls in terms of control flow such as ``the last thing to occur
before returning from the enclosing function'' as a function may
return multiple times. In particular, the effects of a function may be
replayed several times.
%
For this reason we will adapt a syntactic characterisation of tail
calls due to \citet{Clinger98}. First, we define what it means for a
computation to syntactically \emph{appear in tail position}.
%
\begin{definition}[Tail position]\label{def:tail-comp}
Tail position is a transitive notion for computation terms, which is
defined inductively as follows.
%
\begin{itemize}
\item The body $M$ of a $\lambda$-abstraction ($\lambda x. M$) appears in
tail position.
\item The body $M$ of a $\Lambda$-abstraction $(\Lambda \alpha.M)$
appears in tail position.
\item If $\Case\;V\;\{\ell\,x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\}$ appears in tail
position, then both $M$ and $N$ appear in tail positions.
\item If $\Let\;\Record{\ell = x; y} = V \;\In\;N$ appears in tail
position, then $N$ is in tail position.
\item If $\Let\;x \revto M\;\In\;N$ appears in tail position, then
$N$ appear in tail position.
\item Nothing else appears in tail position.
\end{itemize}
\end{definition}
%
\begin{definition}[Tail call]\label{def:tail-call}
An application term $V\,W$ is said to be a tail call if it appears
in tail position.
\end{definition}
%
% The syntactic position of a tail call is often referred to as the
% \emph{tail-position}.
%
\subsection{Typing rules}
\label{sec:base-language-type-rules}
%
\begin{figure}
Values
\begin{mathpar}
% Variable
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Var}]
{x : A \in \Gamma}
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{x : A}}
% Abstraction
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Lam}]
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma, x : A}{M : C}}
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{\lambda x^A .\, M : A \to C}}
% Polymorphic abstraction
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{PolyLam}]
{\typv{\Delta,\alpha : K;\Gamma}{M : C} \\
\alpha \notin \FTV(\Gamma)
}
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{\Lambda \alpha^K .\, M : \forall \alpha^K . \,C}}
\\
% unit : ()
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Unit}]
{ }
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{\Record{} : \UnitType}}
% Extension
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Extend}]
{ \typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{V : A} \\
\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{W : \Record{\ell:\Abs;R}}
}
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{\Record{\ell=V;W} : \Record{\ell:\Pre{A};R}}}
% Inject
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Inject}]
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{V : A}}
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{(\ell~V)^R : [\ell : \Pre{A}; R]}}
\end{mathpar}
Computations
\begin{mathpar}
% Application
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{App}]
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{V : A \to C} \\
\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{W : A}
}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{V\,W : C}}
% Polymorphic application
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{PolyApp}]
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{V : \forall \alpha^K . \, C} \\
\Delta \vdash A : K
}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{V\,A : C[A/\alpha]}}
% Split
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Split}]
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{V : \Record{\ell : \Pre{A};R}} \\\\
\typ{\Delta;\Gamma, x : A, y : \Record{\ell : \Abs; R}}{N : C}
}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{\Let \; \Record{\ell =x;y} = V\; \In \; N : C}}
% Case
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Case}]
{ \typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{V : [\ell : \Pre{A};R]} \\\\
\typ{\Delta;\Gamma,x:A}{M : C} \\\\
\typ{\Delta;\Gamma,y:[\ell : \Abs;R]}{N : C}
}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{\Case \; V \{\ell\; x \mapsto M;y \mapsto N \} : C}}
% Absurd
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Absurd}]
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{V : []}}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{\Absurd^C \; V : C}}
% Return
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Return}]
{\typv{\Delta;\Gamma}{V : A}}
{\typc{\Delta;\Gamma}{\Return \; V : A}{E}}
\\
% Let
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Let}]
{\typc{\Delta;\Gamma}{M : A}{E} \\
\typ{\Delta;\Gamma, x : A}{N : C}
}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{\Let \; x \revto M\; \In \; N : C}}
\end{mathpar}
\caption{Typing rules}
\label{fig:base-language-type-rules}
\end{figure}
%
Thus the rule states that a type abstraction $(\Lambda \alpha. M)$ has
type $\forall \alpha.C$ if the computation $M$ has type $C$ assuming
$\alpha : K$ and $\alpha$ does not appear in the free type variables
of current type environment $\Gamma$. The \tylab{Unit} rule provides
the basis for all records as it simply states that the empty record
has type unit. The \tylab{Extend} rule handles record
extension. Supposing we wish to extend some record $\Record{W}$ with
$\ell = V$, that is $\Record{\ell = V; W}$. This extension has type
$\Record{\ell : \Pre{A};R}$ if and only if $V$ is well-typed and we
can ascribe $W : \Record{\ell : \Abs; R}$. Since
$\Record{\ell : \Abs; R}$ must be well-kinded with respect to
$\Delta$, the label $\ell$ cannot be mentioned in $W$, thus $\ell$
cannot occur more than once in the record. Similarly, the dual rule
\tylab{Inject} states that the injection $(\ell~V)^R$ has type
$[\ell : \Pre{A}; R]$ if the payload $V$ is well-typed. The implicit
well-kindedness condition on $R$ ensures that $\ell$ cannot be
injected twice. To illustrate how the kinding system prevents
duplicated labels consider the following ill-typed example
%
\[
(\dec{S}~\Unit)^{\dec{S}:\UnitType} : [\dec{S}:\UnitType;\dec{S}:\UnitType].
\]
%
Typing fails because the resulting row type is ill-kinded by the
\klab{ExtendRow}-rule:
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*[leftskip=6.5em,Right={\klab{Variant}}]
{\inferrule*[Right={\klab{ExtendRow}}]
{\vdash \Pre{\UnitType} : \Presence \\
\inferrule*[Right={\klab{ExtendRow}}]
{\vdash \Pre{\UnitType} : \Presence \\ \vdash \cdot : \Row_{\color{red}{\{\dec{S}\} \uplus \{\dec{S}\}}}}
{\vdash \dec{S}:\Pre{\UnitType};\cdot : \Row_{\emptyset \uplus \{\dec{S}\}}}}
{\vdash \dec{S}:\Pre{\UnitType};\dec{S}:\Pre{\UnitType};\cdot : \Row_{\emptyset}}
}
{\vdash [\dec{S}:\Pre{\UnitType};\dec{S}:\Pre{\UnitType};\cdot] : \Type}
\end{mathpar}
%
The two sets $\{\dec{S}\}$ and $\{\dec{S}\}$ are clearly not disjoint,
thus the second premise of the last application of \klab{ExtendRow}
cannot be satisfied.
\paragraph{Typing computations}
The \tylab{App} rule states that an application $V\,W$ has computation
type $C$ if the function-term $V$ has type $A \to C$ and the
argument term $W$ has type $A$, that is both the argument type and the
domain type of the abstractor agree.
%
The type application rule \tylab{PolyApp} tells us that a type
application $V\,A$ is well-typed whenever the abstractor term $V$ has
the polymorphic type $\forall \alpha^K.C$ and the type $A$ has kind
$K$. This rule makes use of type substitution.
%
The \tylab{Split} rule handles typing of record deconstructing. When
splitting a record term $V$ on some label $\ell$ binding it to $x$ and
the remainder to $y$. The label we wish to split on must be present
with some type $A$, hence we require that
$V : \Record{\ell : \Pre{A}; R}$. This restriction prohibits us for
splitting on an absent or presence polymorphic label. The
continuation of the splitting, $N$, must then have some computation
type $C$ subject to the following restriction: $N : C$ must be
well-typed under the additional assumptions $x : A$ and
$y : \Record{\ell : \Abs; R}$, statically ensuring that it is not
possible to split on $\ell$ again in the continuation $N$.
%
The \tylab{Case} rule is similar, but has two possible continuations:
the success continuation, $M$, and the fall-through continuation, $N$.
The label being matched must be present with some type $A$ in the type
of the scrutinee, thus we require $V : [\ell : \Pre{A};R]$. The
success continuation has some computation $C$ under the assumption
that the binder $x : A$, whilst the fall-through continuation also has
type $C$ it is subject to the restriction that the binder
$y : [\ell : \Abs;R]$ which statically enforces that no subsequent
case split in $N$ can match on $\ell$.
%
The \tylab{Absurd} states that we can ascribe any computation type to
the term $\Absurd~V$ if $V$ has the empty type $[]$.
%
The trivial computation term is typed by the \tylab{Return} rule,
which says that $\Return\;V$ has computation type $A \eff E$ if the
value $V$ has type $A$.
%
The \tylab{Let} rule types let bindings. The computation being bound,
$M$, must have computation type $A \eff E$, whilst the continuation,
$N$, must have computation $C$ subject to the additional assumption
that the binder $x : A$.
\section{Dynamic semantics}
\label{sec:base-language-dynamic-semantics}
%
\begin{figure}
\begin{reductions}
\semlab{App} & (\lambda x^A . \, M) V &\reducesto& M[V/x] \\
\semlab{TyApp} & (\Lambda \alpha^K . \, M) A &\reducesto& M[A/\alpha] \\
\semlab{Split} & \Let \; \Record{\ell = x;y} = \Record{\ell = V;W} \; \In \; N &\reducesto& N[V/x,W/y] \\
\semlab{Case_1} &
\Case \; (\ell~V)^R \{ \ell \; x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\} &\reducesto& M[V/x] \\
\semlab{Case_2} &
\Case \; (\ell~V)^R \{ \ell' \; x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\} &\reducesto& N[(\ell~V)^R/y], \hfill\quad \text{if } \ell \neq \ell' \\
\semlab{Let} &
\Let \; x \revto \Return \; V \; \In \; N &\reducesto& N[V/x] \\
\semlab{Lift} &
\EC[M] &\reducesto& \EC[N], \hfill\quad \text{if } M \reducesto N \\
\end{reductions}
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Evaluation contexts} & \mathcal{E} \in \EvalCat &::=& [~] \mid \Let \; x \revto \mathcal{E} \; \In \; N
\end{syntax}
%
\dhil{Describe evaluation contexts as functions: decompose and plug.}
%
%%\[
% Evaluation context lift
%% \inferrule*[Lab=\semlab{Lift}]
%% { M \reducesto N }
%% { \mathcal{E}[M] \reducesto \mathcal{E}[N]}
%% \]
\caption{Contextual small-step semantics}
\label{fig:base-language-small-step}
\end{figure}
%
In this section I will present the dynamic semantics of \BCalc{}. I
have chosen opt to use a \citet{Felleisen87}-style contextual
small-step semantics, since in conjunction with fine-grain
call-by-value (FGCBV), it yields a considerably simpler semantics than
the traditional structural operational semantics
(SOS)~\cite{Plotkin04a}, because only the rule for let bindings admits
a continuation wheres in ordinary call-by-value SOS each congruence
rule admits a continuation.
%
The simpler semantics comes at the expense of a more verbose syntax,
which is not a concern as one can readily convert between fine-grain
call-by-value and ordinary call-by-value.
The reduction semantics are based on a substitution model of
computation. Thus, before presenting the reduction rules, we define an
adequate substitution function. As usual we work up to
$\alpha$-conversion~\cite{Church32} of terms in $\BCalc{}$.
%
\paragraph{Term substitution}
We define a term substitution map,
$\sigma : (\VarCat \times \ValCat)^\ast$ as list of pairs mapping a
variable to its value replacement. We denote a single mapping as $V/x$
meaning substitute $V$ for the variable $x$. We write multiple
mappings using list notation, i.e. $[V_0/x_0,\dots,V_n/x_n]$. The
domain of a substitution map is set generated by projecting the first
component, i.e.
%
\[
\bl
\dom : (\VarCat \times \ValCat)^\ast \to \ValCat\\
\dom(\sigma) \defas \{ x \mid (\_/x) \in \sigma \}
\el
\]
%
The application of a type substitution map on a term $t \in \TermCat$,
written $t\sigma$, is defined inductively on the term structure as
follows.
%
\[
\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}r}
\begin{eqs}
x\sigma &\defas& \begin{cases}
V & \text{if } (x, V) \in \sigma\\
x & \text{otherwise}
\end{cases}\\
(\lambda x^A.M)\sigma &\simdefas& \lambda x^A.M\sigma\\
(\Lambda \alpha^K.M)\sigma &\defas& \Lambda \alpha^K.M\sigma\\
(V~T)\sigma &\defas& V\sigma~T
\end{eqs}
&~~&
\begin{eqs}
(V~W)\sigma &\defas& V\sigma~W\sigma\\
\Unit\sigma &\defas& \Unit\\
\Record{\ell = V; W}\sigma &\defas& \Record{\ell = V\sigma;W\sigma}\\
(\ell~V)^R\sigma &\defas& (\ell~V\sigma)^R\\
\end{eqs}\bigskip\\
\multicolumn{3}{c}{
\begin{eqs}
(\Let\;\Record{\ell = x; y} = V\;\In\;N)\sigma &\simdefas& \Let\;\Record{\ell = x; y} = V\sigma\;\In\;N\sigma\\
(\Case\;(\ell~V)^R\{
\ell~x \mapsto M
; y \mapsto N \})\sigma
&\simdefas&
\Case\;(\ell~V\sigma)^R\{
\ell~x \mapsto M\sigma
; y \mapsto N\sigma \}\\
(\Let\;x \revto M \;\In\;N)\sigma &\simdefas& \Let\;x \revto M[V/y] \;\In\;N\sigma
\end{eqs}}
\ea
\]
%
The attentive reader will notice that I am using the same notation for
type and term substitutions. In fact, we shall go further and unify
the two notions of substitution by combining them. As such we may
think of a combined substitution map as pair of a term substitution
map and a type substitution map, i.e.
$\sigma : (\VarCat \times \ValCat)^\ast \times (\TyVarCat \times
\TypeCat)^\ast$. The application of a combined substitution mostly the
same as the application of a term substitution map save for a couple
equations in which we need to apply the type substitution map
component to a type annotation and type abstraction which now might
require a change of name of the bound type variable
%
\[
\bl
(\lambda x^A.M)\sigma \defas \lambda x^{A\sigma.2}.M\sigma, \qquad
(V~T)\sigma \defas V\sigma~T\sigma.2, \qquad
(\ell~V)^R\sigma \defas (\ell~V\sigma)^{R\sigma.2}\medskip\\
\begin{eqs}
(\Lambda \alpha^K.M)\sigma &\simdefas& \Lambda \alpha^K.M\sigma\\
(\Case\;(\ell~V)^R\{
\ell~x \mapsto M
; y \mapsto N \})\sigma
&\simdefas&
\Case\;(\ell~V\sigma)^{R\sigma.2}\{
\ell~x \mapsto M\sigma
; y \mapsto N\sigma \}.
\end{eqs}
\el
\]
%
% We shall go further and use the
% notation to mean simultaneous substitution of types and terms, that is
% we
% %
% We justify this choice by the fact that we can lift type substitution
% pointwise on the term syntax constructors, enabling us to use one
% uniform notation for substitution.
% %
% Thus we shall generally allow a mix
% of pairs of variables and values and pairs of type variables and types
% to occur in the same substitution map.
\paragraph{Reduction semantics}
The reduction relation $\reducesto \subseteq \CompCat \times \CompCat$
relates a computation term to another if the former can reduce to the
latter in a single step. Figure~\ref{fig:base-language-small-step}
depicts the reduction rules. The application rules \semlab{App} and
\semlab{TyApp} eliminates a lambda and type abstraction, respectively,
by substituting the argument for the parameter in their body
computation $M$.
%
Record splitting is handled by the \semlab{Split} rule: splitting on
some label $\ell$ binds the payload $V$ to $x$ and the remainder $W$
to $y$ in the continuation $N$.
%
Disjunctive case splitting is handled by the two rules
\semlab{Case_1} and \semlab{Case_2}. The former rule handles the
success case, when the scrutinee's tag $\ell$ matches the tag of the
success clause, thus binds the payload $V$ to $x$ and proceeds to
evaluate the continuation $M$. The latter rule handles the
fall-through case, here the scrutinee gets bounds to $y$ and
evaluation proceeds with the continuation $N$.
%
The \semlab{Let} rule eliminates a trivial computation term
$\Return\;V$ by substituting $V$ for $x$ in the continuation $N$.
%
\paragraph{Evaluation contexts}
Recall from Section~\ref{sec:base-language-terms},
Figure~\ref{fig:base-language-term-syntax} that the syntax of let
bindings allows a general computation term $M$ to occur on the right
hand side of the binding, i.e. $\Let\;x \revto M \;\In\;N$. Thus we
are seemingly stuck in the general case, as the \semlab{Let} rule only
applies if the right hand side is a trivial computation.
%
However, it is at this stage we make use of the notion of
\emph{evaluation contexts} due to \citet{Felleisen87}. An evaluation
context is syntactic construction which decompose the dynamic
semantics into a set of base rules (i.e. the rules presented thus far)
and an inductive rule, which enables us to focus on a particular
computation term, $M$, in some larger context, $\EC$, and reduce it in
the said context to another computation $N$ if $M$ reduces outside out
the context to that particular $N$. In our formalism, we call this
rule \semlab{Lift}. Evaluation contexts are generated from the empty
context ($[~]$) and let expressions ($\Let\;x \revto \EC \;\In\;N$).
The choices of using fine-grain call-by-value and evaluation contexts
may seem odd, if not arbitrary at this point; the reader may wonder
with good reason why we elect to use fine-grain call-by-value over
ordinary call-by-value. In Chapter~\ref{ch:unary-handlers} we will
reap the benefits from our design choices, as we shall see that the
combination of fine-grain call-by-value and evaluation contexts
provide the basis for a convenient, simple semantic framework for
working with continuations.
\section{Metatheoretic properties of \BCalc{}}
\label{sec:base-language-metatheory}
Thus far we have defined the syntax, static semantics, and dynamic
semantics of \BCalc{}. In this section, we state and prove some
customary metatheoretic properties about \BCalc{}.
%
We begin by showing that substitutions preserve typability.
%
\begin{lemma}[Preservation of typing under substitution]\label{lem:base-language-subst}
Let $\sigma$ be any type substitution and $V \in \ValCat$ be any
value and $M \in \CompCat$ a computation such that
$\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{V : A}$ and $\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{M : C}$, then
$\typ{\Delta;\Gamma\sigma}{V\sigma : A\sigma}$ and
$\typ{\Delta;\Gamma\sigma}{M\sigma : C\sigma}$.
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
%
\dhil{It is clear to me at this point, that I want to coalesce the
substitution functions. Possibly define them as maps rather than ordinary functions.}
The reduction semantics satisfy a \emph{unique decomposition}
property, which guarantees the existence and uniqueness of complete
decomposition for arbitrary computation terms into evaluation
contexts.
%
\begin{lemma}[Unique decomposition]\label{lem:base-language-uniq-decomp}
For any computation $M \in \CompCat$ it holds that $M$ is either
stuck or there exists a unique evaluation context $\EC \in \EvalCat$
and a redex $N \in \CompCat$ such that $M = \EC[N]$.
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
By structural induction on $M$.
\begin{description}
\item[Base step] $M = N$ where $N$ is either $\Return\;V$,
$\Absurd^C\;V$, $V\,W$, or $V\,T$. In each case take $\EC = [\,]$
such that $M = \EC[N]$.
\item[Inductive step]
%
There are several cases to consider. In each case we must find an
evaluation context $\EC$ and a computation term $M'$ such that
$M = \EC[M']$.
\begin{itemize}
\item[Case] $M = \Let\;\Record{\ell = x; y} = V\;\In\;N$: Take $\EC = [\,]$ such that $M = \EC[\Let\;\Record{\ell = x; y} = V\;\In\;N]$.
\item[Case] $M = \Case\;V\,\{\ell\,x \mapsto M'; y \mapsto N\}$:
Take $\EC = [\,]$ such that
$M = \EC[\Case\;V\,\{\ell\,x \mapsto M'; y \mapsto N\}]$.
\item[Case] $M = \Let\;x \revto M' \;\In\;N$: By the induction
hypothesis it follows that $M'$ is either stuck or it
decomposes (uniquely) into an evaluation context $\EC'$ and a
redex $N'$. If $M'$ is stuck, then so is $M$. Otherwise take
$\EC = \Let\;x \revto \EC'\;\In\;N$ such that $M = \EC[N']$.
\end{itemize}
\end{description}
\end{proof}
%
The calculus enjoys a rather strong \emph{progress} property, which
states that \emph{every} closed computation term reduces to a trivial
computation term $\Return\;V$ for some value $V$. In other words, any
realisable function in \BCalc{} is effect-free and total.
%
\begin{definition}[Computation normal form]\label{def:base-language-comp-normal}
A computation $M \in \CompCat$ is said to be \emph{normal} if it is
of the form $\Return\; V$ for some value $V \in \ValCat$.
\end{definition}
%
\begin{theorem}[Progress]\label{thm:base-language-progress}
Suppose $\typ{}{M : C}$, then $M$ is normal or there exists
$\typ{}{N : C}$ such that $M \reducesto^\ast N$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
%
% \begin{corollary}
% Every closed computation term in \BCalc{} is terminating.
% \end{corollary}
%
The calculus also satisfies the \emph{subject reduction} property,
which states that if some computation $M$ is well typed and reduces to
some other computation $M'$, then $M'$ is also well typed.
%
\begin{theorem}[Subject reduction]\label{thm:base-language-preservation}
Suppose $\typ{\Gamma}{M : C}$ and $M \reducesto M'$, then
$\typ{\Gamma}{M' : C}$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
\section{A primitive effect: recursion}
\label{sec:base-language-recursion}
%
As evident from Theorem~\ref{thm:base-language-progress} \BCalc{}
admit no computational effects. As a consequence every realisable
program is terminating. Thus the calculus provide a solid and minimal
basis for studying the expressiveness of any extension, and in
particular, which primitive effects any such extension may sneak into
the calculus.
However, we cannot write many (if any) interesting programs in
\BCalc{}. The calculus is simply not expressive enough. In order to
bring it closer to the ML-family of languages we endow the calculus
with a fixpoint operator which introduces recursion as a primitive
effect. We dub the resulting calculus \BCalcRec{}.
%
First we augment the syntactic category of values with a new
abstraction form for recursive functions.
%
\begin{syntax}
& V,W \in \ValCat &::=& \cdots \mid \Rec \; f^{A \to C} \, x.M
\end{syntax}
%
The $\Rec$ construct binds the function name $f$ and its argument $x$
in the body $M$. Typing of recursive functions is standard.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Rec}]
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma,f : A \to C, x : A}{M : C}}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{(\Rec \; f^{A \to C} \, x . M) : A \to C}}
\end{mathpar}
%
The reduction semantics are also standard.
%
\begin{reductions}
\semlab{Rec} &
(\Rec \; f^{A \to C} \, x.M)\,V &\reducesto& M[(\Rec \; f^{A \to C}\,x.M)/f, V/x]
\end{reductions}
%
Every occurrence of $f$ in $M$ is replaced by the recursive abstractor
term, while every $x$ in $M$ is replaced by the value argument $V$.
The introduction of recursion means we obtain a slightly weaker
progress theorem as some programs may now diverge.
%
\begin{theorem}[Progress]
\label{thm:base-rec-language-progress}
Suppose $\typ{}{M : C}$, then $M$ is normal or there exists
$\typ{}{N : C}$ such that $M \reducesto^\ast N$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
Similar to the proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:base-language-progress}.
\end{proof}
\subsection{Tracking divergence via the effect system}
\label{sec:tracking-div}
%
With the $\Rec$-operator in \BCalcRec{} we can now implement the
factorial function.
%
\[
\bl
\dec{fac} : \Int \to \Int \eff \emptyset\\
\dec{fac} \defas \Rec\;f~n.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;is\_zero \revto n = 0\;\In\\
\If\;is\_zero\;\Then\; \Return\;1\\
\Else\;\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\Let\; n' \revto n - 1 \;\In\\
\Let\; m \revto f~n' \;\In\\
n * m
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
The $\dec{fac}$ function computes $n!$ for any non-negative integer
$n$. If $n$ is negative then $\dec{fac}$ diverges as the function will
repeatedly select the $\Else$-branch in the conditional
expression. Thus this function is not total on its domain. Yet the
effect signature does not alert us about the potential divergence. In
fact, in this particular instance the effect row on the computation
type is empty, which might deceive the doctrinaire to think that this
function is `pure'. Whether this function is pure or impure depend on
the precise notion of purity -- which we have yet to choose. In
Section~\ref{sec:notions-of-purity} we shall make clear the notion of
purity that we have mind, however, first let us briefly illustrate how
we might utilise the effect system to track divergence.
The key to tracking divergence is to modify the \tylab{Rec} to inject
some primitive operation into the effect row.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*[Lab=$\tylab{Rec}^\ast$]
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma,f : A \to B\eff\{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\}, x : A}{M : B\eff\{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\}}}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{(\Rec \; f^{A \to B\eff\{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\}} \, x .M) : A \to B\eff\{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\}}}
\end{mathpar}
%
In this typing rule we have chosen to inject an operation named
$\dec{Div}$ into the effect row of the computation type on the
recursive binder $f$. The operation is primitive, because it can never
be directly invoked, rather, it occurs as a side-effect of applying a
$\Rec$-definition.
%
Using this typing rule we get that
$\dec{fac} : \Int \to \Int \eff \{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\}$. Consequently,
every application-site of $\dec{fac}$ must now permit the $\dec{Div}$
operation in order to type check.
%
\begin{example}
We will use the following suspended computation to demonstrate
effect tracking in action.
%
\[
\bl
\lambda\Unit. \dec{fac}~3
\el
\]
%
The computation calculates $3!$ when forced.
%
We will now give a typing derivation for this computation to
illustrate how the application of $\dec{fac}$ causes its effect row
to be propagated outwards. Let
$\Gamma = \{\dec{fac} : \Int \to \Int \eff \{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\}\}$.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*[Right={\tylab{Lam}}]
{\inferrule*[Right={\tylab{App}}]
{\typ{\emptyset;\Gamma,\Unit:\Record{}}{\dec{fac} : \Int \to \Int \eff \{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\}}\\
\typ{\emptyset;\Gamma,\Unit:\Record{}}{3 : \Int}
}
{\typc{\emptyset;\Gamma,\Unit:\Record{}}{\dec{fac}~3 : \Int}{\{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\}}}
}
{\typ{\emptyset;\Gamma}{\lambda\Unit.\dec{fac}~3} : \Unit \to \Int \eff \{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\}}
\end{mathpar}
%
The information that the computation applies a possibly divergent
function internally gets reflected externally in its effect
signature.
\end{example}
%
A possible inconvenience of the current formulation of
$\tylab{Rec}^\ast$ is that it recursion cannot be mixed with other
computational effects. The reason being that the effect row on
$A \to B\eff \{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\}$ is closed. Thus in a practical
general-purpose programming language implementation it is likely be
more convenient to leave the tail of the effect row open as to allow
recursion to be used in larger effect contexts. The rule formulation
is also rather coarse as it renders every $\Rec$-definition as
possibly divergent -- even definitions that are obviously
non-divergent such as the $\Rec$-variation of the identity function:
$\Rec\;f\,x.x$. A practical implementation could utilise a static
termination checker~\cite{Walther94} to obtain more fine-grained
tracking of divergence.
% By fairly lightweight means we can obtain a finer analysis of
% $\Rec$-definitions by simply having an additional typing rule for
% the application of $\Rec$.
% %
% \begin{mathpar}
% \inferrule*[lab=$\tylab{AppRec}^\ast$]
% { E' = \{\dec{Div}:\ZeroType\} \uplus E\\
% \typ{\Delta}{E'}\\\\
% \typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{\Rec\;f^{A \to B \eff E}\,x.M : A \to B \eff E}\\
% \typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{W : A}
% }
% {\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{(\Rec\;f^{A \to B \eff E}\,x.M)\,W : B \eff E'}}
% \end{mathpar}
% %
\subsection{Notions of purity}
\label{sec:notions-of-purity}
The term `pure' is heavily overloaded in the programming literature.
%
\dhil{In this thesis we use the Haskell notion of purity.}
\section{Row polymorphism}
\label{sec:row-polymorphism}
\dhil{A discussion of alternative row systems}
% \section{Type and effect inference}
% \dhil{While I would like to detail the type and effect inference, it
% may not be worth the effort. The reason I would like to do this goes
% back to 2016 when Richard Eisenberg asked me about how we do effect
% inference in Links.}
\chapter{Effect handler oriented programming}
\label{ch:unary-handlers}
%
Programming with effect handlers is a dichotomy of \emph{performing}
and \emph{handling} of effectful operations --- or alternatively a
dichotomy of \emph{constructing} and \emph{deconstructing} effects. An
operation is a constructor of an effect. By itself an operation has no
predefined semantics. A handler deconstructs an effect by
pattern-matching on its operations. By matching on a particular
operation, a handler instantiates the operation with a particular
semantics of its own choosing. The key ingredient to make this work in
practice is \emph{delimited control}. Performing an operation reifies
the remainder of the computation up to the nearest enclosing handler
of the operation as a continuation. This continuation is exposed to
the programmer via the handler as a first-class value, and thus, it
may be invoked, discarded, or stored for later use at the discretion
of the programmer.
Effect handlers provide a structured and modular interface for
programming with delimited control. They are structured in the sense
that the invocation site of an operation is decoupled from the use
site of its continuation. A handler consists of a collection of
operation clauses, one for each operation it handles. Effect handlers
are modular as a handler will only capture and expose continuations
for operations that it handles, other operation invocations pass
seamlessly through the handler such that the operation can be handled
by another suitable handler. This allows modular construction of
effectful programs, where multiple handlers can be composed to fully
interpret the effect signature of the whole program.
% There exists multiple flavours of effect handlers. The handlers
% introduced by \citet{PlotkinP09} are known as \emph{deep} handlers,
% and they are semantically defined as folds over computation
% trees. Dually, \emph{shallow} handlers are defined as case-splits over
% computation trees.
%
The purpose of the chapter is to augment the base calculi \BCalc{} and
\BCalcRec{} with effect handlers, and demonstrate their practical
versatility by way of a programming case study. The primary focus is
on so-called \emph{deep} and \emph{shallow} variants of handlers. In
Section~\ref{sec:unary-deep-handlers} we endow \BCalc{} with deep
handlers, which we put to use in
Section~\ref{sec:deep-handlers-in-action} where we implement a
\UNIX{}-style operating system. In
Section~\ref{sec:unary-shallow-handlers} we extend \BCalcRec{} with
shallow handlers, and subsequently we use them to extend the
functionality of the operating system example. Finally, in
Section~\ref{sec:unary-parameterised-handlers} we will look at
\emph{parameterised} handlers, which are a refinement of ordinary deep
handlers.
From here onwards I will make a slight change of terminology to
disambiguate programmatic continuations, i.e. continuations exposed to
the programmer, from continuations in continuation passing style
(Chapter~\ref{ch:cps}) and continuations in abstract machines
(Chapter~\ref{ch:abstract-machine}). In the remainder of this
dissertation I refer to programmatic continuations as `resumptions',
and reserve the term `continuation' for continuations concerning
implementation details.
\paragraph{Relation to prior work} The deep and shallow handler
calculi that are introduced in Section~\ref{sec:unary-deep-handlers},
Section~\ref{sec:unary-shallow-handlers}, and
Section~\ref{sec:unary-parameterised-handlers} are adapted with minor
syntactic changes from the following work.
%
\begin{enumerate}[i]
\item \bibentry{HillerstromL16}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromL18} \label{en:sec-handlers-L18}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromLA20} \label{en:sec-handlers-HLA20}
\end{enumerate}
%
The `pipes' example in Section~\ref{sec:unary-shallow-handlers}
appears in items \ref{en:sec-handlers-L18} and
\ref{en:sec-handlers-HLA20} above.
\section{Deep handlers}
\label{sec:unary-deep-handlers}
%
As our starting point we take the regular base calculus, \BCalc{},
without the recursion operator and extend it with deep handlers to
yield the calculus \HCalc{}. We elect to do so because deep handlers
do not require the power of an explicit fixpoint operator to be a
practical programming abstraction. Building \HCalc{} on top of
\BCalcRec{} require no change in semantics.
%
Deep handlers~\cite{PlotkinP09,Pretnar10} are defined by folds
(specifically \emph{catamorphisms}~\cite{MeijerFP91}) over computation
trees, meaning they provide a uniform semantics to the handled
operations of a given computation. In contrast, shallow handlers are
defined as case-splits over computation trees, and thus, allow a
nonuniform semantics to be given to operations. We will discuss this
point in more detail in Section~\ref{sec:unary-shallow-handlers}.
\subsection{Performing effectful operations}
\label{sec:eff-language-perform}
An effectful operation is a purely syntactic construction, which has
no predefined dynamic semantics. In our calculus effectful operations
are a computational phenomenon, and thus, their introduction form is a
computation term. To type operation we augment the syntactic category
of value types with a new arrow.
%
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Value\textrm{ }types} &A,B \in \ValTypeCat &::=& \cdots \mid A \opto B\\
\slab{Computations} &M,N \in \CompCat &::=& \cdots \mid (\Do \; \ell~V)^E
\end{syntax}
%
The operation arrow, $\opto$, denotes the operation space. The
operation space arrow is similar to the function space arrow in that
the type $A$ denotes the domain type of the operation, i.e. the type
of the operation payload, and the codomain type $B$ denotes the return
type of the operation. Contrary to the function space constructor,
$\to$, the operation space constructor does not have an associated
effect row. As we will see later, the reason that the operation space
constructor does not have an effect row is that the effects of an
operation is conferred by its handler.
The intended behaviour of the new computation term $(\Do\; \ell~V)^E$
is that it performs some operation $\ell$ with value argument
$V$. Thus the $\Do$-construct is similar to the typical
exception-signalling $\keyw{throw}$ or $\keyw{raise}$ constructs found
in programming languages with support for exceptions. In fact
operationally, an effectful operation may be thought of as an
exception which is resumable~\cite{Leijen17}. The term is annotated
with an effect row $E$, providing a way to make the current effect
context accessible during typing.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Do}]
{ \typ{\Delta}{E} \\
E = \{\ell : A \opto B; R\} \\
\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{V : A}
}
{\typc{\Delta;\Gamma}{(\Do \; \ell \; V)^E : B}{E}}
\end{mathpar}
%
An operation invocation is only well-typed if the effect row $E$ is
well-kinded and mentions the operation with a present type, or put
differently: the current effect context must permit an instance of the
operation to occur. The argument type $A$ must be the same as the
domain type of the operation. The type of the whole term is the
(value) return type of the operation paired with the current effect
context.
We have the basic machinery for writing effectful programs, albeit we
cannot evaluate those programs without handlers to ascribe a semantics
to the operations.
% \paragraph{Computation trees} We have the basic machinery for writing
% effectful programs, albeit we cannot evaluate those programs without
% handlers to ascribe a semantics to the operations.
% %
% For instance consider the signature of computations over some state at
% type $\beta$.
% %
% \[
% \State~\beta \defas \{\Get : \UnitType \opto \beta; \Put : \beta \opto \UnitType\}
% \]
% %
% \[
% \bl
% \dec{condupd} : \Record{\Bool;\beta} \to \beta \eff \State~\beta\\
% \dec{condupd}~\Record{b;v} \defas
% \bl
% \Let\; x \revto \Do\;\Get\,\Unit\;\In\\
% \If\;b\;\Then\;\;\Do\;\Put~v;\,x\;
% \Else\;x
% \el
% \el
% \]
% %
% This exact notation is due to \citet{Lindley14}, though the idea of
% using computation trees dates back to at least
% \citet{Kleene59,Kleene63}.
% \dhil{Introduce notation for computation trees.}
\subsection{Handling of effectful operations}
%
The elimination form for an effectful operation is an effect
handler. Effect handlers interpret the effectful segments of a
program.
%
The addition of handlers requires us to extend the type algebra of
$\BCalc$ with a kind for handlers and a new syntactic category for
handler types.
%
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Kinds} &K \in \KindCat &::=& \cdots \mid \Handler\\
\slab{Handler\textrm{ }types} &F \in \HandlerTypeCat &::=& C \Harrow D\\
\slab{Types} &T \in \TypeCat &::=& \cdots \mid F
\end{syntax}
%
The syntactic category of kinds is augmented with the kind $\Handler$
which we will ascribe to handler types $F$. The arrow, $\Harrow$,
denotes the handler space. The type structure suggests that a handler
is a transformer of computations, since by looking solely at the types
a handler takes a computation of type $C$ and returns another
computation of type $D$. As such, we may think of a handler as a sort
of generalised function, that work over computations rather than bare
values (this observation is exploited in the \Frank{} programming
language, where a function is but a special case of a
handler~\cite{LindleyMM17,ConventLMM20}).
%
The following kinding rule checks whether a handler type is
well-kinded.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*[Lab=\klab{Handler}]
{ \Delta \vdash C : \Comp \\
\Delta \vdash D : \Comp
}
{\Delta \vdash C \Harrow D : \Handler}
\end{mathpar}
%
With the type structure in place, we can move on to the term syntax
for handlers. Handlers extend the syntactic category of computations
with a new computation form as well as introducing a new syntactic
category of handler definitions.
%
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Computations} &M,N \in \CompCat &::=& \cdots \mid \Handle \; M \; \With \; H\\[1ex]
\slab{Handlers} &H \in \HandlerCat &::=& \{ \Return \; x \mapsto M \}
\mid \{ \OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N \} \uplus H\\
\slab{Terms} &t \in \TermCat &::=& \cdots \mid H
\end{syntax}
%
The handle construct $(\Handle \; M \; \With \; H)$ is the counterpart
to $\Do$. It runs computation $M$ using handler $H$. A handler $H$
consists of a return clause $\{\Return \; x \mapsto M\}$ and a
possibly empty set of operation clauses
$\{\OpCase{\ell}{p_\ell}{r_\ell} \mapsto N_\ell\}_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}$.
%
The return clause $\{\Return \; x \mapsto M\}$ defines how to
interpret the final return value of a handled computation, i.e. a
computation that has been fully reduced to $\Return~V$ for some value
$V$. The variable $x$ is bound to the final return value in the body
$M$.
%
Each operation clause
$\{\OpCase{\ell}{p_\ell}{r_\ell} \mapsto N_\ell\}_{\ell \in
\mathcal{L}}$ defines how to interpret an invocation of some
operation $\ell$. The variables $p_\ell$ and $r_\ell$ are bound in the
body $N_\ell$. The binding occurrence $p_\ell$ binds the payload of
the operation and $r_\ell$ binds the resumption of the operation
invocation, which is the delimited continuation from the invocation
site up of $\ell$ to and including the enclosing handler.
Given a handler $H$, we often wish to refer to the clause for a
particular operation or the return clause; for these purposes we
define two convenient projections on handlers in the metalanguage.
\[
\ba{@{~}r@{~}c@{~}l@{~}l}
\hell &\defas& \{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N \}, &\quad \text{where } \{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N \} \in H\\
\hret &\defas& \{\Return\; x \mapsto N \}, &\quad \text{where } \{\Return\; x \mapsto N \} \in H\\
\ea
\]
%
The $\hell$ projection yields the singleton set consisting of the
operation clause in $H$ that handles the operation $\ell$, whilst
$\hret$ yields the singleton set containing the return clause of $H$.
%
We define the \emph{domain} of an handler as the set of operation
labels it handles, i.e.
%
\begin{equations}
\dom &:& \HandlerCat \to \LabelCat\\
\dom(\{\Return\;x \mapsto M\}) &\defas& \emptyset\\
\dom(\{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto M\} \uplus H) &\defas& \{\ell\} \cup \dom(H)
\end{equations}
\subsection{Static semantics}
There are two typing rules for handlers. The first rule type checks
the $\Handle$-construct and the second rule type checks handler
definitions.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Handle}]
{
\typ{\Gamma}{M : C} \\
\typ{\Gamma}{H : C \Harrow D}
}
{\Gamma \vdash \Handle \; M \; \With\; H : D}
%\mprset{flushleft}
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Handler}]
{{\bl
C = A \eff \{(\ell_i : A_i \opto B_i)_i; R\} \\
D = B \eff \{(\ell_i : P_i)_i; R\}\\
H = \{\Return\;x \mapsto M\} \uplus \{ \OpCase{\ell_i}{p_i}{r_i} \mapsto N_i \}_i
\el}\\\\
\typ{\Delta;\Gamma, x : A}{M : D}\\\\
[\typ{\Delta;\Gamma,p_i : A_i, r_i : B_i \to D}{N_i : D}]_i
}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{H : C \Harrow D}}
\end{mathpar}
%
The \tylab{Handle} rule is simply the application rule for handlers.
%
The \tylab{Handler} rule is where most of the work happens. The effect
rows on the input computation type $C$ and the output computation type
$D$ must mention every operation in the domain of the handler. In the
output row those operations may be either present ($\Pre{A}$), absent
($\Abs$), or polymorphic in their presence ($\theta$), whilst in the
input row they must be mentioned with a present type as those types
are used to type operation clauses.
%
In each operation clause the resumption $r_i$ must have the same
return type, $D$, as its handler. In the return clause the binder $x$
has the same type, $C$, as the result of the input computation.
\subsection{Dynamic semantics}
We augment the operational semantics with two new reduction rules: one
for handling return values and another for handling operations.
%{\small{
\begin{reductions}
\semlab{Ret} &
\Handle \; (\Return \; V) \; \With \; H &\reducesto& N[V/x], \hfill\text{where } \hret = \{ \Return \; x \mapsto N \} \\
\semlab{Op} &
\Handle \; \EC[\Do \; \ell \, V] \; \With \; H
&\reducesto& N[V/p, \lambda y . \, \Handle \; \EC[\Return \; y] \; \With \; H/r], \\
\multicolumn{4}{@{}r@{}}{
\hfill\ba[t]{@{~}r@{~}l}
\text{where}& \hell = \{ \OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N \}\\
\text{and} & \ell \notin \BL(\EC)
\ea
}
\end{reductions}%}}%
%
The rule \semlab{Ret} invokes the return clause of the current handler
$H$ and substitutes $V$ for $x$ in the body $N$.
%
The rule \semlab{Op} handles an operation $\ell$ subject to two
conditions. The first condition ensures that the operation is only
captured by a handler if its handler definition $H$ contains a
corresponding operation clause for the operation. Otherwise the
operation passes seamlessly through the handler such that another
suitable handler can handle the operation. This phenomenon is known as
\emph{effect forwarding}. It is key to enable modular composition of
effectful computations.
%
The second condition ensures the operation $\ell$ and that the
operation does not appear in the \emph{bound labels} ($\BL$) of the
inner context $\EC$. The bound label condition enforces that an
operation is always handled by the nearest enclosing suitable handler.
%
Formally, we define the notion of bound labels,
$\BL : \EvalCat \to \LabelCat$, inductively over the structure of
evaluation contexts.
%
\begin{equations}
\BL([~]) &=& \emptyset \\
\BL(\Let\;x \revto \EC\;\In\;N) &=& \BL(\EC) \\
\BL(\Handle\;\EC\;\With\;H) &=& \BL(\EC) \cup \dom(H) \\
\end{equations}
%
To illustrate the necessity of this condition consider the following
example with two nested handlers which both handle the same operation
$\ell$.
%
\[
\bl
\ba{@{~}r@{~}c@{~}l}
H_{\mathsf{inner}} &\defas& \{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto r~42; \Return\;x \mapsto \Return~x\}\\
H_{\mathsf{outer}} &\defas& \{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto r~0;\Return\;x \mapsto \Return~x \}
\ea\medskip\\
\Handle \;
\left(\Handle\; \Do\;\ell~\Record{}\;\With\; H_{\mathsf{inner}}\right)\;
\With\; H_{\mathsf{outer}}
\reducesto^+ \begin{cases}
\Return\;42 & \text{Innermost}\\
\Return\;0 & \text{Outermost}
\end{cases}
\el
\]
%
Without the bound label condition there are two possible results as
the choice of which handler to pick for $\ell$ is ambiguous, meaning
reduction would be nondeterministic. Conversely, with the bound label
condition we obtain that the above term reduces to $\Return\;42$,
because $\ell$ is bound in the computation term of the outermost
$\Handle$.
%
The decision to always select the nearest enclosing suitable handler
for an operation invocation is a conscious choice. In fact, it is the
\emph{only} natural and sensible choice as picking any other handler
than the nearest enclosing renders programming with effect handlers
anti-modular. Consider the other extreme of always selecting the
outermost suitable handler, then the meaning of any effectful program
fragment depends on the entire ambient context. For example, consider
using integer addition as the composition operator to compose the
inner handle expression from above with a copy of itself.
%
\[
\bl
\dec{fortytwo} \defas \Handle\;\Do\;\ell~\Unit\;\With\;H_{\mathsf{inner}} \medskip\\
\EC[\dec{fortytwo} + \dec{fortytwo}] \reducesto^+ \begin{cases}
\Return\; 84 & \text{when $\EC$ is empty}\\
? & \text{otherwise}
\end{cases}
\el
\]
%
Clearly, if the ambient context $\EC$ is empty, then we can derive the
result by reasoning locally about each constituent separately and
subsequently add their results together to obtain the computation term
$\Return\;84$. Conversely, if the ambient context is nonempty, then we
need to account for the possibility that some handler for $\ell$ is
could be present in the context. For instance if
$\EC = \Handle\;[~]\;\With\;H_{\mathsf{outer}}$ then the result would
be $\Return\;0$, which we cannot derive locally from looking at the
immediate constituents. Thus we can argue that if we want programming
to remain modular and compositional, then we must necessarily always
select the nearest enclosing suitable handler for an operation.
%
The resumption $r$ includes both the captured evaluation context and
the handler. Invoking the resumption causes the both the evaluation
context and handler to be reinstalled, meaning subsequent invocations
of $\ell$ get handled by the same handler. This is a defining
characteristic of deep handlers.
The metatheoretic properties of $\BCalc$ transfer to $\HCalc$ with
little extra effort, although we must amend the definition of
computation normal forms as there are now two ways in which a
computation term can terminate: successfully returning a value or
getting stuck on an unhandled operation.
%
\begin{definition}[Computation normal forms]\label{def:comp-normal-form}
We say that a computation term $N$ is normal with respect to an
effect signature $E$, if $N$ is either of the form $\Return\;V$, or
$\EC[\Do\;\ell\,W]$ where $\ell \in E$ and $\ell \notin \BL(\EC)$.
\end{definition}
%
\begin{theorem}[Progress]
Suppose $\typ{}{M : C}$, then either there exists $\typ{}{N : C}$
such that $M \reducesto^+ N$ and $N$ is normal, or $M$ diverges.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
%
\begin{theorem}[Subject reduction]
Suppose $\typ{\Gamma}{M : C}$ and $M \reducesto M'$, then
$\typ{\Gamma}{M' : C}$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
\section{Composing \UNIX{} with effect handlers}
\label{sec:deep-handlers-in-action}
There are several analogies for effect handlers, e.g. as interpreters
for effects, folds over computation trees, etc. A particularly
compelling programmatic analogy for effect handlers is \emph{effect
handlers as composable operating systems}. Effect handlers and
operating systems share operational characteristics: an operating
system interprets a set of system commands performed via system calls,
which is similar to how an effect handler interprets a set of abstract
operations performed via operation invocations. This analogy was
suggested to me by James McKinna (personal communication, 2017).
%
The compelling aspect of this analogy is that we can understand a
monolithic and complex operating system like \UNIX{}~\cite{RitchieT74}
as a collection of effect handlers, or alternatively, a collection of
tiny operating systems, that when composed yield a semantics for
\UNIX{}.
In this section we will take this reading of effect handlers
literally, and demonstrate how we can harness the power of (deep)
effect handlers to implement a \UNIX{}-style operating system with
multiple user sessions, time-sharing, and file i/o. We dub the system
\OSname{}.
%
It is a case study that demonstrates the versatility of effect
handlers, and shows how standard computational effects such as
\emph{exceptions}, \emph{dynamic binding}, \emph{nondeterminism}, and
\emph{state} make up the essence of an operating system.
For the sake of clarity, we will occasionally make some blatant
simplifications, nevertheless the resulting implementation will
capture the essence of a \UNIX{}-like operating system.
%
The implementation will be composed of several small modular effect
handlers, that each handles a particular set of system commands. In
this respect, we will truly realise \OSname{} in the spirit of the
\UNIX{} philosophy~\cite[Section~1.6]{Raymond03}.
% This case study demonstrates that we can decompose a monolithic
% operating system like \UNIX{} into a collection of specialised effect
% handlers. Each handler interprets a particular system command.
% A systems software engineering reading of effect handlers may be to
% understand them as modular ``tiny operating systems''. Operationally,
% how an \emph{operating system} interprets a set of \emph{system
% commands} performed via \emph{system calls} is similar to how an
% effect handler interprets a set of abstract operations performed via
% operation invocations.
% %
% This reading was suggested to me by James McKinna (personal
% communication). In this section I will take this reading literally,
% and demonstrate how we can use the power of (deep) effect handlers to
% implement a tiny operating system that supports multiple users,
% time-sharing, and file i/o.
% %
% The operating system will be a variation of \UNIX{}~\cite{RitchieT74},
% which we will call \OSname{}.
% %
% To make the task tractable we will occasionally jump some hops and
% make some simplifying assumptions, nevertheless the resulting
% implementation will capture the essence of a \UNIX{}-like operating
% system.
% %
% The implementation will be composed of several small modular effect
% handlers, that each handles a particular set of system commands. In
% this respect, we will truly realise \OSname{} in the spirit of the
% \UNIX{} philosophy~\cite[Section~1.6]{Raymond03}. The implementation of
% the operating system will showcase several computational effects in
% action including \emph{dynamic binding}, \emph{nondeterminism}, and
% \emph{state}.
\subsection{Basic i/o}
\label{sec:tiny-unix-bio}
The file system is a cornerstone of \UNIX{} as the notion of \emph{file}
in \UNIX{} provides a unified abstraction for storing text, interprocess
communication, and access to devices such as terminals, printers,
network, etc.
%
Initially, we shall take a rather basic view of the file system. In
fact, our initial system will only contain a single file, and
moreover, the system will only support writing operations. This system
hardly qualifies as a \UNIX{} file system. Nevertheless, it serves a
crucial role for development of \OSname{}, because it provides the
only means for us to be able to observe the effects of processes.
%
We defer development of a more advanced file system to
Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-io}.
Much like \UNIX{} we shall model a file as a list of characters, that is
$\UFile \defas \List~\Char$. For convenience we will use the same
model for strings, $\String \defas \List~\Char$, such that we can use
string literal notation to denote the $\strlit{contents of a file}$.
%
The signature of the basic file system will consist of a single
operation $\Write$ for writing a list of characters to the file.
%
\[
\BIO \defas \{\Write : \Record{\UFD;\String} \opto \UnitType\}
\]
%
The operation is parameterised by a $\UFD$ and a character
sequence. We will leave the $\UFD$ type abstract until
Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-io}, however, we shall assume the existence
of a term $\stdout : \UFD$ such that we can perform invocations of
$\Write$.
%
Let us define a suitable handler for this operation.
%
\[
\bl
\basicIO : (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \BIO) \to \Record{\alpha; \UFile}\\
\basicIO~m \defas
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& \Record{res;\nil}\\
\OpCase{\Write}{\Record{\_;cs}}{resume} &\mapsto&
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\; \Record{res;file} = resume\,\Unit\;\In\\
\Record{res; cs \concat file}
\ea
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
The handler takes as input a computation that produces some value
$\alpha$, and in doing so may perform the $\BIO$ effect.
%
The handler ultimately returns a pair consisting of the return value
$\alpha$ and the final state of the file.
%
The $\Return$-case pairs the result $res$ with the empty file $\nil$
which models the scenario where the computation $m$ performed no
$\Write$-operations, e.g.
$\basicIO\,(\lambda\Unit.\Unit) \reducesto^+
\Record{\Unit;\strlit{}}$.
%
The $\Write$-case extends the file by first invoking the resumption,
whose return type is the same as the handler's return type, thus it
returns a pair containing the result of $m$ and the file state. The
file gets extended with the character sequence $cs$ before it is
returned along with the original result of $m$.
%
Intuitively, we may think of this implementation of $\Write$ as a
peculiar instance of buffered writing, where the contents of the
operation are committed to the file when the computation $m$ finishes.
Let us define an auxiliary function that writes a string to the
$\stdout$ file.
%
\[
\bl
\echo : \String \to \UnitType \eff\, \BIO\\%\{\Write : \Record{\UFD;\String} \opto \UnitType\}\\
\echo~cs \defas \Do\;\Write\,\Record{\stdout;cs}
\el
\]
%
The function $\echo$ is a simple wrapper around an invocation of
$\Write$.
%
We can now write some contents to the file and observe the effects.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\basicIO\,(\lambda\Unit. \echo~\strlit{Hello}; \echo~\strlit{World})\\
\reducesto^+& \Record{\Unit;\strlit{HelloWorld}} : \Record{\UnitType;\UFile}
\ea
\]
\subsection{Exceptions: non-local exits}
\label{sec:tiny-unix-exit}
A process may terminate successfully by running to completion, or it
may terminate with success or failure in the middle of some
computation by performing an \emph{exit} system call. The exit system
call is typically parameterised by an integer value intended to
indicate whether the exit was due to success or failure. By
convention, \UNIX{} interprets the integer zero as success and any
nonzero integer as failure, where the specific value is supposed to
correspond to some known error code.
%
We can model the exit system call by way of a single operation
$\Exit$.
%
\[
\Status \defas \{\Exit : \Int \opto \ZeroType\}
\]
%
The operation is parameterised by an integer value, however, an
invocation of $\Exit$ can never return, because the type $\ZeroType$ is
uninhabited. Thus $\Exit$ acts like an exception.
%
It is convenient to abstract invocations of $\Exit$ to make it
possible to invoke the operation in any context.
%
\[
\bl
\exit : \Int \to \alpha \eff \Status\\
\exit~n \defas \Absurd\;(\Do\;\Exit~n)
\el
\]
%
The $\Absurd$ computation term is used to coerce the return type
$\ZeroType$ of $\Fail$ into $\alpha$. This coercion is safe, because
$\ZeroType$ is an uninhabited type.
%
An interpretation of $\Exit$ amounts to implementing an exception
handler.
%
\[
\bl
\status : (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \Status) \to \Int\\
\status~m \defas
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;\_ &\mapsto& 0\\
\ExnCase{\Exit}{n} &\mapsto& n
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
Following the \UNIX{} convention, the $\Return$-case interprets a
successful completion of $m$ as the integer $0$. The operation case
returns whatever payload the $\Exit$ operation was carrying. As a
consequence, outside of $\status$, an invocation of $\Exit~0$ in $m$
is indistinguishable from $m$ returning normally, e.g.
$\status\,(\lambda\Unit.\exit~0) = \status\,(\lambda\Unit.\Unit)$.
To illustrate $\status$ and $\exit$ in action consider the following
example, where the computation gets terminated mid-way.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\bl
\basicIO\,(\lambda\Unit.
\status\,(\lambda\Unit.
\echo~\strlit{dead};\exit~1;\echo~\strlit{code}))
\el\\
\reducesto^+& \Record{1;\strlit{dead}} : \Record{\Int;\UFile}
\ea
\]
%
The (delimited) continuation of $\exit~1$ is effectively dead code.
%
Here, we have a choice as to how we compose the handlers. Swapping the
order of handlers would cause the whole computation to return just
$1 : \Int$, because the $\status$ handler discards the return value of
its computation. Thus with the alternative layering of handlers the
system would throw away the file state after the computation
finishes. However, in this particular instance the semantics the
(local) behaviour of the operations $\Write$ and $\Exit$ would be
unaffected if the handlers were swapped. In general the behaviour of
operations may be affected by the order of handlers. The canonical
example of this phenomenon is the composition of nondeterminism and
state, which we will discuss in Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-io}.
\subsection{Dynamic binding: user-specific environments}
\label{sec:tiny-unix-env}
When a process is run in \UNIX{}, the operating system makes available
to the process a collection of name-value pairs called the
\emph{environment}.
%
The name of a name-value pair is known as an \emph{environment
variable}.
%
During execution the process may perform a system call to ask the
operating system for the value of some environment variable.
%
The value of environment variables may change throughout process
execution, moreover, the value of some environment variables may vary
according to which user asks the environment.
%
For example, an environment may contain the environment variable
\texttt{USER} that is bound to the name of the inquiring user.
An environment variable can be viewed as an instance of dynamic
binding. The idea of dynamic binding as a binding form in programming
dates back as far as the original implementation of
Lisp~\cite{McCarthy60}, and still remains an integral feature in
successors such as Emacs Lisp~\cite{LewisLSG20}. It is well-known that
dynamic binding can be encoded as a computational effect by using
delimited control~\cite{KiselyovSS06}.
%
Unsurprisingly, we will use this insight to simulate user-specific
environments using effect handlers.
For simplicity we fix the users of the operating system to be root,
Alice, and Bob.
%
\[
\User \defas [\Alice;\Bob;\Root]
\]
Our environment will only support a single environment variable
intended to store the name of the current user. The value of this
variable can be accessed via an operation $\Ask : \UnitType \opto \String$.
%
% \[
% \EnvE \defas \{\Ask : \UnitType \opto \String\}
% \]
%
Using this operation we can readily implement the \emph{whoami}
utility from the GNU coreutils~\cite[Section~20.3]{MacKenzieMPPBYS20},
which returns the name of the current user.
%
\[
\bl
\whoami : \UnitType \to \String \eff \{\Ask : \UnitType \opto \String\}\\
\whoami~\Unit \defas \Do\;\Ask~\Unit
\el
\]
%
The following handler implements the environment.
%
\[
\bl
\environment : \Record{\User;\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \{\Ask : \UnitType \opto \String\}} \to \alpha\\
\environment~\Record{user;m} \defas
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& res\\
\OpCase{\Ask}{\Unit}{resume} &\mapsto&
\bl
\Case\;user\,\{
\ba[t]{@{}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Alice &\mapsto& resume~\strlit{alice}\\
\Bob &\mapsto& resume~\strlit{bob}\\
\Root &\mapsto& resume~\strlit{root}\}
\ea
\el
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
The handler takes as input the current $user$ and a computation that
may perform the $\Ask$ operation. When an invocation of $\Ask$ occurs
the handler pattern matches on the $user$ parameter and resumes with a
string representation of the user. With this implementation we can
interpret an application of $\whoami$.
%
\[
\environment~\Record{\Root;\whoami} \reducesto^+ \strlit{root} : \String
\]
%
It is not difficult to extend this basic environment model to support
an arbitrary number of variables. This can be done by parameterising
the $\Ask$ operation by some name representation (e.g. a string),
which the environment handler can use to index into a list of string
values. In case the name is unbound the environment, the handler can
embrace the laissez-faire attitude of \UNIX{} and resume with the
empty string.
\paragraph{User session management}
%
It is somewhat pointless to have multiple user-specific environments,
if the system does not support some mechanism for user session
handling, such as signing in as a different user.
%
In \UNIX{} the command \emph{substitute user} (su) enables the invoker
to impersonate another user account, provided the invoker has
sufficient privileges.
%
We will implement su as an operation $\Su : \User \opto \UnitType$
which is parameterised by the user to be impersonated.
%
To model the security aspects of su, we will use the weakest possible
security model: unconditional trust. Put differently, we will not
bother with security at all to keep things relatively simple.
%
Consequently, anyone can impersonate anyone else.
The session signature consists of two operations, $\Ask$, which we
used above, and $\Su$, for switching user.
%
\[
\EnvE \defas \{\Ask : \UnitType \opto \String;\Su : \User \opto \UnitType\}
\]
%
As usual, we define a small wrapper around invocations of $\Su$.
%
\[
\bl
\su : \User \to \UnitType \eff \{\Su : \User \opto \UnitType\}\\
\su~user \defas \Do\;\Su~user
\el
\]
%
The intended operational behaviour of an invocation of $\Su~user$ is
to load the environment belonging to $user$ and continue the
continuation under this environment.
%
We can achieve this behaviour by defining a handler for $\Su$ that
invokes the provided resumption under a fresh instance of the
$\environment$ handler.
%
\[
\bl
\sessionmgr : \Record{\User; \UnitType \to \alpha \eff \EnvE} \to \alpha\\
\sessionmgr\,\Record{user;m} \defas
\environment\langle{}user;(\lambda\Unit.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& res\\
\OpCase{\Su}{user'}{resume} &\mapsto& \environment\Record{user';resume})\rangle
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
The function $\sessionmgr$ manages a user session. It takes two
arguments: the initial user ($user$) and the computation ($m$) to run
in the current session. An initial instance of $\environment$ is
installed with $user$ as argument. The computation argument is a
handler for $\Su$ enclosing the computation $m$. The $\Su$-case
installs a new instance of $\environment$, which is the environment
belonging to $user'$, and runs the resumption $resume$ under this
instance.
%
The new instance of $\environment$ shadows the initial instance, and
therefore it will intercept and handle any subsequent invocations of
$\Ask$ arising from running the resumption. A subsequent invocation of
$\Su$ will install another environment instance, which will shadow
both the previously installed instance and the initial instance.
%
To make this concrete, let us plug together the all components of our
system we have defined thus far.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\bl
\basicIO\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\sessionmgr\,\Record{\Root;\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\status\,(\lambda\Unit.
\ba[t]{@{}l@{~}l}
\su~\Alice;&\echo\,(\whoami\,\Unit);~\echo~\strlit{ };\\
\su~\Bob; &\echo\,(\whoami\,\Unit);~\echo~\strlit{ };\\
\su~\Root; &\echo\,(\whoami\,\Unit))})
\ea
\el \smallskip\\
\reducesto^+& \Record{0;\strlit{alice bob root}} : \Record{\Int;\UFile}
\ea
\]
%
The session manager ($\sessionmgr$) is installed in between the basic
IO handler ($\basicIO$) and the process status handler
($\status$). The initial user is $\Root$, and thus the initial
environment is the environment that belongs to the root user. Main
computation signs in as $\Alice$ and writes the result of the system
call $\whoami$ to the global file, and then repeats these steps for
$\Bob$ and $\Root$.
%
Ultimately, the computation terminates successfully (as indicated by
$0$ in the first component of the result) with global file containing
the three user names.
%
The above example demonstrates that we now have the basic building
blocks to build a multi-user system.
%
%\dhil{Remark on the concrete layering of handlers.}
\subsection{Nondeterminism: time sharing}
\label{sec:tiny-unix-time}
Time sharing is a mechanism that enables multiple processes to run
concurrently, and hence, multiple users to work concurrently.
%
Thus far in our system there is exactly one process.
%
In \UNIX{} there exists only a single process whilst the system is
bootstrapping itself into operation. After bootstrapping is complete
the system duplicates the initial process to start running user
managed processes, which may duplicate themselves to create further
processes.
%
The process duplication primitive in \UNIX{} is called
\emph{fork}~\cite{RitchieT74}.
%
The fork-invoking process is typically referred to as the parent
process, whilst its clone is referred to as the child process.
%
Following an invocation of fork, the parent process is provided with a
nonzero identifier for the child process and the child process is
provided with the zero identifier. This enables processes to determine
their respective role in the parent-child relationship, e.g.
%
\[
\bl
\Let\;i\revto fork~\Unit\;\In\\
\If\;i = 0\;\Then\;
~\textit{child's code}\\
\Else\;~\textit{parent's code}
\el
\]
%
In our system, we can model fork as an effectful operation, that
returns a boolean to indicate the process role; by convention we will
interpret the return value $\True$ to mean that the process assumes
the role of parent.
%
\[
\bl
\fork : \UnitType \to \Bool \eff \{\Fork : \UnitType \opto \Bool\}\\
\fork~\Unit \defas \Do\;\Fork~\Unit
\el
\]
%
In \UNIX{} the parent process \emph{continues} execution after the
fork point, and the child process \emph{begins} its execution after
the fork point.
%
Thus, operationally, we may understand fork as returning twice to its
invocation site. We can implement this behaviour by invoking the
resumption arising from an invocation of $\Fork$ twice: first with
$\True$ to continue the parent process, and subsequently with $\False$
to start the child process (or the other way around if we feel
inclined).
%
The following handler implements this behaviour.
%
\[
\bl
\nondet : (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \{\Fork:\UnitType \opto \Bool\}) \to \List~\alpha\\
\nondet~m \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& [res]\\
\OpCase{\Fork}{\Unit}{resume} &\mapsto& resume~\True \concat resume~\False
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
The $\Return$-case returns a singleton list containing a result of
running $m$.
%
The $\Fork$-case invokes the provided resumption $resume$ twice. Each
invocation of $resume$ effectively copies $m$ and runs each copy to
completion. Each copy returns through the $\Return$-case, hence each
invocation of $resume$ returns a list of the possible results obtained
by interpreting $\Fork$ first as $\True$ and subsequently as
$\False$. The results are joined by list concatenation ($\concat$).
%
Thus the handler returns a list of all the possible results of $m$.
%
In fact, this handler is exactly the standard handler for
nondeterministic choice, which satisfies the standard semi-lattice
equations~\cite{PlotkinP09,PlotkinP13}.
% \dhil{This is an instance of non-blind backtracking~\cite{FriedmanHK84}}
Let us consider $\nondet$ together with the previously defined
handlers. But first, let us define two computations.
%
\[
\bl
\quoteRitchie,\;\quoteHamlet : \UnitType \to \UnitType \eff \{\Write: \Record{\UFD;\String} \opto \UnitType\} \smallskip\\
\quoteRitchie\,\Unit \defas
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\echo~\strlit{UNIX is basically };\\
\echo~\strlit{a simple operating system, };\\
\echo~\strlit{but };\\
\echo~\texttt{"}
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\texttt{you have to be a genius }\\
\texttt{to understand the simplicity.\nl{}"}
\ea
\ea \smallskip\\
\quoteHamlet\,\Unit \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\echo~\strlit{To be, or not to be, };\\
\echo~\strlit{that is the question:\nl};\\
\echo~\strlit{Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer\nl}
\ea
\el
\]
%
The computation $\quoteRitchie$ writes a quote by Dennis Ritchie to
the file, whilst the computation $\quoteHamlet$ writes a few lines of
William Shakespeare's \emph{The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark},
Act III, Scene I~\cite{Shakespeare6416} to the file.
%
Using $\nondet$ and $\fork$ together with the previously defined
infrastructure, we can fork the initial process such that both of the
above computations are run concurrently.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\bl
\basicIO\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\nondet\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\sessionmgr\,\Record{\Root;\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\qquad\status\,(\lambda\Unit.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\If\;\fork\,\Unit\;\Then\;
\su~\Alice;\,
\quoteRitchie~\Unit\\
\Else\;
\su~\Bob;\,
\quoteHamlet~\Unit)}))
\ea
\el \smallskip\\
\reducesto^+&
\Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
[0, 0];
\texttt{"}\ba[t]{@{}l}
\texttt{UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but }\\
\texttt{you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity.\nl}\\
\texttt{To be, or not to be, that is the question:\nl}\\
\texttt{Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer\nl"}} : \Record{\List~\Int; \UFile}
\ea
\ea
\ea
\]
%
The computation running under the $\status$ handler immediately
performs an invocation of fork, causing $\nondet$ to explore both the
$\Then$-branch and the $\Else$-branch. In the former, $\Alice$ signs
in and quotes Ritchie, whilst in the latter Bob signs in and quotes a
Hamlet.
%
Looking at the output there is supposedly no interleaving of
computation, since the individual writes have not been
interleaved. From the stack of handlers, we \emph{know} that there has
been no interleaving of computation, because no handler in the stack
handles interleaving. Thus, our system only supports time sharing in
the extreme sense: we know from the $\nondet$ handler that every
effect of the parent process will be performed and handled before the
child process gets to run. In order to be able to share time properly
amongst processes, we must be able to interrupt them.
\paragraph{Interleaving computation}
%
We need an operation for interruptions and corresponding handler to
handle interrupts in order for the system to support interleaving of
processes.
%
\[
\bl
\interrupt : \UnitType \to \UnitType \eff \{\Interrupt : \UnitType \opto \UnitType\}\\
\interrupt~\Unit \defas \Do\;\Interrupt~\Unit
\el
\]
%
The intended behaviour of an invocation of $\Interrupt$ is to suspend
the invoking computation in order to yield time for another
computation to run.
%
We can achieve this behaviour by reifying the process state. For the
purpose of interleaving processes via interruptions it suffices to
view a process as being in either of two states: 1) it is done, that
is it has run to completion, or 2) it is paused, meaning it has
yielded to provide room for another process to run.
%
We can model the state using a recursive variant type parameterised by
some return value $\alpha$ and a set of effects $\varepsilon$ that the
process may perform.
%
\[
\Pstate~\alpha~\varepsilon~\theta \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}l}
[&\Done:\alpha;\\
&\Suspended:\UnitType \to \Pstate~\alpha~\varepsilon~\theta \eff \{\Interrupt:\theta;\varepsilon\} ]
\ea
\]
%
This data type definition is an instance of the \emph{resumption
monad}~\cite{Papaspyrou01}. The $\Done$-tag simply carries the
return value of type $\alpha$. The $\Suspended$-tag carries a
suspended computation, which returns another instance of $\Pstate$,
and may or may not perform any further invocations of
$\Interrupt$. Payload type of $\Suspended$ is precisely the type of a
resumption originating from a handler that handles only the operation
$\Interrupt$ such as the following handler.
%
\[
\bl
\reifyP : (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \{\Interrupt: \UnitType \opto \UnitType;\varepsilon\}) \to \Pstate~\alpha~\varepsilon\\
\reifyP~m \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& \Done~res\\
\OpCase{\Interrupt}{\Unit}{resume} &\mapsto& \Suspended~resume
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
This handler tags and returns values with $\Done$. It also tags and
returns the resumption provided by the $\Interrupt$-case with
$\Suspended$.
%
This particular implementation is amounts to a handler-based variation
of \citeauthor{Harrison06}'s non-reactive resumption
monad~\cite{Harrison06}.
%
If we compose this handler with the nondeterminism
handler, then we obtain a term with the following type.
%
\[
\nondet\,(\lambda\Unit.\reifyP~m) : \List~(\Pstate~\alpha~\{\Fork: \UnitType \opto \Bool;\varepsilon\})
\]
%
for some $m : \UnitType \to \{\Proc;\varepsilon\}$ where
$\Proc \defas \{\Fork: \UnitType \opto \Bool;\Interrupt: \UnitType
\opto \UnitType\}$.
%
The composition yields a list of process states, some of which may be
in suspended state. In particular, the suspended computations may have
unhandled instances of $\Fork$ as signified by it being present in the
effect row. The reason for this is that in the above composition when
$\reifyP$ produces a $\Suspended$-tagged resumption, it immediately
returns through the $\Return$-case of $\nondet$, meaning that the
resumption escapes the $\nondet$. Recall that a resumption is a
delimited continuation that captures the extent from the operation
invocation up to and including the nearest enclosing suitable
handler. In this particular instance, it means that the $\nondet$
handler is part of the extent.
%
We ultimately want to return just a list of $\alpha$s to ensure every
process has run to completion. To achieve this, we need a function
that keeps track of the state of every process, and in particular it
must run each $\Suspended$-tagged computation under the $\nondet$
handler to produce another list of process state, which must be
handled recursively.
%
\[
\bl
\schedule : \List~(\Pstate~\alpha~\{\Fork:\Bool;\varepsilon\}~\theta) \to \List~\alpha \eff \varepsilon\\
\schedule~ps \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;run \revto
\Rec\;sched\,\Record{ps;done}.\\
\qquad\Case\;ps\;\{
\ba[t]{@{}r@{~}c@{~}l}
\nil &\mapsto& done\\
(\Done~res) \cons ps' &\mapsto& sched\,\Record{ps';res \cons done}\\
(\Suspended~m) \cons ps' &\mapsto& sched\,\Record{ps' \concat (\nondet~m);\, done} \}
\ea\\
\In\;run\,\Record{ps;\nil}
\ea
\el
\]
%
The function $\schedule$ implements a process scheduler. It takes as
input a list of process states, where $\Suspended$-tagged computations
may perform the $\Fork$ operation. Locally it defines a recursive
function $sched$ which carries a list of active processes $ps$ and the
results of completed processes $done$. The function inspects the
process list $ps$ to test whether it is empty or nonempty. If it is
empty it returns the list of results $done$. Otherwise, if the head is
$\Done$-tagged value, then the function is recursively invoked with
tail of processes $ps'$ and the list $done$ augmented with the value
$res$. If the head is a $\Suspended$-tagged computation $m$, then
$sched$ is recursively invoked with the process list $ps'$
concatenated with the result of running $m$ under the $\nondet$
handler.
%
Using the above machinery, we can define a function which adds
time-sharing capabilities to the system.
%
\[
\bl
\timeshare : (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \Proc) \to \List~\alpha\\
\timeshare~m \defas \schedule\,[\Suspended\,(\lambda\Unit.\reifyP~m)]
\el
\]
%
The function $\timeshare$ handles the invocations of $\Fork$ and
$\Interrupt$ in some computation $m$ by starting it in suspended state
under the $\reifyP$ handler. The $\schedule$ actually starts the
computation, when it runs the computation under the $\nondet$ handler.
%
The question remains how to inject invocations of $\Interrupt$ such
that computation gets interleaved.
\paragraph{Interruption via interception}
%
To implement process preemption operating systems typically to rely on
the underlying hardware to asynchronously generate some kind of
interruption signals. These signals can be caught by the operating
system's process scheduler, which can then decide to which processes
to suspend and continue.
%
If our core calculi had an integrated notion of asynchrony and effects
along the lines of \citeauthor{AhmanP21}'s core calculus
$\lambda_{\text{\ae}}$~\cite{AhmanP21}, then we could potentially
treat interruption signals as asynchronous effectful operations, which
can occur spontaneously and, as suggested by \citet{DolanEHMSW17} and
realised by \citet{Poulson20}, be handled by a user-definable handler.
%
In the absence of asynchronous effects we have to inject synchronous
interruptions ourselves.
%
One extreme approach is to trust the user to perform invocations of
$\Interrupt$ periodically.
%
Another approach is based on the fact that every effect (except for
divergence) occurs via some operation invocation, and every-so-often
the user is likely to perform computational effect, thus the basic
idea is to bundle $\Interrupt$ with invocations of other
operations. For example, we can insert an instance of $\Interrupt$ in
some of the wrapper functions for operation invocations that we have
defined so conscientiously thus far. The problem with this approach is
that it requires a change of type signatures. To exemplify this
problem consider type of the $\echo$ function if we were to bundle an
invocation of $\Interrupt$ along side $\Write$.
%
\[
\bl
\echo' : \String \to \UnitType \eff \{\Interrupt : \UnitType \opto \UnitType;\Write : \Record{\UFD;\String} \opto \UnitType\}\\
\echo'~cs \defas \Do\;\Interrupt\,\Unit;\,\Do\;\Write\,\Record{\stdout;cs}
\el
\]
%
In addition to $\Write$ the effect row must now necessarily mention
the $\Interrupt$ operation. As a consequence this approach is not
backwards compatible, since the original definition of $\echo$ can be
used in a context that prohibits occurrences of $\Interrupt$. Clearly,
this alternative definition cannot be applied in such a context.
There is backwards-compatible way to bundle the two operations
together. We can implement a handler that \emph{intercepts}
invocations of $\Write$ and handles them by performing an interrupt
and, crucially, reperforming the intercepted write operation.
%
\[
\bl
\dec{interruptWrite} :
\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}l}
&(\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \{\Interrupt : \UnitType \opto \UnitType;\Write : \Record{\UFD;\String} \opto \UnitType\})\\
\to& \alpha \eff \{\Interrupt : \UnitType \opto \UnitType;\Write : \Record{\UFD;\String} \opto \UnitType\}
\ea\\
\dec{interruptWrite}~m \defas
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\Handle\;m~\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& res\\
\OpCase{\Write}{\Record{fd;cs}}{resume} &\mapsto&
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\interrupt\,\Unit;\\
resume\,(\Do\;\Write~\Record{fd;cs})
\ea
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
This handler is not `self-contained' as the other handlers we have
defined previously. It gives in some sense a `partial' interpretation
of $\Write$ as it leaves open the semantics of $\Interrupt$ and
$\Write$, i.e. this handler must be run in a suitable context of other
handlers.
Let us plug this handler into the previous example to see what
happens.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\bl
\basicIO\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\timeshare\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\dec{interruptWrite}\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\qquad\sessionmgr\,\Record{\Root;\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\status\,(\lambda\Unit.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\If\;\fork\,\Unit\;\Then\;
\su~\Alice;\,
\quoteRitchie~\Unit\\
\Else\;
\su~\Bob;\,
\quoteHamlet~\Unit)})))
\ea
\el \smallskip\\
\reducesto^+&
\bl
\Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
[0, 0];
\texttt{"}\ba[t]{@{}l}
\texttt{UNIX is basically To be, or not to be,\nl{}}\\
\texttt{a simple operating system, that is the question:\nl{}}\\
\texttt{but Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer\nl{}}\\
\texttt{you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity.\nl{}"}}
\ea
\ea\\
: \Record{\List~\Int; \UFile}
\el
\ea
\]
%
Evidently, each write operation has been interleaved, resulting in a
mishmash poetry of Shakespeare and \UNIX{}.
%
I will leave it to the reader to be the judge of whether this new
poetry belongs under the category of either classic arts vandalism or
novel contemporary reinterpretations. As the saying goes: \emph{art
is in the eye of the beholder}.
\subsection{State: file i/o}
\label{sec:tiny-unix-io}
Thus far the system supports limited I/O, abnormal process
termination, multiple user sessions, and multi-tasking via concurrent
processes. At this stage we have most of core features in place. We
still have to complete the I/O model. The current I/O model provides
an incomplete file system consisting of a single write-only file.
%
In this section we will implement a \UNIX{}-like file system that
supports file creation, opening, truncation, read and write
operations, and file linking.
%
To implement a file system we will need to use state. State can
readily be implemented with an effect handler~\cite{KammarLO13}.
%
It is a deliberate choice to leave state for last, because once you
have state it is tempting to use it excessively --- to the extent it
becomes a cliche.
%
As demonstrated in the previous sections, it is possible to achieve
many things that have a stateful flavour without explicit state by
harnessing the implicit state provided by the program stack.
In the following subsection, I will provide an interface for stateful
operations and their implementation in terms of a handler. The
stateful operations will be put to use in the subsequent subsection to
implement a basic sequential file system.
\subsubsection{Handling state}
The interface for accessing and updating a state cell consists of two
operations.
%
\[
\State~\beta \defas \{\Get:\UnitType \opto \beta;\Put:\beta \opto \UnitType\}
\]
%
The intended operational behaviour of $\Get$ operation is to read the
value of type $\beta$ of the state cell, whilst the $\Put$ operation
is intended to replace the current value held by the state cell with
another value of type $\beta$. As per usual business, the following
functions abstract the invocation of the operations.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{\quad\qquad\quad}c@{~}l}
\Uget : \UnitType \to \beta \eff \{\Get:\UnitType \opto \beta\}
& &
\Uput : \UnitType \to \beta \eff \{\Put:\beta \opto \UnitType\}\\
\Uget~\Unit \defas \Do\;\Get~\Unit
& &
\Uput~st \defas \Do\;\Put~st
\el
\]
%
The following handler interprets the operations.
%
\[
\bl
\runState : \Record{\beta;\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \State~\beta} \to \Record{\alpha;\beta}\\
\runState~\Record{st_0;m} \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;run \revto
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& \lambda st.\Record{res;st}\\
\OpCase{\Get}{\Unit}{resume} &\mapsto& \lambda st.resume~st~st\\
\OpCase{\Put}{st'}{resume} &\mapsto& \lambda st.resume~\Unit~st'
\ea
\ea\\
\In\;run~st_0
\ea
\el
\]
%
The $\runState$ handler provides a generic way to interpret any
stateful computation. It takes as its first parameter the initial
value of the state cell. The second parameter is a potentially
stateful computation. Ultimately, the handler returns the value of the
input computation along with the current value of the state cell.
This formulation of state handling is analogous to the standard
monadic implementation of state handling~\citep{Wadler95}. In the
context of handlers, the implementation uses a technique known as
\emph{parameter-passing}~\citep{PlotkinP09,Pretnar15}.
%
Each case returns a state-accepting function.
%
The $\Return$-case returns a function that produces a pair consisting
of return value of $m$ and the final state $st$.
%
The $\Get$-case returns a function that applies the resumption
$resume$ to the current state $st$. Recall that return type of a
resumption is the same as its handler's return type, so since the
handler returns a function, it follows that
$resume : \beta \to \beta \to \Record{\alpha, \beta}$. In other words,
the invocation of $resume$ produces another state-accepting
function. This function arises from the next activation of the handler
either by way of a subsequent operation invocation in $m$ or the
completion of $m$ to invoke the $\Return$-case. Since $\Get$ does not
modify the value of the state cell it passes $st$ unmodified to the
next handler activation.
%
In the $\Put$-case the resumption must also produce a state-accepting
function of the same type, however, the type of the resumption is
slightly different
$resume : \UnitType \to \beta \to \Record{\alpha, \beta}$. The unit
type is the expected return type of $\Put$. The state-accepting
function arising from $resume~\Unit$ is supplied with the new state
value $st'$. This application effectively discards the current state
value $st$.
The first operation invocation in $m$, or if it completes without
invoking $\Get$ or $\Put$, the handler returns a function that accepts
the initial state. The function gets bound to $run$ which is
subsequently applied to the provided initial state $st_0$ which causes
evaluation of the stateful fragment of $m$ to continue.
\paragraph{Local state vs global state} The meaning of stateful
operations may depend on whether the ambient environment is
nondeterministic. Post-composing nondeterminism with state gives rise
to the so-called \emph{local state} phenomenon, where state
modifications are local to each strand of nondeterminism, that is each
strand maintains its own copy of the state. Local state is also known
as `backtrackable state' in the literature~\cite{GibbonsH11}, because
returning back to a branch point restores the state as it were prior
to the branch. In contrast, post-composing state with nondeterminism
results in a \emph{global state} interpretation, where the state is
shared across every strand of nondeterminism. In terms of backtracking
this means the original state does not get restored upon a return to
some branch point.
For modelling the file system we opt for the global state
interpretation such that changes made to file system are visible to
all processes. The local state interpretation could prove useful if we
were to model a virtual file system per process such that each process
would have its own unique standard out file.
The two state phenomena are inter-encodable. \citet{PauwelsSM19} give
a systematic behaviour-preserving transformation for nondeterminism
with local state into nondeterminism with global state and vice versa.
\subsubsection{Basic serial file system}
%
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\begin{tabular}[t]{| l |}
\hline
\multicolumn{1}{| c |}{\textbf{Directory}} \\
\hline
\strlit{hamlet}\tikzmark{hamlet}\\
\hline
\strlit{ritchie.txt}\tikzmark{ritchie}\\
\hline
\multicolumn{1}{| c |}{$\vdots$}\\
\hline
\strlit{stdout}\tikzmark{stdout}\\
\hline
\multicolumn{1}{| c |}{$\vdots$}\\
\hline
\strlit{act3}\tikzmark{act3}\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\hspace{1.5cm}
\begin{tabular}[t]{| c |}
\hline
\multicolumn{1}{| c |}{\textbf{I-List}} \\
\hline
1\tikzmark{ritchieino}\\
\hline
2\tikzmark{hamletino}\\
\hline
\multicolumn{1}{| c |}{$\vdots$}\\
\hline
1\tikzmark{stdoutino}\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\hspace{1.5cm}
\begin{tabular}[t]{| l |}
\hline
\multicolumn{1}{| c |}{\textbf{Data region}} \\
\hline
\tikzmark{stdoutdr}\strlit{}\\
\hline
\tikzmark{hamletdr}\strlit{To be, or not to be...}\\
\hline
\multicolumn{1}{| c |}{$\vdots$}\\
\hline
\tikzmark{ritchiedr}\strlit{UNIX is basically...}\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
%% Hamlet arrows.
\tikz[remember picture,overlay]\draw[->,thick,out=30,in=160] ([xshift=1.23cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:hamlet) to ([xshift=-0.85cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:hamletino) node[] {};
\tikz[remember picture,overlay]\draw[->,thick,out=30,in=180] ([xshift=0.62cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:hamletino) to ([xshift=-0.23cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:hamletdr) node[] {};
%% Ritchie arrows.
\tikz[remember picture,overlay]\draw[->,thick,out=-30,in=180] ([xshift=0.22cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:ritchie) to ([xshift=-0.85cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:ritchieino) node[] {};
\tikz[remember picture,overlay]\draw[->,thick,out=30,in=180] ([xshift=0.62cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:ritchieino) to ([xshift=-0.23cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:ritchiedr) node[] {};
%% Act3 arrow.
\tikz[remember picture,overlay]\draw[->,thick,out=10,in=210] ([xshift=1.64cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:act3) to ([xshift=-0.85cm,yshift=-0.5mm]pic cs:hamletino) node[] {};
%% Stdout arrows.
\tikz[remember picture,overlay]\draw[->,thick,out=30,in=180] ([xshift=1.23cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:stdout) to ([xshift=-0.85cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:stdoutino) node[] {};
\tikz[remember picture,overlay]\draw[->,thick,out=30,in=180] ([xshift=0.62cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:stdoutino) to ([xshift=-0.23cm,yshift=0.1cm]pic cs:stdoutdr) node[] {};
\caption{\UNIX{} directory, i-list, and data region mappings.}\label{fig:unix-mappings}
\end{figure}
%
A file system provide an abstraction over storage media in a computer
system by organising the storage space into a collection of files.
This abstraction facilities typical file operations: allocation,
deletion, reading, and writing.
%
\UNIX{} dogmatises the notion of file to the point where
\emph{everything is a file}. A typical \UNIX{}-style file system
differentiates between ordinary files, directory files, and special
files~\cite{RitchieT74}. An ordinary file is a sequence of
characters. A directory file is a container for all kinds of files. A
special file is an interface for interacting with an i/o device.
We will implement a \emph{basic serial file system}, which we dub
\fsname{}.
%
It will be basic in the sense that it models the bare minimum to pass
as a file system, that is we will implement support for the four basic
operations: file allocation, file deletion, file reading, and file
writing.
%
The read and write operations will be serial, meaning every file is
read in order from its first character to its last character, and
every file is written to by appending the new content.
%
\fsname{} will only contain ordinary files, and as a result
the file hierarchy will be entirely flat. Although, the system can
readily be extended to be hierarchical, it comes at the expense of
extra complexity, that blurs rather than illuminates the model.
\paragraph{Directory, i-list, and data region}
%
A storage medium is an array of bytes. An \UNIX{} file system is
implemented on top of this array by interpreting certain intervals of
the array differently. These intervals provide the space for the
essential administrative structures for file organisation.
%
\begin{enumerate}
\item The \emph{directory} is a collection of human-readable names for
files. In general, a file may have multiple names. Each name is
stored along with a pointer into the i-list.
\item The \emph{i-list} is a collection of i-nodes. Each i-node
contains the meta data for a file along with a pointer into the data
region.
\item The \emph{data region} contains the actual file contents.
\end{enumerate}
%
These structures make up the \fsname{}.
%
Figure~\ref{fig:unix-mappings} depicts an example with the three
structures and a mapping between them.
%
The only file meta data tracked by \fsname{} is the number of names for
a file.
%
The three structures and their mappings can be implemented using
association lists. Although, a better practical choice may be a
functional map or functional array~\cite{Okasaki99}, association lists
have the advantage of having a simple, straightforward implementation.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{\qquad}c@{~}l}
\Directory \defas \List\,\Record{\String;\Int} &&%
\DataRegion \defas \List\,\Record{\Int;\UFile} \smallskip\\
\INode \defas \Record{lno:\Int;loc:\Int} &&%
\IList \defas \List\,\Record{\Int;\INode}
\ea
\]
%
Mathematically, we may think the type $\dec{Directory}$ as denoting a
partial function $\C^\ast \pto \Z$, where $\C$ is a suitable
alphabet. The function produces an index into the i-list.
%
Similarly, the type $\dec{IList}$ denotes a partial function
$\Z \pto \Z \times \Z$, where the codomain is the denotation of
$\dec{INode}$. The first component of the pair is the number of names
linked to the i-node, and as such $\Z$ is really an overapproximation
as an i-node cannot have a negative number of names. The second
component is an index into the data region.
%
The denotation of the type $\dec{DataRegion}$ is another partial
function $\Z \pto \C^\ast$.
We define the type of the file system to be a record of the three
association lists along with two counters for the next available index
into the data region and i-list, respectively.
%
\[
\FileSystem \defas \Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
dir:\Directory;ilist:\IList;dreg:\DataRegion;\\
dnext:\Int;inext:\Int}
\ea
\]
%
We can then give an implementation of the initial state of the file
system.
%
\[
\dec{fs}_0 \defas \Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
dir=[\Record{\strlit{stdout};0}];ilist=[\Record{0;\Record{lno=1;loc=0}}];dreg=[\Record{0;\strlit{}}];\\
dnext=1;inext=1}
\ea
\]
%
Initially the file system contains a single, empty file with the name
$\texttt{stdout}$. Next we will implement the basic operations on the
file system separately.
We have made a gross simplification here, as a typical file system
would provide some \emph{file descriptor} abstraction for managing
access open files. In \fsname{} we will operate directly on i-nodes,
meaning we define $\UFD \defas \Int$, meaning the file open operation
will return an i-node identifier. As consequence it does not matter
whether a file is closed after use as file closing would be a no-op
(closing a file does not change the state of its i-node). Therefore
\fsname{} will not provide a close operation. As a further consequence
the file system will have no resource leakage.
\paragraph{File reading and writing}
%
Let us begin by giving a semantics to file reading and writing. We
need an abstract operation for each file operation.
%
\[
\dec{FileRW} \defas \{\URead : \Int \opto \Option~\String;\UWrite : \Record{\Int;\String} \opto \UnitType\}
\]
%
The operation $\URead$ is parameterised by an i-node number
(i.e. index into the i-list) and possibly returns the contents of the
file pointed to by the i-node. The operation may fail if it is
provided with a stale i-node number. Thus the option type is used to
signal failure or success to the caller.
%
The $\UWrite$ operation is parameterised by an i-node number and some
strings to be appended onto the file pointed to by the i-node. The
operation returns unit, and thus the operation does not signal to its
caller whether it failed or succeed.
%
Before we implement a handler for the operations, we will implement
primitive read and write operations that operate directly on the file
system. We will use the primitive operations to implement the
semantics for $\URead$ and $\UWrite$. To implement the primitive the
operations we will need two basic functions on association lists. I
will only their signatures here.
%
\[
\bl
\lookup : \Record{\alpha;\List\,\Record{\alpha;\beta}} \to \beta \eff \{\Fail : \UnitType \opto \ZeroType\} \smallskip\\
\modify : \Record{\alpha;\beta;\List\,\Record{\alpha;\beta}} \to \Record{\alpha;\beta}
\el
\]
%
Given a key of type $\alpha$ the $\lookup$ function returns the
corresponding value of type $\beta$ in the given association list. If
the key does not exists, then the function invokes the $\Fail$
operation to signal failure.
%
The $\modify$ function takes a key and a value. If the key exists in
the provided association list, then it replaces the value bound by the
key with the provided value.
%
Using these functions we can implement the primitive read and write
operations.
%
\[
\bl
\fread : \Record{\Int;\FileSystem} \to \String \eff \{\Fail : \UnitType \opto \ZeroType\}\\
\fread\,\Record{ino;fs} \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;inode \revto \lookup\,\Record{ino; fs.ilist}\;\In\\
\lookup\,\Record{inode.loc; fs.dreg}
\el
\el
\]
%
The function $\fread$ takes as input the i-node number for the file to
be read and a file system. First it looks up the i-node structure in
the i-list, and then it uses the location in the i-node to look up the
file contents in the data region. Since $\fread$ performs no exception
handling it will fail if either look up fails. The implementation of
the primitive write operation is similar.
%
\[
\bl
\fwrite : \Record{\Int;\String;\FileSystem} \to \FileSystem \eff \{\Fail : \UnitType \opto \ZeroType\}\\
\fwrite\,\Record{ino;cs;fs} \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;inode \revto \lookup\,\Record{ino; fs.ilist}\;\In\\
\Let\;file \revto \lookup\,\Record{inode.loc; fs.dreg}\;\In\\
\Record{\,fs\;\keyw{with}\;dreg = \modify\,\Record{inode.loc;file \concat cs;fs}}
\el
\el
\]
%
The first two lines grab hold of the file, whilst the last line
updates the data region in file system by appending the string $cs$
onto the file.
%
Before we can implement the handler, we need an exception handling
mechanism. The following exception handler interprets $\Fail$ as some
default value.
%
\[
\bl
\faild : \Record{\alpha;\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \{\Fail : \UnitType \opto \ZeroType\}} \to \alpha\\
\faild\,\Record{default;m} \defas
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\Handle\;m~\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;x &\mapsto& x\\
\OpCase{\Fail}{\Unit}{\_} &\mapsto& default
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
The $\Fail$-case is simply the default value, whilst the
$\Return$-case is the identity.
%
Now we can use all the above pieces to implement a handler for the
$\URead$ and $\UWrite$ operations.
%
\[
\bl
\fileRW : (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \dec{FileRW}) \to \alpha \eff \State~\FileSystem\\
\fileRW~m \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& res\\
\OpCase{\URead}{ino}{resume} &\mapsto&
\bl
\Let\;cs\revto \faild\,\Record{\None;\lambda\Unit.\\
\quad\Some\,(\fread\,\Record{ino;\Uget\,\Unit})}\\
\In\;resume~cs
\el\\
\OpCase{\UWrite}{\Record{ino;cs}}{resume} &\mapsto&
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\faild~\Record{\Unit; \lambda \Unit.\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;fs \revto \fwrite\,\Record{ino;cs;\Uget\,\Unit}\\
\In\;\Uput~fs};\,resume\,\Unit
\el
\ea
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
The $\URead$-case uses the $\fread$ function to implement reading a
file. The file system state is retrieved using the state operation
$\Uget$. The possible failure of $\fread$ is dealt with by the
$\faild$ handler by interpreting failure as $\None$.
%
The $\UWrite$-case makes use of the $\fwrite$ function to implement
writing to a file. Again the file system state is retrieved using
$\Uget$. The $\Uput$ operation is used to update the file system state
with the state produced by the successful invocation of
$\fwrite$. Failure is interpreted as unit, meaning that from the
caller's perspective the operation fails silently.
\paragraph{File creation and opening}
The signature of file creation and opening is unsurprisingly comprised
of two operations.
%
\[
\dec{FileCO} \defas \{\UCreate : \String \opto \Option~\Int; \UOpen : \String \opto \Option~\Int\}
\]
%
The implementation of file creation and opening follows the same
pattern as the implementation of reading and writing. As before, we
implement a primitive routine for each operation that interacts
directly with the file system structure. We first implement the
primitive file opening function as the file creation function depends
on this function.
%
\[
\bl
\fopen : \Record{\String;\FileSystem} \to \Int \eff \{\Fail : \UnitType \opto \ZeroType\}\\
\fopen\,\Record{fname;fs} \defas \lookup\,\Record{fname; fs.dir}
\el
\]
%
Opening a file in the file system simply corresponds to returning the
i-node index associated with the filename in the directory table.
The \UNIX{} file create command does one of two things depending on
the state of the file system. If the create command is provided with
the name of a file that is already present in the directory, then the
system truncates the file, and returns the file descriptor for the
file. Otherwise the system allocates a new empty file and returns its
file descriptor~\cite{RitchieT74}. To check whether a file already
exists in the directory we need a function $\dec{has}$ that given a
filename and the file system state returns whether there exists a file
with the given name. This function can be built completely generically
from the functions we already have at our disposal.
%
\[
\bl
\dec{has} : \Record{\alpha;\List\,\Record{\alpha;\beta}} \to \Bool\\
\dec{has}\,\Record{k;xs} \defas \faild\,\Record{\False;(\lambda\Unit.\lookup\,\Record{k;xs};\True)}
\el
\]
%
The function $\dec{has}$ applies $\lookup$ under the failure handler
with default value $\False$. If $\lookup$ returns successfully then
its result is ignored, and the computation returns $\True$, otherwise
the computation returns the default value $\False$.
%
With this function we can implement the semantics of create.
%
\[
\bl
\fcreate : \Record{\String;\FileSystem} \to \Record{\Int;\FileSystem} \eff \{\Fail : \UnitType \opto \ZeroType\}\\
\fcreate\,\Record{fname;fs} \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\If\;\dec{has}\,\Record{fname;fs.dir}\;\Then\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;ino \revto \fopen\,\Record{fname;fs}\;\In\\
\Let\;inode \revto \lookup\,\Record{ino;fs}\;\In\\
\Let\;dreg' \revto \modify\,\Record{inode.loc; \strlit{}; fs.dreg}\;\In\\
\Record{ino;\Record{fs\;\With\;dreg = dreg'}}
\el\\
\Else\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;loc \revto fs.lnext \;\In\\
\Let\;dreg \revto \Record{loc; \strlit{}} \cons fs.dreg\;\In\\
\Let\;ino \revto fs.inext \;\In\\
\Let\;inode \revto \Record{loc=loc;lno=1}\;\In\\
\Let\;ilist \revto \Record{ino;inode} \cons fs.ilist \;\In\\
\Let\;dir \revto \Record{fname; ino} \cons fs.dir \;\In\\
\Record{ino;\Record{
\bl
dir=dir;ilist=ilist;dreg=dreg;\\
lnext=loc+1;inext=ino+1}}
\el
\el
\el
\el
\]
%
The $\Then$-branch accounts for the case where the filename $fname$
already exists in the directory. First we retrieve the i-node for the
file to obtain its location in the data region such that we can
truncate the file contents.
%
The branch returns the i-node index along with the modified file
system. The $\Else$-branch allocates a new empty file. First we
allocate a location in the data region by copying the value of
$fs.lnext$ and consing the location and empty string onto
$fs.dreg$. The next three lines allocates the i-node for the file in a
similar fashion. The second to last line associates the filename with
the new i-node. The last line returns the identifier for the i-node
along with the modified file system, where the next location ($lnext$)
and next i-node identifier ($inext$) have been incremented.
%
It is worth noting that the effect signature of $\fcreate$ mentions
$\Fail$ even though it will never fail. It is present in the effect
row due to the use of $\fopen$ and $\lookup$ in the
$\Then$-branch. Either application can only fail if the file system is
in an inconsistent state, where the index $ino$ has become stale. The
$\dec{f}$-family of functions have been carefully engineered to always
leave the file system in a consistent state.
%
Now we can implement the semantics for the $\UCreate$ and $\UOpen$
effectful operations. The implementation is similar to the
implementation of $\fileRW$.
%
\[
\bl
\fileAlloc : (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \dec{FileCO}) \to \alpha \eff \State~\FileSystem\\
\fileAlloc~m \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& res\\
\OpCase{\UCreate}{fname}{resume} &\mapsto&
\bl
\Let\;ino \revto \faild\,\Record{\None; \lambda\Unit.\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;\Record{ino;fs} = \fcreate\,\Record{\,fname;\Uget\,\Unit}\\
\In\;\Uput~fs;\,\Some~ino}
\el\\
\In\; resume~ino
\el\\
\OpCase{\UOpen}{fname}{resume} &\mapsto&
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\; ino \revto \faild~\Record{\None; \lambda \Unit.\\
\quad\Some\,(\fopen\,\Record{fname;\Uget\,\Unit})}\\
\In\;resume~ino
\ea
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
\paragraph{Stream redirection}
%
The processes we have defined so far use the $\echo$ utility to write
to the $\stdout$ file. The target file $\stdout$ is hardwired into the
definition of $\echo$ (Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-bio}). To take
advantage of the capabilities of the new file system we could choose
to modify the definition of $\echo$ such that it is parameterised by
the target file. However, such a modification is a breaking
change. Instead we can define a \emph{stream redirection} operator
that allow us to redefine the target of $\Write$ operations locally.
%
\[
\bl
\redirect :
\bl
\Record{\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \{\Write : \Record{\Int;\String} \opto \UnitType\}; \String}\\
\to \alpha \eff \{\UCreate : \String \opto \Option~\Int;\Exit : \Int \opto \ZeroType;\Write : \Record{\Int;\String} \opto \UnitType\}
\el\\
m~\redirect~fname \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;ino \revto \Case\;\Do\;\UCreate~fname\;\{
\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\None &\mapsto& \exit~1\\
\Some~ino &\mapsto& ino\}
\ea\\
\In\;\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& res\\
\OpCase{\Write}{\Record{\_;cs}}{resume} &\mapsto& resume\,(\Do\;\Write\,\Record{ino;cs})
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
The operator $\redirect$ first attempts to create a new target file
with name $fname$. If it fails it simply exits with code
$1$. Otherwise it continues with the i-node reference $ino$. The
handler overloads the definition of $\Write$ inside the provided
computation $m$. The new definition drops the i-node reference of the
initial target file and replaces it by the reference to new target
file.
This stream redirection operator is slightly more general than the
original redirection operator in the original \UNIX{} environment. As
the \UNIX{} redirection operator only redirects writes targeted at the
\emph{stdout} file~\cite{RitchieT74}, whereas the above operator
redirects writes regardless of their initial target.
%
It is straightforward to implement this original \UNIX{} behaviour by
inspecting the first argument of $\Write$ in the operation clause
before committing to performing the redirecting $\Write$ operation.
%
Modern \UNIX{} environments typically provide more fine-grained
control over redirects, for example by allowing the user to specify on
a per file basis which writes should be redirected. Again, we can
implement this behaviour by comparing the provided file descriptor
with the descriptor in the payload of $\Write$.
% ([0, 0, 0],
% (dir = [("hamlet", 2), ("ritchie.txt", 1), ("stdout", 0)],
% dregion = [(2, "To be, or not to be,
% that is the question:
% Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
% "),
% (1, "UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity.
% "), (
% 0, "")],
% inext = 3,
% inodes = [(2, (lno = 1, loc = 2)), (1, (lno = 1, loc = 1)), (0, (lno = 1, loc = 0))],
% lnext = 3)) : ([Int], FileSystem)
% links> init(fsys0, example7);
% ([0, 0, 0],
% (dir = [("hamlet", 2), ("ritchie.txt", 1), ("stdout", 0)],
% dregion = [(2, "To be, or not to be,
% that is the question:
% Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
% "),
% (1, "UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity.
% "), (
% 0, "")],
% inext = 3,
% inodes = [(2, (lno = 1, loc = 2)), (1, (lno = 1, loc = 1)), (0, (lno = 1, loc = 0))],
% lnext = 3)) : ([Int], FileSystem)
\medskip We can plug everything together to observe the new file
system in action.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\bl
\runState\,\Record{\dec{fs}_0;\fileRW\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\quad\fileAlloc\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\timeshare\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\quad\dec{interruptWrite}\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\sessionmgr\,\Record{\Root;\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\quad\status\,(\lambda\Unit.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\If\;\fork\,\Unit\;\Then\;
\su~\Alice;\,
\quoteRitchie~\redirect~\strlit{ritchie.txt}\\
\Else\;
\su~\Bob;\,
\quoteHamlet~\redirect~\strlit{hamlet})}))))}
\ea
\el \smallskip\\
\reducesto^+&
\bl
\Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
[0, 0];\\
\Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
dir=[\Record{\strlit{hamlet};2},
\Record{\strlit{ritchie.txt};1},
\Record{\strlit{stdout};0}];\\
ilist=[\Record{2;\Record{lno=1;loc=2}},
\Record{1;\Record{lno=1;loc=1}},
\Record{0;\Record{lno=1;loc=0}}];\\
dreg=[
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Record{2;
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}l}
\texttt{"}&\texttt{To be, or not to be,\nl{}that is the question:\nl{}}\\
&\texttt{Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer\nl{}"}},
\ea\\
\Record{1;
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}l}
\texttt{"}&\texttt{UNIX is basically a simple operating system, }\\
&\texttt{but you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity.\nl{"}}},
\ea\\
\Record{0; \strlit{}}]; lnext=3; inext=3}}\\
\ea
\ea
\ea\\
: \Record{\List~\Int; \FileSystem}
\el
\ea
\]
%
The writes of the processes $\quoteRitchie$ and $\quoteHamlet$ are now
being redirected to designated files \texttt{ritchie.txt} and
\texttt{hamlet}, respectively. The operating system returns the
completion status of all the processes along with the current state of
the file system such that it can be used as the initial file system
state on the next start of the operating system.
\subsubsection{File linking and unlinking}
%
At this point the implementation of \fsname{} is almost feature
complete. However, we have yet to implement two dual file operations:
linking and unlinking. The former enables us to associate a new
filename with an existing i-node, thus providing a mechanism for
making soft copies of files (i.e. the file contents are
shared). The latter lets us dissociate a filename from an i-node, thus
providing a means for removing files. The interface of linking and
unlinking is given below.
%
\[
\dec{FileLU} \defas \{\ULink : \Record{\String;\String} \opto \UnitType; \UUnlink : \String \opto \UnitType\}
\]
%
The $\ULink$ operation is parameterised by two strings. The first
string is the name of the \emph{source} file and the second string is
the \emph{destination} name (i.e. the new name). The $\UUnlink$
operation takes a single string argument, which is the name of the
file to be removed.
As before, we bundle the low level operations on the file system state
into their own functions. We start with file linking.
%
\[
\bl
\flink : \Record{\String;\String;\FileSystem} \to \FileSystem \eff \{\Fail : \UnitType \opto \ZeroType\}\\
\flink\,\Record{src;dest;fs} \defas
\bl
\If\;\dec{has}\,\Record{dest;fs.dir}\;\Then\;\Absurd~\Do\;\Fail\,\Unit\\
\Else\;
\bl
\Let\;ino \revto \lookup~\Record{src;fs.dir}\;\In\\
\Let\;dir' \revto \Record{dest;ino} \cons fs.dir\;\In\\
\Let\;inode \revto \lookup~\Record{ino;fs.ilist}\;\In\\
\Let\;inode' \revto \Record{inode\;\With\;lno = inode.lno + 1}\;\In\\
\Let\;ilist' \revto \modify\,\Record{ino;inode';fs.ilist}\;\In\\
\Record{fs\;\With\;dir = dir';ilist = ilist'}
\el
\el
\el
\]
%
The function $\flink$ checks whether the destination filename, $dest$,
already exists in the directory. If it exists then the function raises
the $\Fail$ exception. Otherwise it looks up the index of the i-node,
$ino$, associated with the source file, $src$. Next, the directory is
extended with the destination filename, which gets associated with
this index, meaning $src$ and $dest$ both share the same
i-node. Finally, the link count of the i-node at index $ino$ gets
incremented, and the function returns the updated file system state.
%
The semantics of file unlinking is slightly more complicated as an
i-node may become unlinked, meaning that it needs to garbage collected
along with its file contents in the data region. To implement file
removal we make use of another standard operation on association
lists.
%
\[
\remove : \Record{\alpha;\Record{\alpha;\beta}} \to \Record{\alpha;\beta}
\]
%
The first parameter to $\remove$ is the key associated with the entry
to be removed from the association list, which is given as the second
parameter. If the association list does not have an entry for the
given key, then the function behaves as the identity. The behaviour of
the function in case of multiple entries for a single key does not
matter as our system is carefully set up to ensure that each key has
an unique entry.
%
\[
\bl
\funlink : \Record{\String;\FileSystem} \to \FileSystem \eff \{\Fail : \UnitType \opto \ZeroType\}\\
\funlink\,\Record{fname;fs} \defas
\bl
\If\;\dec{has}\,\Record{fname;fs.dir}\;\Then\\
\quad
\bl
\Let\;ino \revto \lookup\,\Record{fname;fs.dir}\;\In\\
\Let\;dir' \revto \remove\,\Record{fname;fs.dir}\;\In\\
\Let\;inode \revto \lookup\,\Record{ino;fs.ilist}\;\In\\
\Let\;\Record{ilist';dreg'} \revto
\bl
\If\;inode.lno > 1\;\Then\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;inode' \revto \Record{inode\;\With\;lno = inode.lno - 1}\\
\In\;\Record{\modify\,\Record{ino;inode';fs.ilist};fs.dreg}
\el\\
\Else\;
\Record{\bl\remove\,\Record{ino;fs.ilist};\\
\remove\,\Record{inode.loc;fs.dreg}}
\el
\el\\
\In\;\Record{fs\;\With\;dir = dir'; ilist = ilist'; dreg = dreg'}
\el\\
\Else\; \Absurd~\Do\;\Fail\,\Unit
\el
\el
\]
%
The $\funlink$ function checks whether the given filename $fname$
exists in the directory. If it does not, then it raises the $\Fail$
exceptions. However, if it does exist then the function proceeds to
lookup the index of the i-node for the file, which gets bound to
$ino$, and subsequently remove the filename from the
directory. Afterwards it looks up the i-node with index $ino$. Now one
of two things happen depending on the current link count of the
i-node. If the count is greater than one, then we need only decrement
the link count by one, thus we modify the i-node structure. If the
link count is 1, then i-node is about to become stale, thus we must
garbage collect it by removing both the i-node from the i-list and the
contents from the data region. Either branch returns the new state of
i-list and data region. Finally, the function returns the new file
system state.
With the $\flink$ and $\funlink$ functions, we can implement the
semantics for $\ULink$ and $\UUnlink$ operations following the same
patterns as for the other file system operations.
%
\[
\bl
\fileLU : (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \FileLU) \to \alpha \eff \State~\FileSystem\\
\fileLU~m \defas
\bl
\Handle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\\
~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;res &\mapsto& res\\
\OpCase{\ULink}{\Record{src;dest}}{resume} &\mapsto&
\bl
\faild\,\Record{\Unit; \lambda\Unit.\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;fs = \flink\,\Record{src;dest;\Uget\,\Unit}\\
\In\;\Uput~fs}; resume\,\Unit
\el
\el\\
\OpCase{\UUnlink}{fname}{resume} &\mapsto&
\bl
\faild\,\Record{\Unit; \lambda\Unit.\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;fs = \funlink\,\Record{fname;\Uget\,\Unit}\\
\In\;\Uput~fs}; resume\,\Unit
\el
\el
\ea
\el
\el
\]
%
The composition of $\fileRW$, $\fileAlloc$, and $\fileLU$ complete the
implementation of \fsname{}.
%
\[
\bl
\FileIO \defas \{\FileRW;\FileCO;\FileLU\} \medskip\\
\fileIO : (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \FileIO) \to \alpha \eff \State~\FileSystem \\
\fileIO~m \defas \fileRW\,(\lambda\Unit. \fileAlloc\,(\lambda\Unit.\fileLU~m))
\el
\]
%
The three handlers may as well be implemented as a single monolithic
handler, since they implement different operations, return the same
value, and make use of the same state cell. In practice a monolithic
handler may have better performance. However, a sufficiently clever
compiler would be able to take advantage of the fusion laws of deep
handlers to fuse the three handlers into one (e.g. using the technique
of \citet{WuS15}), and thus allow modular composition without
composition.
We now have the building blocks to implement a file copying
utility. We will implement the utility such that it takes an argument
to decide whether it should make a soft copy such that the source file
and destination file are linked, or it should make a hard copy such
that a new i-node is allocated and the bytes in the data regions gets
duplicated.
%
\[
\bl
\dec{cp} : \Record{\Bool;\String;\String} \to \UnitType \eff \{\FileIO;\Exit : \Int \opto \ZeroType\}\\
\dec{cp}~\Record{link;src;dest} \defas
\bl
\If\;link\;\Then\;\Do\;\ULink\,\Record{src;dest}\;\\
\Else\; \bl
\Case\;\Do\;\UOpen~src\\
\{ \ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\None &\mapsto& \exit~1\\
\Some~ino &\mapsto& \\
\multicolumn{3}{l}{\quad\Case\;\Do\;\URead~ino\;\{
\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\None &\mapsto& \exit~1\\
\Some~cs &\mapsto& \echo~cs~\redirect~dest \} \}
\ea}
\ea
\el
\el
\el
\]
%
If the $link$ parameter is $\True$, then the utility makes a soft copy
by performing the operation $\ULink$ to link the source file and
destination file. Otherwise the utility makes a hard copy by first
opening the source file. If $\UOpen$ returns the $\None$ (i.e. the
open failed) then the utility exits with code $1$. If the open
succeeds then the entire file contents are read. If the read operation
fails then we again just exit, however, in the event that it succeeds
we apply the $\echo$ to the file contents and redirects the output to
the file $dest$.
The logic for file removal is part of the semantics for
$\UUnlink$. Therefore the implementation of a file removal utility is
simply an application of the operation $\UUnlink$.
%
\[
\bl
\dec{rm} : \String \to \UnitType \eff \{\UUnlink : \String \opto \UnitType\}\\
\dec{rm}~fname \defas \Do\;\UUnlink~fname
\el
\]
%
We can now plug it all together.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\bl
\runState\,\Record{\dec{fs}_0;\fileIO\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\quad\timeshare\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\dec{interruptWrite}\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\quad\sessionmgr\,\Record{\Root;\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\status\,(\lambda\Unit.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\If\;\fork\,\Unit\;\\
\Then\;
\bl
\su~\Alice;\,
\quoteRitchie~\redirect~\strlit{ritchie.txt};\\
\dec{cp}\,\Record{\False;\strlit{ritchie.txt};\strlit{ritchie}};\\
\dec{rm}\,\strlit{ritchie.txt}
\el\\
\Else\;
\bl
\su~\Bob;\,
\quoteHamlet~\redirect~\strlit{hamlet};\\
\dec{cp}\,\Record{\True;\strlit{hamlet};\strlit{act3}}
)}))))}
\el
\ea
\el \smallskip\\
\reducesto^+&
\bl
\Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
[0, 0];\\
\Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
dir=[\Record{\strlit{ritchie};3},\Record{\strlit{act3};2},\Record{\strlit{hamlet};2},
\Record{\strlit{stdout};0}];\\
ilist=[\Record{3;\Record{lno=1;loc=3}},
\Record{2;\Record{lno=2;loc=2}},
\Record{0;\Record{lno=1;loc=0}}];\\
dreg=[
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Record{3;
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}l}
\texttt{"}&\texttt{UNIX is basically a simple operating system, }\\
&\texttt{but you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity.\nl{"}}},
\ea\\
\Record{2;
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}l}
\texttt{"}&\texttt{To be, or not to be,\nl{}that is the question:\nl{}}\\
&\texttt{Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer\nl{}"}},
\ea\\
\Record{0; \strlit{}}]; lnext=4; inext=4}}\\
\ea
\ea
\ea\\
: \Record{\List~\Int; \FileSystem}
\el
\ea
\]
%
Alice copies the file \texttt{ritchie.txt} as \texttt{ritchie}, and
subsequently removes the original file, which effectively amounts to a
roundabout way of renaming a file. It is evident from the file system
state that the file is a hard copy as the contents of
\texttt{ritchie.txt} now reside in location $3$ rather than location
$1$ in the data region. Bob makes a soft copy of the file
\texttt{hamlet} as \texttt{act3}, which is evident by looking at the
directory where the two filenames point to the same i-node (with index
$2$), whose link counter has value $2$.
\paragraph{Summary} Throughout this section we have used effect
handlers to give a semantics to a \UNIX{}-style operating system by
treating system calls as effectful operations, whose semantics are
given by handlers, acting as composable micro-kernels. Starting from a
simple bare minimum file I/O model we seen how the modularity of
effect handlers enable us to develop a feature-rich operating system
in an incremental way by composing several handlers to implement a
basic file system, multi-user environments, and multi-tasking
support. Each incremental change to the system has been backwards
compatible with previous changes in the sense that we have not
modified any previously defined interfaces in order to support a new
feature. It serves as a testament to demonstrate the versatility of
effect handlers, and it suggests that handlers can be a viable option
to use with legacy code bases to retrofit functionality. The operating
system makes use of fourteen operations, which are being handled by
twelve handlers, some of which are used multiple times, e.g. the
$\environment$ and $\redirect$ handlers.
% \begin{figure}[t]
% \centering
% \begin{tikzpicture}[node distance=4cm,auto,>=stealth']
% \node[] (server) {\bfseries Bob (server)};
% \node[left = of server] (client) {\bfseries Alice (client)};
% \node[below of=server, node distance=5cm] (server_ground) {};
% \node[below of=client, node distance=5cm] (client_ground) {};
% %
% \draw (client) -- (client_ground);
% \draw (server) -- (server_ground);
% \draw[->,thick] ($(client)!0.25!(client_ground)$) -- node[rotate=-6,above,scale=0.7,midway]{SYN 42} ($(server)!0.40!(server_ground)$);
% \draw[<-,thick] ($(client)!0.56!(client_ground)$) -- node[rotate=6,above,scale=0.7,midway]{SYN 84;ACK 43} ($(server)!0.41!(server_ground)$);
% \draw[->,thick] ($(client)!0.57!(client_ground)$) -- node[rotate=-6,above,scale=0.7,midway]{ACK 85} ($(server)!0.72!(server_ground)$);
% \end{tikzpicture}
% \caption{Sequence diagram for the TCP handshake example.}\label{fig:tcp-handshake}
% \end{figure}
% \paragraph{TCP threeway handshake}
% The existing literature already contain an extensive amount of
% introductory examples of programming with (deep) effect
% handlers~\cite{KammarLO13,Pretnar15,Leijen17}.
% \subsubsection{Exception handling}
% \label{sec:exn-handling-in-action}
% Effect handlers subsume a variety of control abstractions, and
% arguably the simplest such abstraction is exception handling.
% \begin{example}[Option monad, directly]
% %
% To handle the possibility of failure in a pure functional
% programming language (e.g. Haskell~\cite{JonesABBBFHHHHJJLMPRRW99}),
% a computation is run under a particular monad $m$ with some monadic
% operation $\fail : \Unit \to m~\alpha$ for signalling failure.
% %
% Concretely, one can use the \emph{option monad} which interprets the
% success of as $\Some$ value and failure as $\None$.
% %
% For good measure, let us first define the option type constructor.
% %
% \[
% \Option~\alpha \defas [\Some:\alpha;\None]
% \]
% %
% The constructor is parameterised by a type variable $\alpha$. The
% data constructor $\Some$ carries a payload of type $\alpha$, whilst
% the other data constructor $\None$ carries no payload.
% %
% The monadic interface and its implementation for $\Option$ is as
% follows.
% %
% \[
% \bl
% \return : \alpha \to \Option~\alpha\\
% \return~x \defas \Some~x \smallskip\\
% - \bind - : \Option~\alpha \to (\alpha \to \Option~\beta) \to \Option~\beta\\
% m \bind k \defas \Case\;m\;\{
% \ba[t]{@{}l@{~}c@{~}l}
% \None &\mapsto& \None\\
% \Some~x &\mapsto& k~x \}
% \ea \smallskip\\
% \fail : \Unit \to \Option~\alpha\\
% \fail~\Unit \defas \None
% \el
% \]
% %
% The $\return$ operation lifts a given value into monad by tagging it
% with $\Some$. The $\bind$ operation (pronounced bind) is the monadic
% sequencing operation. It takes $m$, an instance of the monad, along
% with a continuation $k$ and pattern matches on $m$ to determine
% whether to apply the continuation. If $m$ is $\None$ then (a new
% instance of) $\None$ is returned -- this essentially models
% short-circuiting of failed computations. Otherwise if $m$ is $\Some$
% we apply the continuation $k$ to the payload $x$. The $\fail$
% operation is simply the constant $\None$.
% %
% Let us put the monad to use. An illustrative example is safe
% division. Mathematical division is not defined when the denominator
% is zero. It is standard for implementations of division in safe
% programming languages to raise an exception, which we can code
% monadically as follows.
% %
% \[
% \bl
% -/_{\dec{m}}- : \Record{\Float, \Float} \to \Option~\Float\\
% n/_{\dec{m}}\,d \defas
% \If\;d = 0 \;\Then\;\fail~\Unit\;
% \Else\;\return~(n \div d)
% \el
% \]
% %
% If the provided denominator $d$ is zero, then the implementation
% signals failure by invoking the $\fail$ operation. Otherwise, the
% implementation performs the mathematical division and lifts the
% result into the monad via $\return$.
% %
% A monadic reading of the type signature tells us not only that the
% computation may fail, but also that failure is interpreted using the
% $\Option$ monad.
% Let us use this safe implementation of division to implement a safe
% function for computing the reciprocal plus one for a given number
% $x$, i.e. $\frac{1}{x} + 1$.
% %
% \[
% \bl
% \dec{rpo_m} : \Float \to \Option~\Float\\
% \dec{rpo_m}~x \defas (1.0 /_{\dec{m}}\,x) \bind (\lambda y. \return~(y + 1.0))
% \el
% \]
% %
% The implementation first computes the (monadic) result of dividing 1
% by $x$, and subsequently sequences this result with a continuation
% that adds one to the result.
% %
% Consider some example evaluations.
% %
% \[
% \ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
% \dec{rpo_m}~1.0 &\reducesto^+& \Some~2.0\\
% \dec{rpo_m}~(-1.0) &\reducesto^+& \Some~0.0\\
% \dec{rpo_m}~0.0 &\reducesto^+& \None
% \el
% \]
% %
% The first (respectively second) evaluation follows because
% $1.0/_{\dec{m}}\,1.0$ returns $\Some~1.0$ (respectively
% $\Some~(-1.0)$), meaning that $\bind$ applies the continuation to
% produce the result $\Some~2.0$ (respectively $\Some~0.0$).
% %
% The last evaluation follows because $1.0/_{\dec{m}}\,0.0$ returns
% $\None$, consequently $\bind$ does not apply the continuation, thus
% producing the result $\None$.
% This idea of using a monad to model failure stems from denotational
% semantics and is due to Moggi~\cite{Moggi89}.
% Let us now change perspective and reimplement the above example
% using effect handlers. We can translate the monadic interface into
% an effect signature consisting of a single operation $\Fail$, whose
% codomain is the empty type $\Zero$. We also define an auxiliary
% function $\fail$ which packages an invocation of $\Fail$.
% %
% \[
% \bl
% \Exn \defas \{\Fail: \Unit \opto \Zero\} \medskip\\
% \fail : \Unit \to \alpha \eff \Exn\\
% \fail \defas \lambda\Unit.\Absurd\;(\Do\;\Fail)
% \el
% \]
% %
% The $\Absurd$ computation term is used to coerce the return type
% $\Zero$ of $\Fail$ into $\alpha$. This coercion is safe, because an
% invocation of $\Fail$ can never return as there are no inhabitants
% of type $\Zero$.
% We can now reimplement the safe division operator.
% %
% \[
% \bl
% -/- : \Record{\Float, \Float} \to \Float \eff \Exn\\
% n/d \defas
% \If\;d = 0 \;\Then\;\fail~\Unit\;
% \Else\;n \div d
% \el
% \]
% %
% The primary difference is that the interpretation of failure is no
% longer fixed. The type signature conveys that the computation may
% fail, but it says nothing about how failure is interpreted.
% %
% It is straightforward to implement the reciprocal function.
% %
% \[
% \bl
% \dec{rpo} : \Float \to \Float \eff \Exn\\
% \dec{rpo}~x \defas (1.0 / x) + 1.0
% \el
% \]
% %
% The monadic bind and return are now gone. We still need to provide
% an interpretation of $\Fail$. We do this by way of a handler that
% interprets success as $\Some$ and failure as $\None$.
% \[
% \bl
% \optionalise : (\Unit \to \alpha \eff \Exn) \to \Option~\alpha\\
% \optionalise \defas \lambda m.
% \ba[t]{@{~}l}
% \Handle\;m~\Unit\;\With\\
% ~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
% \Return\;x &\mapsto& \Some~x\\
% \Fail~\Unit~resume &\mapsto& \None
% \ea
% \ea
% \el
% \]
% %
% The $\Return$-case injects the result of $m~\Unit$ into the option
% type. The $\Fail$-case discards the provided resumption and returns
% $\None$. Discarding the resumption effectively short-circuits the
% handled computation. In fact, there is no alternative to discard the
% resumption in this case as $resume : \Zero \to \Option~\alpha$
% cannot be invoked. Let us use this handler to interpret the
% examples.
% %
% \[
% \ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
% \optionalise\,(\lambda\Unit.\dec{rpo}~1.0) &\reducesto^+& \Some~2.0\\
% \optionalise\,(\lambda\Unit.\dec{rpo}~(-1.0)) &\reducesto^+& \Some~0.0\\
% \optionalise\,(\lambda\Unit.\dec{rpo}~0.0) &\reducesto^+& \None
% \el
% \]
% %
% The first two evaluations follow because $\dec{rpo}$ returns
% successfully, and hence, the handler tags the respective results
% with $\Some$. The last evaluation follows because the safe division
% operator ($-/-$) inside $\dec{rpo}$ performs an invocation of $\Fail$,
% causing the handler to halt the computation and return $\None$.
% It is worth noting that we are free to choose another the
% interpretation of $\Fail$. To conclude this example, let us exercise
% this freedom and interpret failure outside of $\Option$. For
% example, we can interpret failure as some default constant.
% %
% \[
% \bl
% \faild : \Record{\alpha,\Unit \to \alpha \eff \Exn} \to \alpha\\
% \faild \defas \lambda \Record{default,m}.
% \ba[t]{@{~}l}
% \Handle\;m~\Unit\;\With\\
% ~\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
% \Return\;x &\mapsto& x\\
% \Fail~\Unit~\_ &\mapsto& default
% \ea
% \ea
% \el
% \]
% %
% Now the $\Return$-case is just the identity and $\Fail$ is
% interpreted as the provided default value.
% %
% We can reinterpret the above examples using $\faild$ and, for
% instance, choose the constant $0.0$ as the default value.
% %
% \[
% \ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
% \faild\,\Record{0.0,\lambda\Unit.\dec{rpo}~1.0} &\reducesto^+& 2.0\\
% \faild\,\Record{0.0,\lambda\Unit.\dec{rpo}~(-1.0)} &\reducesto^+& 0.0\\
% \faild\,\Record{0.0,\lambda\Unit.\dec{rpo}~0.0} &\reducesto^+& 0.0
% \el
% \]
% %
% Since failure is now interpreted as $0.0$ the second and third
% computations produce the same result, even though the second
% computation is successful and the third computation is failing.
% \end{example}
% \begin{example}[Catch~\cite{SussmanS75}]
% \end{example}
% \subsubsection{Blind and non-blind backtracking}
% \begin{example}[Non-blind backtracking]
% \dhil{Nondeterminism}
% \end{example}
% \subsubsection{Stateful computation}
% \begin{example}[Dynamic binding]
% \dhil{Reader}
% \end{example}
% \begin{example}[State handling]
% \dhil{State}
% \end{example}
% \subsubsection{Generators and iterators}
% \begin{example}[Inversion of control]
% \dhil{Inversion of control: generator from iterator}
% \end{example}
% \begin{example}[Cooperative routines]
% \dhil{Coop}
% \end{example}
% \subsection{Coding nontermination}
\section{Shallow handlers}
\label{sec:unary-shallow-handlers}
Shallow handlers are an alternative to deep handlers. Shallow handlers
are defined as case-splits over computation trees, whereas deep
handlers are defined as folds. Consequently, a shallow handler
application unfolds only a single layer of the computation tree.
%
Semantically, the difference between deep and shallow handlers is
analogous to the difference between \citet{Church41} and
\citet{Scott62} encoding techniques for data types in the sense that
the recursion is intrinsic to the former, whilst recursion is
extrinsic to the latter.
%
Thus a fixpoint operator is necessary to make programming with shallow
handlers practical.
Shallow handlers offer more flexibility than deep handlers as they do
not hard wire a particular recursion scheme. Shallow handlers are
favourable when catamorphisms are not the natural solution to the
problem at hand.
%
A canonical example of when shallow handlers are desirable over deep
handlers is \UNIX{}-style pipes, where the natural implementation is
in terms of two mutually recursive functions (specifically
\emph{mutumorphisms}~\cite{Fokkinga90}), which is convoluted to
implement with deep
handlers~\cite{KammarLO13,HillerstromL18,HillerstromLA20}.
In this section we take $\BCalcRec$ as our starting point and extend
it with shallow handlers, resulting in the calculus $\SCalc$. The
calculus borrows some syntax and semantics from \HCalc{}, whose
presentation will not be duplicated in this section.
% Often deep handlers are attractive because they are semantically
% well-behaved and provide appropriate structure for efficient
% implementations using optimisations such as fusion~\cite{WuS15}, and
% as we saw in the previous they codify a wide variety of applications.
% %
% However, they are not always convenient for implementing other
% structural recursion schemes such as mutual recursion.
\subsection{Syntax and static semantics}
The syntax and semantics for effectful operation invocations are the
same as in $\HCalc$. Handler definitions and applications also have
the same syntax as in \HCalc{}, although we shall annotate the
application form for shallow handlers with a superscript $\dagger$ to
distinguish it from deep handler application.
%
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Computations} &M,N \in \CompCat &::=& \cdots \mid \ShallowHandle \; M \; \With \; H\\[1ex]
\end{syntax}
%
The static semantics for $\Handle^\dagger$ are the same as the static
semantics for $\Handle$.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Handle^\dagger}]
{
\typ{\Gamma}{M : C} \\
\typ{\Gamma}{H : C \Harrow D}
}
{\Gamma \vdash \ShallowHandle \; M \; \With\; H : D}
%\mprset{flushleft}
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Handler^\dagger}]
{{\bl
C = A \eff \{(\ell_i : A_i \opto B_i)_i; R\} \\
D = B \eff \{(\ell_i : P_i)_i; R\}\\
H = \{\Return\;x \mapsto M\} \uplus \{ \OpCase{\ell_i}{p_i}{r_i} \mapsto N_i \}_i
\el}\\\\
\typ{\Delta;\Gamma, x : A}{M : D}\\\\
[\typ{\Delta;\Gamma,p_i : A_i, r_i : B_i \to C}{N_i : D}]_i
}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{H : C \Harrow D}}
\end{mathpar}
%
The \tylab{Handler^\dagger} rule is remarkably similar to the
\tylab{Handler} rule. In fact, the only difference is the typing of
resumptions $r_i$. The codomain of $r_i$ is $C$ rather than $D$,
meaning that a resumption returns a value of the same type as the
input computation. In general the type $C$ may be different from the
output type $D$, thus it is evident from this typing rule that the
handler does not guard invocations of resumptions $r_i$.
\subsection{Dynamic semantics}
There are two reduction rules.
%{\small{
\begin{reductions}
\semlab{Ret^\dagger} &
\ShallowHandle \; (\Return \; V) \; \With \; H &\reducesto& N[V/x], \hfill\text{where } \hret = \{ \Return \; x \mapsto N \} \\
\semlab{Op^\dagger} &
\ShallowHandle \; \EC[\Do \; \ell \, V] \; \With \; H
&\reducesto& N[V/p, \lambda y . \, \EC[\Return \; y]/r], \\
\multicolumn{4}{@{}r@{}}{
\hfill\ba[t]{@{~}r@{~}l}
\text{where}& \hell = \{ \OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N \}\\
\text{and} & \ell \notin \BL(\EC)
\ea
}
\end{reductions}%}}%
%
The rule \semlab{Ret^\dagger} is the same as the \semlab{Ret} rule for
deep handlers --- there is no difference in how the return value is
handled. The \semlab{Op^\dagger} rule is almost the same as the
\semlab{Op} rule the crucial difference being the construction of the
resumption $r$. The resumption consists entirely of the captured
context $\EC$. Thus an invocation of $r$ does not reinstall its
handler as in the setting of deep handlers, meaning is up to the
programmer to supply the handler the next invocation of $\ell$ inside
$\EC$. This handler may be different from $H$.
The basic metatheoretic properties of $\SCalc$ are a carbon copy of
the basic properties of $\HCalc$.
%
\begin{theorem}[Progress]
Suppose $\typ{}{M : C}$, then either there exists $\typ{}{N : C}$
such that $M \reducesto^+ N$ and $N$ is normal, or $M$ diverges.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
%
\begin{theorem}[Subject reduction]
Suppose $\typ{\Gamma}{M : C}$ and $M \reducesto M'$, then
$\typ{\Gamma}{M' : C}$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
\subsection{\UNIX{}-style pipes}
\label{sec:pipes}
A \UNIX{} pipe is an abstraction for streaming communication between
two processes. Technically, a pipe works by connecting the standard
out file descriptor of the first process to the standard in file
descriptor of the second process. The second process can then process
the output of the first process by reading its own standard in
file~\cite{RitchieT74}.
We could implement pipes using the file system, however, it would
require us to implement a substantial amount of bookkeeping as we
would have to generate and garbage collect a standard out file and a
standard in file per process. Instead we can represent the files as
effectful operations and connect them via handlers.
%
With shallow handlers we can implement a demand-driven Unix pipeline
operator as two mutually recursive handlers.
%
\[
\bl
\Pipe : \Record{\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \{ \Yield : \beta \opto \UnitType \}, \UnitType \to \alpha\eff\{ \Await : \UnitType \opto \beta \}} \to \alpha \\
\Pipe\, \Record{p; c} \defas
\bl
\ShallowHandle\; c\,\Unit \;\With\; \\
~\ba[m]{@{}l@{~}c@{~}l@{}}
\Return~x &\mapsto& x \\
\OpCase{\Await}{\Unit}{resume} &\mapsto& \Copipe\,\Record{resume; p} \\
\ea
\el\medskip\\
\Copipe : \Record{\beta \to \alpha\eff\{ \Await : \UnitType \opto \beta\}, \UnitType \to \alpha\eff\{ \Yield : \beta \opto \UnitType\}} \to \alpha \\
\Copipe\, \Record{c; p} \defas
\bl
\ShallowHandle\; p\,\Unit \;\With\; \\
~\ba[m]{@{}l@{~}c@{~}l@{}}
\Return~x &\mapsto& x \\
\OpCase{\Yield}{y}{resume} &\mapsto& \Pipe\,\Record{resume; \lambda \Unit. c\, y} \\
\ea \\
\el \\
\el
\]
%
A $\Pipe$ takes two suspended computations, a producer $p$ and a
consumer $c$.
%
Each of the computations returns a value of type $\alpha$.
%
The producer can perform the $\Yield$ operation, which yields a value
of type $\beta$ and the consumer can perform the $\Await$ operation,
which correspondingly awaits a value of type $\beta$. The $\Yield$
operation corresponds to writing to standard out, whilst $\Await$
corresponds to reading from standard in.
%
The shallow handler $\Pipe$ runs the consumer first. If the consumer
terminates with a value, then the $\Return$ clause is executed and
returns that value as is. If the consumer performs the $\Await$
operation, then the $\Copipe$ handler is invoked with the resumption
of the consumer ($resume$) and the producer ($p$) as arguments. This
models the effect of blocking the consumer process until the producer
process provides some data.
The $\Copipe$ function runs the producer to get a value to feed to the
waiting consumer.
% The arguments are swapped and the consumer component
% now expects a value.
If the producer performs the $\Yield$ operation, then $\Pipe$ is
invoked with the resumption of the producer along with a thunk that
applies the consumer's resumption to the yielded value.
%
For aesthetics, we define a right-associative infix alias for pipe:
$p \mid c \defas \lambda\Unit.\Pipe\,\Record{p;c}$.
Let us put the pipe operator to use by performing a simple string
frequency analysis on a file. We will implement the analysis as a
collection of small single-purpose utilities which we connect by way
of pipes. We will build a collection of small utilities. We will make
use of two standard list iteration functions.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\map &:& \Record{\alpha \to \beta;\List~\alpha} \to \List~\beta\\
\iter &:& \Record{\alpha \to \beta; \List~\alpha} \to \UnitType
\ea
\]
%
The function $\map$ applies its function argument to each element of
the provided list in left-to-right order and returns the resulting
list. The function $\iter$ is simply $\map$ where the resulting list
is ignored. Our first utility is a simplified version of the GNU
coreutil utility \emph{cat}, which copies the contents of files to
standard out~\cite[Section~3.1]{MacKenzieMPPBYS20}. Our version will
open a single file and stream its contents one character at a time.
%
\[
\bl
\cat : \String \to \UnitType \eff \{\FileIO;\Yield : \Char \opto \UnitType;\Exit : \Int \opto \ZeroType\}\\
\cat~fname \defas
\bl
\Case\;\Do\;\UOpen~fname~\{\\
~\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\None &\mapsto& \exit\,1\\
\Some~ino &\mapsto& \bl \Case\;\Do\;\URead~ino~\{\\
~\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\None &\mapsto& \exit\,1\\
\Some~cs &\mapsto& \iter\,\Record{\lambda c.\Do\;\Yield~c;cs}; \Do\;\Yield~\charlit{\textnil} \}\}
\ea
\el
\ea
\el
\el
\]
%
The last line is the interesting line of code. The contents of the
file gets bound to $cs$, which is supplied as an argument to the list
iteration function $\iter$. The function argument yields each
character. Each invocation of $\Yield$ effectively suspends the
iteration until the next character is awaited.
%
This is an example of inversion of control as the iterator $\iter$ has
been turned into a generator.
%
We use the character $\textnil$ to identify the end of a stream. It is
essentially a character interpretation of the empty list (file)
$\nil$.
The $\cat$ utility processes the entire contents of a given
file. However, we may only be interested in some parts. The GNU
coreutil \emph{head} provides a way to process only a fixed amount of
lines and ignore subsequent
lines~\cite[Section~5.1]{MacKenzieMPPBYS20}.
%
We will implement a simplified version of this utility which lets us
keep the first $n$ lines of a stream and discard the remainder. This
process will act as a \emph{filter}, which is an intermediary process
in a pipeline that both awaits and yields data.
%
\[
\bl
\head : \Int \to \UnitType \eff \{\Await : \UnitType \opto \Char;\Yield : \Char \opto \UnitType\}\\
\head~n \defas
\bl
\If\;n = 0\;\Then\;\Do\;\Yield~\charlit{\textnil}\\
\Else\;
\bl
\Let\;c \revto \Do\;\Await~\Unit\;\In\\
\Do\;\Yield~c;\\
\If\;c = \charlit{\textnil}\;\Then\;\Unit\\
\Else\;\If\;c = \charlit{\nl}\;\Then\;\head~(n-1)\\
\Else\;\head~n
\el
\el
\el
\]
%
The function first checks whether more lines need to be processed. If
$n$ is zero, then it yields the nil character to signify the end of
stream. This has the effect of ignoring any future instances of
$\Yield$ in the input stream. Otherwise it awaits a character. Once a
character has been received the function yields the character in order
to include it in the output stream. After the yield, it checks whether
the character was nil in which case the process
terminates. Alternatively, if the character was a newline the function
applies itself recursively with $n$ decremented by one. Otherwise it
applies itself recursively with the original $n$.
The $\head$ filter does not transform the shape of its data stream. It
both awaits and yields a character. However, the awaits and yields
need not operate on the same type within the same filter, meaning we
can implement a filter that transforms the shape of the data. Let us
implement a variation of the GNU coreutil \emph{paste} which merges
lines of files~\cite[Section~8.2]{MacKenzieMPPBYS20}. Our
implementation will join characters in its input stream into strings
separated by spaces and newlines such that the string frequency
analysis utility need not operate on the low level of characters.
%
\[
\bl
\paste : \UnitType \to \UnitType \eff \{\Await : \UnitType \opto \Char;\Yield : \String \opto \UnitType\}\\
\paste\,\Unit \defas
\bl
paste'\,\Record{\Do\;\Await~\Unit;\strlit{}}\\
\where
\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
paste'\,\Record{\charlit{\textnil};str} &\defas& \Do\;\Yield~str;\Do\;\Yield~\strlit{\textnil}\\
paste'\,\Record{\charlit{\nl};str} &\defas& \Do\;\Yield~str;\Do\;\Yield~\strlit{\nl};paste'\,\Record{\Do\;\Await~\Unit;\strlit{}}\\
paste'\,\Record{\charlit{~};str} &\defas& \Do\;\Yield~str;paste'\,\Record{\Do\;\Await~\Unit;\strlit{}}\\
paste'\,\Record{c;str} &\defas& paste'\,\Record{\Do\;\Await~\Unit;str \concat [c]}
\ea
\el
\el
\]
%
The heavy-lifting is delegated to the recursive function $paste'$
which accepts two parameters: 1) the next character in the input
stream, and 2) a string buffer for building the output string. The
function is initially applied to the first character from the stream
(returned by the invocation of $\Await$) and the empty string
buffer. The function $paste'$ is defined by pattern matching on the
character parameter. The first three definitions handle the special
cases when the received character is nil, newline, and space,
respectively. If the character is nil, then the function yields the
contents of the string buffer followed by a string with containing
only the nil character. If the character is a newline, then the
function yields the string buffer followed by a string containing the
newline character. Afterwards the function applies itself recursively
with the next character from the input stream and an empty string
buffer. The case when the character is a space is similar to the
previous case except that it does not yield a newline string. The
final definition simply concatenates the character onto the string
buffer and recurses.
Another useful filter is the GNU stream editor abbreviated
\emph{sed}~\cite{PizziniBMG20}. It is an advanced text processing
editor, whose complete functionality we will not attempt to replicate
here. We will just implement the ability to replace a string by
another. This will be useful for normalising the input stream to the
frequency analysis utility, e.g. decapitalise words, remove unwanted
characters, etc.
%
\[
\bl
\sed : \Record{\String;\String} \to \UnitType \eff \{\Await : \UnitType \opto \String;\Yield : \String \opto \UnitType\}\\
\sed\,\Record{target;str'} \defas
\bl
\Let\;str \revto \Do\;\Await~\Unit\;\In\\
\If\;str = target\;\Then\;\Do\;\Yield~str';\sed\,\Record{target;str'}\\
\Else\;\Do\;\Yield~str;\sed\,\Record{target;str'}
\el
\el
\]
%
The function $\sed$ takes two string arguments. The first argument is
the string to be replaced in the input stream, and the second argument
is the replacement. The function first awaits the next string from the
input stream, then it checks whether the received string is the same
as $target$ in which case it yields the replacement $str'$ and
recurses. Otherwise it yields the received string and recurses.
Now let us implement the string frequency analysis utility. It work on
strings and count the occurrences of each string in the input stream.
%
\[
\bl
\freq : \UnitType \to \UnitType \eff \{\Await : \UnitType \opto \String;\Yield : \List\,\Record{\String;\Int} \opto \UnitType\}\\
\freq\,\Unit \defas
\bl
freq'\,\Record{\Do\;\Await~\Unit;\nil}\\
\where
\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
freq'\,\Record{\strlit{\textnil};tbl} &\defas& \Do\;\Yield~tbl\\
freq'\,\Record{str;tbl} &\defas&
\bl
\Let\;tbl' \revto \faild\,\Record{
\bl
\Record{str;1} \cons tbl; \lambda\Unit.\\
\Let\; sum \revto \lookup\,\Record{str;tbl}\;\In\\
\modify\,\Record{str;sum+1;tbl}}
\el\\
\In\;freq'\,\Record{\Do\;\Await~\Unit;tbl'}
\el
\ea
\el
\el
\]
%
The auxiliary recursive function $freq'$ implements the analysis. It
takes two arguments: 1) the next string from the input stream, and 2)
a table to keep track of how many times each string has occurred. The
table is implemented as an association list indexed by strings. The
function is initially applied to the first string from the input
stream and the empty list. The function is defined by pattern matching
on the string argument. The first definition handles the case when the
input stream has been exhausted in which case the function yields the
table. The other case is responsible for updating the entry associated
with the string $str$ in the table $tbl$. There are two subcases to
consider: 1) the string has not been seen before, thus a new entry
will have to created; or 2) the string already has an entry in the
table, thus the entry will have to be updated. We handle both cases
simultaneously by making use of the handler $\faild$, where the
default value accounts for the first subcase, and the computation
accounts for the second. The computation attempts to lookup the entry
associated with $str$ in $tbl$, if the lookup fails then $\faild$
returns the default value, which is the original table augmented with
an entry for $str$. If an entry already exists it gets incremented by
one. The resulting table $tbl'$ is supplied to a recursive application
of $freq'$.
We need one more building block to complete the pipeline. The utility
$\freq$ returns a value of type $\List~\Record{\String;\Int}$, we need
a utility to render the value as a string in order to write it to a
file.
%
\[
\bl
\printTable : \UnitType \to \UnitType \eff \{\Await : \UnitType \opto \List\,\Record{\String;\Int}\}\\
\printTable\,\Unit \defas
\map\,\Record{\lambda\Record{s;i}.s \concat \strlit{:} \concat \intToString~i \concat \strlit{;};\Do\;\Await~\Unit}
\el
\]
%
The function performs one invocation of $\Await$ to receive the table,
and then performs a $\map$ over the table. The function argument to
$\map$ builds a string from the provided string-integer pair.
%
Here we make use of an auxiliary function,
$\intToString : \Int \to \String$, that turns an integer into a
string. The definition of this function is omitted here for brevity.
%
%
% \[
% \bl
% \wc : \UnitType \to \UnitType \eff \{\Await : \UnitType \opto \Char;\Yield : \Int \opto \UnitType\}\\
% \wc\,\Unit \defas
% \bl
% \Do\;\Yield~(wc'\,\Unit)\\
% \where~
% \bl
% wc' \Unit \defas
% \bl
% \Let\;c \revto \Do\;\Await~\Unit\;\In\\
% \If\;c = \charlit{\textnil}\;\Then\;0\\
% \Else\; 1 + wc'~\Unit
% \el
% \el
% \el
% \el
% \]
%
We now have all the building blocks to construct a pipeline for
performing string frequency analysis on a file. The following performs
the analysis on the two first lines of Hamlet quote.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\bl
\runState\,\Record{\dec{fs}_0;\fileIO\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\quad\timeshare\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\dec{interruptWrite}\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\quad\sessionmgr\,\Record{\Root;\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\status\,(\lambda\Unit.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\quoteHamlet~\redirect~\strlit{hamlet};\\
\Let\;p \revto
\bl
~~(\lambda\Unit.\cat~\strlit{hamlet}) \mid (\lambda\Unit.\head~2) \mid \paste\\
\mid (\lambda\Unit.\sed\,\Record{\strlit{be,};\strlit{be}}) \mid (\lambda\Unit.\sed\,\Record{\strlit{To};\strlit{to}})\\
\mid (\lambda\Unit.\sed\,\Record{\strlit{question:};\strlit{question}})\\
\mid \freq \mid \printTable
\el\\
\In\;(\lambda\Unit.\echo~(p\,\Unit))~\redirect~\strlit{analysis})})))}
\ea
\el \smallskip\\
\reducesto^+&
\bl
\Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
[0];\\
\Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
dir=[\Record{\strlit{analysis};2},\Record{\strlit{hamlet};1},
\Record{\strlit{stdout};0}];\\
ilist=[\Record{2;\Record{lno=1;loc=2}},
\Record{1;\Record{lno=1;loc=1}},
\Record{0;\Record{lno=1;loc=0}}];\\
dreg=[
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Record{2;
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}l}
\texttt{"}&\texttt{to:2;be:2;or:1;not:1;\nl:2;that:1;is:1}\\
&\texttt{the:1;question:1;"}},
\ea\\
\Record{1;
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}l}
\texttt{"}&\texttt{To be, or not to be,\nl{}that is the question:\nl{}}\\
&\texttt{Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer\nl{}"}},
\ea\\
\Record{0; \strlit{}}]; lnext=3; inext=3}}\\
\ea
\ea
\ea\\
: \Record{\List~\Int; \FileSystem}
\el
\ea
\]
%
The pipeline gets bound to the variable $p$. The pipeline starts with
call to $\cat$ which streams the contents of the file
$\strlit{hamlet}$ to the process $\head$ applied to $2$, meaning it
will only forward the first two lines of the file to its
successor. The third process $\paste$ receives the first two lines one
character at a time and joins the characters into strings delimited by
whitespace. The next three instances of $\sed$ perform some string
normalisation. The first instance removes the trailing comma from the
string $\strlit{be,}$; the second normalises the capitalisation of the
word ``to''; and the third removes the trailing colon from the string
$\strlit{question:}$. The seventh process performs the frequency
analysis and outputs a table, which is being rendered as a string by
the eighth process. The output of the pipeline is supplied to the
$\echo$ utility whose output is being redirected to a file named
$\strlit{analysis}$. Contents of the file reside in location $2$ in
the data region. Here we can see that the analysis has found that the
words ``to'', ``be'', and the newline character ``$\nl$'' appear two
times each, whilst the other words appear once each.
\section{Parameterised handlers}
\label{sec:unary-parameterised-handlers}
Parameterised handlers are a variation of ordinary deep handlers with
an embedded functional state cell. This state cell is only accessible
locally within the handler. The use of state within the handler is
opaque to both the ambient context and the context of the computation
being handled. Semantically, parameterised handlers are defined as
folds with state threading over computation trees.
We take the deep handler calculus $\HCalc$ as our starting point and
extend it with parameterised handlers to yield the calculus
$\HPCalc$. The parameterised handler extension interacts nicely with
shallow handlers, and as such it can be added to $\SCalc$ with low
effort.
\subsection{Syntax and static semantics}
In addition to a computation, a parameterised handler also take a
value as argument. This argument is the initial value of the state
cell embedded inside the handler.
%
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Handler\textrm{ }types} & F &::=& \cdots \mid \Record{C; A} \Rightarrow^\param D\\
\slab{Computations} & M,N &::=& \cdots \mid \ParamHandle\; M \;\With\; H^\param(W)\\
\slab{Parameterised\textrm{ }definitions} & H^\param &::=& q^A.~H
\end{syntax}
%
The syntactic category of handler types $F$ is extended with a new
kind of handler arrow for parameterised handlers. The left hand side
of the arrow is a pair, whose first component denotes the type of the
input computation and the second component denotes the type of the
handler parameter. The right hand side denotes the return type of the
handler.
%
The computations category is extended with a new application form for
handlers, which runs a computation $M$ under a parameterised handler
$H$ applied to the value $W$.
%
Finally, a new category is added for parameterised handler
definitions. A parameterised handler definition is a new binding form
$(q^A.~H)$, where $q$ is the name of the parameter, whose type is $A$,
and $H$ is an ordinary handler definition $H$. The parameter $q$ is
accessible in the $\Return$ and operation clauses of $H$.
As with ordinary deep handlers and shallow handlers, there are two
typing rules: one for handler application and another for handler
definitions.
%
\begin{mathpar}
% Handle
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Handle^\param}]
{
% \typ{\Gamma}{V : A} \\
\typ{\Gamma}{M : C} \\
\typ{\Gamma}{W : A} \\
\typ{\Gamma}{H^\param : \Record{C; A} \Harrow^\param D}
}
{\Gamma \vdash \ParamHandle \; M \; \With\; H^\param(W) : D}
\end{mathpar}
%
The $\tylab{Handle^\param}$ rule is similar to the $\tylab{Handle}$
and $\tylab{Handle^\dagger}$ rules, except that it has to account for
the parameter $W$, whose type has to be compatible with the second
component of the domain type of the handler definition $H^\param$.
%
The typing rule for parameterised handler definitions adapts the
corresponding typing rule $\tylab{Handler}$ for ordinary deep handlers
with the addition of a parameter.
%
\begin{mathpar}
% Parameterised handler
\inferrule*[Lab=\tylab{Handler^\param}]
{{\bl
C = A \eff \{(\ell_i : A_i \to B_i)_i; R\} \\
D = B \eff \{(\ell_i : P)_i; R\} \\
H = \{\Return\;x \mapsto M\} \uplus \{ \OpCase{\ell_i}{p_i}{r_i} \mapsto N_i \}_i
\el}\\\\
\typ{\Delta;\Gamma, q : A', x : A}{M : D}\\\\
[\typ{\Delta;\Gamma,q : A', p_i : A_i, r_i : \Record{B_i;A'} \to D}{N_i : D}]_i
}
{\typ{\Delta;\Gamma}{(q^{A'} . H) : \Record{C;A'} \Harrow^\param D}}
\end{mathpar}
%%
The key differences between the \tylab{Handler} and
\tylab{Handler^\param} rules are that in the latter the return and
operation cases are typed with respect to the parameter $q$, and that
resumptions $r_i$ have type $\Record{B_\ell;A'} \to D$, that is a
parameterised resumption is a binary function, where the first
argument is the interpretation of an operation and the second argument
is the (updated) handler state. The return type of $r_i$ is the same
as the return type of the handler, meaning that an invocation of $r_i$
is guarded in the same way as an invocation of an ordinary deep
resumption.
\subsection{Dynamic semantics}
The two reduction rules for parameterised handlers adapt the reduction
rules for ordinary deep handlers with a parameter.
%
\begin{reductions}
\semlab{Ret^\param} &
\ParamHandle \; (\Return \; V) \; \With \; (q.H)(W) &\reducesto& N[V/x,W/q],\\
\multicolumn{4}{@{}r@{}}{
\hfill\text{where } \hret = \{ \Return \; x \mapsto N \}} \\
\semlab{Op^\param} &
\ParamHandle \; \EC[\Do \; \ell \, V] \; \With \; (q.H)(W)
&\reducesto& N[V/p,W/q,R/r],\\
\multicolumn{4}{@{}r@{}}{
\hfill\ba[t]{@{~}r@{~}l}
\text{where}& R = \lambda\Record{y;q'}.\ParamHandle\;\EC[\Return \; y]\;\With\;(q.H)(q')\\
\text{and} &\hell = \{ \OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N \}\\
\text{and} &\ell \notin \BL(\EC)
\ea
}
\end{reductions}
%
The rule $\semlab{Ret^\param}$ handles the return value of a
computation. Just like the rule $\semlab{Ret}$ the return value $V$ is
substituted for the binder $x$ in the return case body
$N$. Furthermore the value $W$ is substituted for the handler
parameter $q$ in $N$, meaning the handler parameter is accessible in
the return case.
The $\semlab{Op^\param}$ handles an operation invocation. Both the
operation payload $V$ and handler argument $W$ are accessible inside
the case body $N$. As with ordinary deep handlers, the resumption
rewraps its handler, but with the slight twist that the parameterised
handler definition is applied to the updated parameter value $q'$
rather than the original value $W$. This achieves the effect of state
passing as the value of $q'$ becomes available upon the next
activation of the handler.
The metatheoretic properties of $\HCalc$ carries over to $\HPCalc$.
\begin{theorem}[Progress]
Suppose $\typ{}{M : C}$, then either there exists $\typ{}{N : C}$
such that $M \reducesto^+ N$ and $N$ is normal, or $M$ diverges.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
%
\begin{theorem}[Subject reduction]
Suppose $\typ{\Gamma}{M : C}$ and $M \reducesto M'$, then
$\typ{\Gamma}{M' : C}$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
\subsection{Process synchronisation}
%
In Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-time} we implemented a time-sharing
system on top of a simple process model. However, the model lacks a
process synchronisation facility. It is somewhat difficult to cleanly
add support for synchronisation to the implementation as it is in
Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-time}. Firstly, because the interface of
$\Fork : \UnitType \to \Bool$ only gives us two possible process
identifiers: $\True$ and $\False$, meaning at any point we can only
identify two processes. Secondly, and more importantly, some state is
necessary to implement synchronisation, but the current implementation
of process scheduling is split amongst two handlers and one auxiliary
function, all of which need to coordinate their access and
manipulation of the state cell. One option is to use some global state
via the interface from Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-io}, which has the
advantage of making the state manipulation within the scheduler
modular, but it also has the disadvantage of exposing the state as an
implementation detail --- and it comes with all the caveats of
programming with global state. A parameterised handler provides an
elegant solution, which lets us internalise the state within the
scheduler.
We will see how a parameterised handler enables us to implement a
richer process model supporting synchronisation with ease. The effect
signature of process concurrency is as follows.
%
\[
\Co \defas \{\UFork : \UnitType \opto \Int; \Wait : \Int \opto \UnitType; \Interrupt : \UnitType \opto \UnitType\}
\]
%
The operation $\UFork$ models \UNIX{}
\emph{fork}~\cite{RitchieT74}. It is generalisation of the $\Fork$
operation from Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-time}. The operation is
intended to return twice: once to the parent process with a unique
process identifier for the child process, and a second time to the
child process with the zero identifier. The $\Wait$ operation takes a
process identifier as argument and then blocks the invoking process
until the process associated with the provided identifier has
completed. The $\Interrupt$ operation is the same as in
Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-time}; it temporarily suspends the invoking
process in order to let another process run.
The main idea is to use the state cell of a parameterised handler to
manage the process queue and to keep track of the return values of
completed processes. The scheduler will return an association list of
process identifiers mapped to the return value of their respective
process when there are no more processes to be run. The process queue
will consist of reified processes, which we will represent using
parameterised resumptions. To make the type signatures understandable
we will make use of three mutually recursive type aliases.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Proc &\alpha~\varepsilon &\defas& \Sstate~\alpha~\varepsilon \to \List\,\Record{\Int;\alpha} \eff \varepsilon\\
\Pstate &\alpha~\varepsilon &\defas& [\Ready:\Proc~\alpha~\varepsilon;\Blocked:\Record{\Int;\Proc~\alpha~\varepsilon}]\\
\Sstate &\alpha~\varepsilon &\defas& \Record{q:\List\,\Record{\Int;\Pstate~\alpha~\varepsilon};done:\List~\alpha;pid:\Int;pnext:\Int}\\
\ea
\]
%
The $\Proc$ alias is the type of reified processes. It is defined as a
function that takes the current scheduler state and returns an
association list of $\alpha$s indexed by integers. This is almost the
type of a parameterised resumption as the only thing missing is the a
component for the interpretation of an operation.
%
The second alias $\Pstate$ enumerates the possible process
states. Either a process is \emph{ready} to be run or it is
\emph{blocked} on some other process. The payload of the $\Ready$ tag
is the process to run. The $\Blocked$ tag is parameterised by a pair,
where the first component is the identifier of the process that is
being waited on and the second component is the process to be
continued when the other process has completed.
%
The third alias $\Sstate$ is the type of scheduler state. It is a
quadruple, where the first label $q$ is the process queue. It is
implemented as an association list indexed by process identifiers. The
second label $done$ is used to store the return values of completed
processes. The third label $pid$ is used to remember the identifier of
currently executing process, and the fourth label $pnext$ is used to
compute a unique identifier for new processes.
We will abstract some of the scheduling logic into an auxiliary
function $\runNext$, which is responsible for dequeuing and running
the next process from the queue.
%
\[
\bl
\runNext : \Sstate~\alpha~\varepsilon \to \List~\alpha \eff \varepsilon\\
\runNext~st \defas
\bl
\Case\;st.q\;\{\\
~\bl
\nil \mapsto st.done\\
\Record{pid;\Blocked\,\Record{pid';resume}} \cons q' \mapsto\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;st' \revto \Record{st \;\With\; q = q' \concat [\Record{pid;\Blocked\,\Record{pid';resume}}]}\;\In\\
\runNext~st'
\el\\
\Record{pid;\Ready~resume} \cons q' \mapsto\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;st' \revto \Record{st \;\With\; q = q'; pid = pid}\;\In\\
resume~st'\,\}
\el
\el
\el
\el
\]
%
The function operates on the scheduler state. It first performs a case
split on the process queue. There are three cases to consider.
\begin{enumerate}
\item The queue is empty. Then the function returns the list $done$,
which is the list of process return values.
\item The next process is blocked. Then the process is appended on
to the end of the queue, and $\runNext$ is applied recursively to
the scheduler state $st'$ with the updated queue.
\item The next process is ready. Then the $q$ and $pid$ fields
within the scheduler state are updated accordingly. The reified
process $resume$ is applied to the updated scheduler state $st'$.
\end{enumerate}
%
Evidently, this function may enter an infinite loop if every process
is in blocked state. This may happen if we deadlock any two processes
by having them wait on one another. Using this function we can define
a handler that implements a process scheduler.
%
\[
\bl
\scheduler : \Record{\alpha \eff \{\Co;\varepsilon\};\Sstate~\alpha~\varepsilon} \Harrow^\param \List\,\Record{\Int;\alpha} \eff \varepsilon\\
\scheduler \defas
\bl
st.\\
\bl
\Return\;x \mapsto \\
\quad\bl
\Let\;done' \revto \Record{st.pid;x} \cons st.done\;\In\\
\runNext\,\Record{st\;\With\;done = done'}
\el\\
\OpCase{\UFork}{\Unit}{resume} \mapsto\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;resume' \revto \lambda st.resume\,\Record{0;st}\;\In\\
\Let\;pid \revto st.pnext \;\In\\
\Let\;q' \revto st.q \concat [\Record{pid;\Ready~resume'}]\;\In\\
\Let\;st' \revto \Record{st\;\With\;q = q'; pnext = pid + 1}\;\In\\
resume\,\Record{pid;st'}
\el\\
\OpCase{\Wait}{pid}{resume} \mapsto\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;resume' \revto \lambda st.resume~\Record{\Unit;st}\;\In\\
\Let\;q' \revto
\bl
\If\;\dec{has}\,\Record{pid;st.q}\\
\Then\;st.q \concat [\Record{st.pid;\Blocked\,\Record{pid;resume'}}]\\
\Else\;st.q \concat [\Record{st.pid;\Ready~resume'}]
\el\\
\In\;\runNext\,\Record{st\;\With\;q = q'}
\el\\
\OpCase{\Interrupt}{\Unit}{resume} \mapsto\\
\quad\bl
\Let\;resume' \revto \lambda st.resume\,\Record{\Unit;st}\;\In\\
\Let\;q' \revto st.q \concat [\Record{st.pid;\Ready~resume'}]\;\In\\
\runNext~\Record{st \;\With\; q = q'}
\el
\el
\el
\el
\]
%
The handler definition $\scheduler$ takes as input a computation that
computes a value of type $\alpha$ whilst making use of the concurrency
operations from the $\Co$ signature. In addition it takes the initial
scheduler state as input. Ultimately, the handler returns a
computation that computes a list of $\alpha$s, where all the
$\Co$-operations have been handled.
%
In the definition the scheduler state is bound by the name $st$.
The $\return$ case is invoked when a process completes. The return
value $x$ is paired with the identifier of the currently executing
process and consed onto the list $done$. Subsequently, the function
$\runNext$ is invoked in order to the next ready process.
The $\UFork$ case implements the semantics for process forking. First
the child process is constructed by abstracting the parameterised
resumption $resume$ such that it becomes an unary state-accepting
function, which can be ascribed type $\Proc~\alpha~\varepsilon$. The
parameterised resumption applied to the process identifier $0$, which
lets the receiver know that it assumes the role of child in the
parent-child relationship amongst the processes. The next line
retrieves the unique process identifier for the child. Afterwards, the
child process is pushed on to the queue in ready state. The next line
updates the scheduler state with the new queue and a new unique
identifier for the next process. Finally, the parameterised resumption
is applied to the child process identifier and the updated scheduler
state.
The $\Wait$ case implements the synchronisation operation. The
parameter $pid$ is the identifier of the process that the invoking
process wants to wait on. First we construct an unary state-accepting
function. Then we check whether there exists a process with identifier
$pid$ in the queue. If there is one, then we enqueue the current
process in blocked state. If no such process exists (e.g. it may
already have finished), then we enqueue the current process in ready
state. Finally, we invoke $\runNext$ with the scheduler state updated
with the new process queue in order to run the next ready process.
The $\Interrupt$ case suspends the current process by enqueuing it in
ready state, and dequeuing the next ready process.
Using this handler we can implement version 2 of the time-sharing
system.
%
\[
\bl
\timesharee : (\UnitType \to \alpha \eff \Co) \to \List\,\Record{\Int;\alpha}\\
\timesharee~m \defas
\bl
\Let\;st_0 \revto \Record{q=\nil;done=\nil;pid=1;pnext=2}\;\In\\
\ParamHandle\;m\,\Unit\;\With\; \scheduler~st_0
\el
\el
\]
%
The computation $m$, which may perform any of the concurrency
operations, is handled by the parameterised handler $\scheduler$. The
parameterised handler definition is applied to the initial scheduler
state, which has an empty process queue, an empty done list, and it
assigns the first process the identifier $1$, and sets up the
identifier for the next process to be $2$.
With $\UFork$ and $\Wait$ we can implement the \emph{init} process,
which is the initial startup process in
\UNIX{}~\cite{RitchieT74}. This process remains alive until the
operating system is shutdown. It is the ancestor of every process
created by the operating system.
%
\[
\bl
\init : (\Unit \to \alpha \eff \varepsilon) \to \alpha \eff \{\Co;\varepsilon\}\\
\init~main \defas
\bl
\Let\;pid \revto \Do\;\UFork~\Unit\;\In\\
\If\;pid = 0\\
\Then\;main\,\Unit\\
\Else\;\Do\;\Wait~pid
\el
\el
\]
%
We implement $\init$ as a higher-order function. It takes a main
routine that will be applied when the system has been started. The
function first performs $\UFork$ to duplicate itself. The child branch
executes the $main$ routine, whilst the parent branch waits on the
child.
Now we can plug everything together.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\bl
\runState\,\Record{\dec{fs}_0;\fileIO\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\quad\timesharee\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\dec{interruptWrite}\,(\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\quad\sessionmgr\,\Record{\Root;\lambda\Unit.\\
\qquad\qquad\status\,(\lambda\Unit.
\init\,(\lambda\Unit.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;pid \revto \Do\;\UFork\,\Unit\;\In\\
\If\;pid = 0\\
\Then\;\bl
\su~\Alice;
\quoteRitchie\,\Unit
\el\\
\Else\; \su~\Bob; \Do\;\Wait~pid; \quoteHamlet\,\Unit))})))}
\ea
\el \smallskip\\
\reducesto^+&
\bl
\Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
[\Record{1;0};\Record{2;0};\Record{3;0}];\\
\Record{
\ba[t]{@{}l}
dir=[\Record{\strlit{stdout};0}];\\
ilist=[\Record{0;\Record{lno=1;loc=0}}];\\
dreg=[
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Record{0;
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}l}
\texttt{"}&\texttt{UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but }\\
&\texttt{you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity.\nl}\\
&\texttt{To be, or not to be,\nl{}that is the question:\nl{}}\\
&\texttt{Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer\nl{}"}}]
\ea\\
lnext=1; inext=1}}\\
\ea
\ea
\ea\\
: \Record{\List\,\Record{\Int;\Int}; \FileSystem}
\el
\ea
\]
%
Process number $1$ is $\init$, which forks itself to run its
argument. The argument runs as process $2$, which also forks itself,
thus creating a process $3$. Process $3$ executes the child branch,
which switches user to $\Alice$ and invokes the $\quoteRitchie$
process which writes to standard out. Process $2$ executes the parent
branch, which switches user to $\Bob$ and waits for the child process
to complete before it invokes the routine $\quoteHamlet$ which also
writes to standard out.
%
It is evident from looking at the file system state that the writes to
standard out has not been interleaved as the contents of
$\strlit{stdout}$ appear in order. We can also see from the process
completion list that Alice's process (pid $3$) is the first to
complete with status $0$, and the second to complete is Bob's process
(pid $2$) with status $0$, whilst the last process to complete is the
$\init$ process (pid $1$) with status $0$.
\paragraph{Retrofitting fork} In the previous program we replaced the
original implementation of $\timeshare$
(Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-time}), which handles invocations of
$\Fork : \UnitType \opto \Bool$, by $\timesharee$, which handles the
more general operation $\UFork : \UnitType \opto \Int$. In practice,
we may be unable to dispense of the old interface so easily, meaning
we have to retain support for, say, legacy reasons. As we have seen
previously we can an operation in terms of another operation. Thus to
retain support for $\Fork$ we simply have to insert a handler under
$\timesharee$ which interprets $\Fork$ in terms of $\UFork$. The
operation case of this handler would be akin to the following.
%
\[
\OpCase{\Fork}{\Unit}{resume} \mapsto
\bl
\Let\;pid \revto \Do\;\UFork~\Unit\;\In\\
resume\,(pid \neq 0)
\el
\]
%
The interpretation of $\Fork$ inspects the process identifier returned
by the $\UFork$ to determine the role of the current process in the
parent-child relationship. If the identifier is nonzero, then the
process is a parent, hence $\Fork$ should return $\True$ to its
caller. Otherwise it should return $\False$. This preserves the
functionality of the legacy code.
\section{Related work}
\label{sec:unix-related-work}
\paragraph{Programming languages with handlers} The work presented in
this chapter has been retrofitted on to the programming language
Links~\cite{HillerstromL16,HillerstromL18}. A closely related
programming language with handlers is \citeauthor{Leijen17}'s Koka,
which has been retrofitted with ordinary deep and parameterised effect
handlers~\cite{Leijen17}. In Koka effects are nominal, meaning an
effect and its constructors must be declared before use, which is
unlike the structural approach taken in this chapter. Koka also tracks
effects via an effect system based on \citeauthor{Leijen05}-style row
polymorphism~\cite{Leijen05,Leijen14}, where rows are interpreted as
multisets which means an effect can occur multiple times in an effect
row. The ability to repeat effects provide a form for effect scoping
in the sense that an effect instance can shadow another. A handler
handles only the first instance of a repeated effect, leaving the
remaining instances for another handler. Consequently, the order of
repeated effect instances matter and it can therefore be situational
useful to manipulate the order of repeated instances by way of
so-called \emph{effect masking}.
%
The notion of effect masking was formalised by \citet{BiernackiPPS18}
and generalised by \citet{ConventLMM20}.
%
\citet{BiernackiPPS18} designed Helium, which is a programming
language that features a rich module system, deep handlers, and
\emph{lexical} handlers~\cite{BiernackiPPS20}. Lexical handlers
\emph{bind} effectful operations to specific handler
instances. Operations remain bound for the duration of
computation. This makes the nature of lexical handlers more static
than ordinary deep handlers, as for example it is not possible to
dynamically overload the interpretation of residual effects of a
resumption invocation as in Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-env}.
%
The mathematical foundations for lexical handlers has been developed
by \citet{Geron19}.
The design of the Effekt language by \citet{BrachthauserSO20b}
resolves around the idea of lexical handlers for efficiency. Effekt
takes advantage of the static nature of lexical handlers to eliminate
the dynamic handler lookup at runtime by tying the correct handler
instance directly to an operation
invocation~\cite{BrachthauserS17,SchusterBO20}. The effect system of
Effekt is based on intersection types, which provides a limited form
of effect polymorphism~\cite{BrachthauserSO20b}. A design choice that
means it does not feature first-class functions.
The Frank language by \citet{LindleyMM17} is born and bred on shallow
effect handlers. One of the key novelties of Frank is $n$-ary shallow
handlers, which generalise ordinary unary shallow handlers to be able
to handle multiple computations simultaneously. Another novelty is the
effect system, which is based on a variation of
\citeauthor{Leijen05}-style row polymorphism, where the programmer
rarely needs to mention effect variables. This is achieved by
insisting that the programmer annotates each input argument with the
particular effects handled at the particular argument position as well
as declaring what effects needs to be handled by the ambient
context. Each annotation is essentially an incomplete row. They are
made complete by concatenating them and inserting a fresh effect
variable.
\citeauthor{BauerP15}'s Eff language was the first programming
language designed from the ground up with effect handlers in mind. It
features only deep handlers~\cite{BauerP15}. A previous iteration of
the language featured an explicit \emph{effect instance} system. An
effect instance is a sort of generative interface, where the
operations are unique to each instance. As a result it is possible to
handle two distinct instances of the same effect differently in a
single computation. Their system featured a type-and-effect system
with support for effect inference~\cite{Pretnar13,BauerP13}, however,
the effect instance system was later dropped to in favour of a vanilla
nominal approach to effects and handlers.
Multicore OCaml is, at the time of writing, an experimental branch of
the OCaml programming language, which aims to extend OCaml with effect
handlers for multicore and concurrent
programming~\cite{DolanWM14,DolanWSYM15}. The current incarnation
features untracked nominal effects and deep handlers with single-use
resumptions.
\dhil{Possibly move to the introduction or background}
\paragraph{Effect-driven concurrency}
In their tutorial of the Eff programming language \citet{BauerP15}
implement a simple lightweight thread scheduler. It is different from
the schedulers presented in this section as their scheduler only uses
resumptions linearly. This is achieved by making the fork operation
\emph{higher-order} such that the operation is parameterised by a
computation. The computation is run under a fresh instance of the
handler. On one hand this approach has the benefit of making threads
cheap as it is no stack copying is necessary at runtime. On the other
hand it does not guarantee that every operation is handled uniformly
(when in the setting of deep handlers) as every handler in between the
fork operation invocation site and the scheduler handler needs to be
manually reinstalled when the computation argument is
run. Nevertheless, this is the approach to concurrency that
\citet{DolanWSYM15} have adopted for Multicore
OCaml~\cite{DolanWSYM15}.
%
In my MSc(R) dissertation I used a similar approach to implement a
cooperative version of the actor concurrency model of Links with
effect handlers~\cite{Hillerstrom16}.
%
This line of work was further explored by \citet{Convent17}, who
implemented various cooperative actor-based concurrency abstractions
using effect handlers in the Frank programming
language. \citet{Poulson20} expanded upon this work by investigating
ways to handle preemptive concurrency.
\citet{FowlerLMD19} uses effect handlers in the setting of linearly
typed fault-tolerant distributed programming. They use effect handlers
to codify an exception handling mechanism, which automatically
consumes linear resources. Exceptions are implemented as operations,
that are handled by \emph{cancelling} their resumptions. Cancellation
is a runtime primitive that gathers and closes active resources in the
computation represented by some resumption.
\citet{DolanEHMSW17} and \citet{Leijen17a} gave two widely different
implementations of the async/await idiom using effect
handlers. \citeauthor{DolanEHMSW17}'s implementation is based on
higher-order operations with linearly used resumptions, whereas
\citeauthor{Leijen17a}'s implementation is based on first-order
operations with multi-shot resumptions, and thus, it is close in the
spirit to the schedulers we have considered in this chapter.
\paragraph{Continuation-based interleaved computation}
The very first implementation of `lightweight threads' using
continuations can possibly be credited to
\citet{Burstall69}. \citeauthor{Burstall69} used
\citeauthor{Landin65}'s J operator to arrange tree-based search, where
each branch would be reified as a continuation and put into a
queue.
\citet{Wand80} implements a small multi-tasking kernel with support
for mutual exclusion and data protection using undelimited
continuations in the style of the catch operator of Scheme.
\citet{HaynesFW86} codify coroutines as library using call/cc.
\citet{DybvigH89} implements \emph{engines} using call/cc in Scheme
--- an engine is a kind of process abstraction which support
preemption. An engine runs a computation on some time budget. If
computation exceeds the allotted time budget, then it is
interrupted. They represent engines as reified continuations and use
the macro system of Scheme to insert clock ticks at appropriate places
in the code. \citet{HiebD90} also design the \emph{spawn-controller}
operator for programming tree-based concurrency abstractions.
\paragraph{Resumption monad}
The resumption monad is both a semantic and programmatic abstraction
for interleaving computation. \citet{Papaspyrou01} applies a
resumption monad transformer to construct semantic models of
concurrent computation. A resumption monad transformer, i.e. a monad
$T$ that transforms an arbitrary monad $M$ to a new monad $T~M$ with
commands for interrupting computation.
%
\citet{Harrison06} demonstrates the resumption monad as a practical
programming abstraction by implementing a small multi-tasking
kernel. \citeauthor{Harrison06} implements two variations of the
resumption monad: basic and reactive. The basic resumption monad is a
closed environment for interleaving different strands of
computations. It is closed in the sense that strands of computation
cannot interact with the ambient context of their environment. The
reactive resumption monad makes the environment open by essentially
registering a callback with an interruption action. This provides a
way to model system calls.
The origins of the (semantic) resumption monad can be traced back to
at least \citet{Moggi90}, who described a monad for modelling the
interleaving semantics of \citeauthor{Milner75}'s \emph{calculus of
communicating systems}~\cite{Milner75}.
The usage of \emph{resumption} in the name has a slightly different
meaning than the term `resumption' we have been using throughout this
chapter. We have used `resumption' to mean delimited continuation. In
the setting of the resumption monad it has a precise domain-theoretic
meaning. It is derived from \citeauthor{Plotkin76}'s domain of
resumptions, which in turn is derived from \citeauthor{Milner75}'s
domain of processes~\cite{Milner75,Plotkin76}.
\dhil{Briefly mention \citet{AtkeyJ15}}
\part{Implementation}
\chapter{Continuation-passing style}
\label{ch:cps}
Continuation-passing style (CPS) is a \emph{canonical} program
notation that makes every facet of control flow and data flow
explicit. In CPS every function takes an additional function-argument
called the \emph{continuation}, which represents the next computation
in evaluation position. CPS is canonical in the sense that it is
definable in pure $\lambda$-calculus without any further
primitives. As an informal illustration of CPS consider again the
ever-green factorial function from Section~\ref{sec:tracking-div}.
%
\[
\bl
\dec{fac} : \Int \to \Int\\
\dec{fac} \defas \lambda n.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;isz \revto n = 0\;\In\\
\If\;isz\;\Then\; \Return\;1\\
\Else\;\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\Let\; n' \revto n - 1 \;\In\\
\Let\; m \revto \dec{fac}~n' \;\In\\
\Let\;res \revto n * m \;\In\\
\Return\;res
\ea
\ea
\el
\]
%
The above implementation of the function $\dec{fac}$ is given in
direct-style fine-grain call-by-value. In CPS notation the
implementation of this function changes as follows.
%
\[
\bl
\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}} : \Int \to (\Int \to \alpha) \to \alpha\\
\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}} \defas \lambda n.\lambda k.
(=_{\dec{cps}})~n~0~
(\lambda isz.
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\If\;isz\;\Then\; k~1\\
\Else\;
(-_{\dec{cps}})~n~\bl 1\\
(\lambda n'.
\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}}~\bl n'\\
(\lambda m. (*_{\dec{cps}})~n~\bl m\\
(\lambda res. k~res))))
\el
\el
\el
\ea
\el
\]
%
There are several worthwhile observations to make about the
differences between the two implementations $\dec{fac}$ and
$\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}}$.
%
Firstly note that their type signatures differ. The CPS version has an
additional formal parameter of type $\Int \to \alpha$ which is the
continuation. By convention the continuation parameter is named $k$ in
the implementation. As usual, the continuation represents the
remainder of computation. In this specific instance $k$ represents the
undelimited current continuation of an application of
$\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}}$. Given a value of type $\Int$, the
continuation produces a result of type $\alpha$, which is the
\emph{answer type} of the entire program. Thus applying
$\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}}~3$ to the identity function ($\lambda x.x$)
yields $6 : \Int$, whilst applying it to the predicate
$\lambda x. x > 2$ yields $\True : \Bool$.
% or put differently: it determines what to do with the result
% returned by an invocation of $\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}}$.
%
Secondly note that every $\Let$-binding in $\dec{fac}$ has become a
function application in $\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}}$. The binding sequence
in the $\Else$-branch has been turned into a series of nested function
applications. The functions $=_{\dec{cps}}$, $-_{\dec{cps}}$, and
$*_{\dec{cps}}$ denote the CPS versions of equality testing,
subtraction, and multiplication respectively.
%
For clarity, I have meticulously written each continuation function on
a newline. For instance, the continuation of the
$-_{\dec{cps}}$-application is another application of
$\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}}$, whose continuation is an application of
$*_{\dec{cps}}$, and its continuation is an application of the current
continuation, $k$, of $\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}}$.
%
Each $\Return$-computation has been turned into an application of the
current continuation $k$. In the $\Then$-branch the continuation
applied to $1$, whilst in the $\Else$-branch the continuation is
applied to the result obtained by multiplying $n$ and $m$.
%
Thirdly note that every function application occurs in tail position
(recall Definition~\ref{def:tail-comp}). This is a characteristic
property of CPS transforms that make them feasible as a practical
implementation strategy, since programs in CPS notation require only a
constant amount of stack space to run, namely, a single activation
frame~\cite{Appel92}. Although, the pervasiveness of closures in CPS
means that CPS programs make heavy use of the heap for closure
allocation.
%
Some care must be taken when CPS transforming a program as if done
naïvely the image may be inflated with extraneous
terms~\cite{DanvyN05}. For example in $\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}}$ the
continuation term $(\lambda res.k~res)$ is redundant as it is simply
an eta expansion of the continuation $k$. A more optimal transform
would simply pass $k$. Extraneous terms can severely impact the
runtime performance of a CPS program. A smart CPS transform recognises
and eliminates extraneous terms at translation
time~\cite{DanvyN03}. Extraneous terms come in various disguises as we
shall see later in this chapter.
The purpose of this chapter is to use the CPS formalism to develop a
universal implementation strategy for deep, shallow, and parameterised
effect handlers. Section~\ref{sec:target-cps} defines a suitable
target calculus $\UCalc$ for CPS transformed
programs. Section~\ref{sec:cps-cbv} demonstrates how to CPS transform
$\BCalc$-programs to $\UCalc$-programs. In Section~\ref{sec:fo-cps}
develop a CPS transform for deep handlers through step-wise refinement
of the initial CPS transform for $\BCalc$. The resulting CPS transform
is adapted in Section~\ref{sec:cps-shallow} to support for shallow
handlers. As a by-product we develop the notion of \emph{generalised
continuation}, which provides a versatile abstraction for
implementing effect handlers. We use generalised continuations to
implement parameterised handlers in Section~\ref{sec:cps-param}.
%
%
%\dhil{The focus of the introduction should arguably not be to explain CPS.}
%\dhil{Justify CPS as an implementation technique}
%\dhil{Give a side-by-side reduction example of $\dec{fac}$ and $\dec{fac}_{\dec{cps}}$.}
% \dhil{Define desirable properties of a CPS translation: properly tail-recursive, no static administrative redexes}
%
% \begin{definition}[Properly tail-recursive~\cite{Danvy06}]
% %
% A CPS translation $\cps{-}$ is properly tail-recursive if the
% continuation of every CPS transformed tail call $\cps{V\,W}$ within
% $\cps{\lambda x.M}$ is $k$, where
% \begin{equations}
% \cps{\lambda x.M} &=& \lambda x.\lambda k.\cps{M}\\
% \cps{V\,W} &=& \cps{V}\,\cps{W}\,k.
% \end{equations}
% \end{definition}
% \[
% \ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
% \pcps{(\lambda x.(\lambda y.\Return\;y)\,x)\,\Unit} &= (\lambda x.(\lambda y.\lambda k.k\,y)\,x)\,\Unit\,(\lambda x.x)\\
% &\reducesto ((\lambda y.\lambda k.k\,y)\,\Unit)\,(\lambda x.x)\\
% &\reducesto (\lambda k.k\,\Unit)\,(\lambda x.x)\\
% &\reducesto (\lambda x.x)\,\Unit\\
% &\reducesto \Unit
% \ea
% \]
\paragraph{Relation to prior work} This chapter is based on the
following work.
%
\begin{enumerate}[i]
\item \bibentry{HillerstromLAS17}\label{en:ch-cps-HLAS17}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromL18} \label{en:ch-cps-HL18}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromLA20} \label{en:ch-cps-HLA20}
\end{enumerate}
%
Section~\ref{sec:higher-order-uncurried-deep-handlers-cps} is
based on item \ref{en:ch-cps-HLAS17}, however, I have adapted it to
follow the notation and style of item \ref{en:ch-cps-HLA20}.
\section{Initial target calculus}
\label{sec:target-cps}
%
\begin{figure}
\flushleft
\textbf{Syntax}
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Values} &U, V, W \in \UValCat &::= & x \mid \lambda x.M \mid % \Rec\,g\,x.M
\mid \Record{} \mid \Record{V, W} \mid \ell
\smallskip \\
\slab{Computations} &M,N \in \UCompCat &::= & V \mid M\,W \mid \Let\; \Record{x,y} = V \; \In \; N\\
& &\mid& \Case\; V\, \{\ell \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\} \mid \Absurd\,V
\smallskip \\
\slab{Evaluation contexts} &\EC \in \UEvalCat &::= & [~] \mid \EC\;W \\
\end{syntax}
\textbf{Reductions}
\begin{reductions}
\usemlab{App} & (\lambda x . \, M) V &\reducesto& M[V/x] \\
% \usemlab{Rec} & (\Rec\,g\,x.M) V &\reducesto& M[\Rec\,g\,x.M/g,V/x]\\
\usemlab{Split} & \Let \; \Record{x,y} = \Record{V,W} \; \In \; N &\reducesto& N[V/x,W/y] \\
\usemlab{Case_1} &
\Case \; \ell \; \{ \ell \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\} &\reducesto& M \\
\usemlab{Case_2} &
\Case \; \ell \; \{ \ell' \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\} &\reducesto& N[\ell/y], \hfill\quad \text{if } \ell \neq \ell' \\
\usemlab{Lift} &
\EC[M] &\reducesto& \EC[N], \hfill \text{if } M \reducesto N \\
\end{reductions}
\textbf{Syntactic sugar}
\[
\begin{eqs}
\Let\;x=V\;\In\;N &\equiv & N[V/x]\\
\ell \; V & \equiv & \Record{\ell; V}\\
\Record{} & \equiv & \ell_{\Record{}} \\
\Record{\ell = V; W} & \equiv & \Record{\ell, \Record{V, W}}\\
\nil &\equiv & \ell_{\nil} \\
V \cons W & \equiv & \Record{\ell_{\cons}, \Record{V, W}}\\
\Case\;V\;\{\ell\;x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N \} &\equiv&
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\Let\;y = V\;\In\; \Let\;\Record{z,x} = y\;\In \\
\Case\; z\;\{ \ell \mapsto M; z' \mapsto N \}
\ea\\
\Let\; \Record{\ell=x;y} = V\;\In\;N &\equiv&
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\Let\; \Record{z,z'} = V\;\In\;\Let\; \Record{x,y} = z'\;\In \\
\Case\;z\;\{\ell \mapsto N; z'' \mapsto \ell_\bot \}
\ea
\end{eqs}
\]
\caption{Untyped target calculus for the CPS translations.}
\label{fig:cps-cbv-target}
\end{figure}
%
The syntax, semantics, and syntactic sugar for the target calculus
$\UCalc$ is given in Figure~\ref{fig:cps-cbv-target}. The calculus
largely amounts to an untyped variation of $\BCalc$, specifically
we retain the syntactic distinction between values ($V$) and
computations ($M$).
%
The values ($V$) comprise lambda abstractions ($\lambda x.M$),
% recursive functions ($\Rec\,g\,x.M$),
empty tuples ($\Record{}$), pairs ($\Record{V,W}$), and first-class
labels ($\ell$).
%
Computations ($M$) comprise values ($V$), applications ($M~V$), pair
elimination ($\Let\; \Record{x, y} = V \;\In\; N$), label elimination
($\Case\; V \;\{\ell \mapsto M; x \mapsto N\}$), and explicit marking
of unreachable code ($\Absurd$). A key difference from $\BCalcRec$ is
that the function position of an application is allowed to be a
computation (i.e., the application form is $M~W$ rather than
$V~W$). Later, when we refine the initial CPS translation we will be
able to rule out this relaxation.
The reduction semantics follows the trend of the previous reduction
semantics in the sense that it is a small-step context-based reduction
semantics. Evaluation contexts comprise the empty context and function
application.
To make the notation more lightweight, we define syntactic sugar for
variant values, record values, list values, let binding, variant
eliminators, and record eliminators. We use pattern matching syntax
for deconstructing variants, records, and lists. For desugaring
records, we assume a failure constant $\ell_\bot$ (e.g. a divergent
term) to cope with the case of pattern matching failure.
% \dhil{Most of the primitives are Church encodable. Discuss the value
% of treating them as primitive rather than syntactic sugar (target
% languages such as JavaScript has similar primitives).}
\section{Transforming fine-grain call-by-value}
\label{sec:cps-cbv}
We start by giving a CPS translation of $\BCalc$ in
Figure~\ref{fig:cps-cbv}. Fine-grain call-by-value admits a
particularly simple CPS translation due to the separation of values
and computations. All constructs from the source language are
translated homomorphically into the target language $\UCalc$, except
for $\Return$ and $\Let$ (and type abstraction because the translation
performs type erasure). Lifting a value $V$ to a computation
$\Return~V$ is interpreted by passing the value to the current
continuation $k$. Sequencing computations with $\Let$ is translated by
applying the translation of $M$ to the translation of the continuation
$N$, which is ultimately applied to the current continuation $k$. In
addition, we explicitly $\eta$-expand the translation of a type
abstraction in order to ensure that value terms in the source calculus
translate to value terms in the target.
\begin{figure}
\flushleft
\textbf{Values} \\
\[
\bl
\begin{eqs}
\cps{-} &:& \ValCat \to \UValCat\\
\cps{x} &=& x \\
\cps{\lambda x.M} &=& \lambda x.\cps{M} \\
\cps{\Lambda \alpha.M} &=& \lambda k.\cps{M}~k \\
% \cps{\Rec\,g\,x.M} &=& \Rec\,g\,x.\cps{M}\\
\cps{\Record{}} &=& \Record{} \\
\cps{\Record{\ell = V; W}} &=& \Record{\ell = \cps{V}; \cps{W}} \\
\cps{\ell~V} &=& \ell~\cps{V} \\
\end{eqs}
\el
\]
\textbf{Computations}
\[
\bl
\begin{eqs}
\cps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \UCompCat\\
\cps{V\,W} &=& \cps{V}\,\cps{W} \\
\cps{V\,T} &=& \cps{V} \\
\cps{\Let\; \Record{\ell=x;y} = V \; \In \; N} &=& \Let\; \Record{\ell=x;y} = \cps{V} \; \In \; \cps{N} \\
\cps{\Case~V~\{\ell~x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\}} &=&
\Case~\cps{V}~\{\ell~x \mapsto \cps{M}; y \mapsto \cps{N}\} \\
\cps{\Absurd~V} &=& \Absurd~\cps{V} \\
\cps{\Return~V} &=& \lambda k.k\,\cps{V} \\
\cps{\Let~x \revto M~\In~N} &=& \lambda k.\cps{M}(\lambda x.\cps{N}\,k) \\
\end{eqs}
\el
\]
\caption{First-order CPS translation of $\BCalc$.}
\label{fig:cps-cbv}
\end{figure}
\section{Transforming deep effect handlers}
\label{sec:fo-cps}
The translation of a computation term by the basic CPS translation in
Section~\ref{sec:cps-cbv} takes a single continuation parameter that
represents the context.
%
In the presence of effect handlers in the source language, it becomes
necessary to keep track of two kinds of contexts in which each
computation executes: a \emph{pure context} that tracks the state of
pure computation in the scope of the current handler, and an
\emph{effect context} that describes how to handle operations in the
scope of the current handler.
%
Correspondingly, we have both \emph{pure continuations} ($k$) and
\emph{effect continuations} ($h$).
%
As handlers can be nested, each computation executes in the context of
a \emph{stack} of pairs of pure and effect continuations.
On entry into a handler, the pure continuation is initialised to a
representation of the return clause and the effect continuation to a
representation of the operation clauses. As pure computation proceeds,
the pure continuation may grow, for example when executing a
$\Let$. If an operation is encountered then the effect continuation is
invoked.
%
The current continuation pair ($k$, $h$) is packaged up as a
\emph{resumption} and passed to the current handler along with the
operation and its argument. The effect continuation then either
handles the operation, invoking the resumption as appropriate, or
forwards the operation to an outer handler. In the latter case, the
resumption is modified to ensure that the context of the original
operation invocation can be reinstated upon invocation of the
resumption.
%
\subsection{Curried translation}
\label{sec:first-order-curried-cps}
We first consider a curried CPS translation that extends the
translation of Figure~\ref{fig:cps-cbv}. The extension to operations
and handlers is localised to the additional features because currying
conveniently lets us get away with a shift in interpretation: rather
than accepting a single continuation, translated computation terms now
accept an arbitrary even number of arguments representing the stack of
pure and effect continuations. Thus, we can conservatively extend the
translation in Figure~\ref{fig:cps-cbv} to cover $\HCalc$, where we
imagine there being some number of extra continuation arguments that
have been $\eta$-reduced. The translation of operations and handlers
is as follows.
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \UCompCat\\
\cps{\Do\;\ell\;V} &\defas& \lambda k.\lambda h.h~\Record{\ell,\Record{\cps{V}, \lambda x.k~x~h}} \\
\cps{\Handle \; M \; \With \; H} &\defas& \cps{M}~\cps{\hret}~\cps{\hops} \medskip\\
\cps{-} &:& \HandlerCat \to \UCompCat\\
\cps{\{ \Return \; x \mapsto N \}} &\defas& \lambda x . \lambda h . \cps{N} \\
\cps{\{ \ell~p~r \mapsto N_\ell \}_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}}
&\defas&
\lambda \Record{z,\Record{p,r}}. \Case~z~
\{ (\ell \mapsto \cps{N_\ell})_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}; y \mapsto \hforward(y,p,r) \} \\
\hforward(y,p,r) &\defas& \lambda k. \lambda h. h\,\Record{y,\Record{p, \lambda x.\,r\,x\,k\,h}}
\end{equations}
%
The translation of $\Do\;\ell\;V$ abstracts over the current pure
($k$) and effect ($h$) continuations passing an encoding of the
operation into the latter. The operation is encoded as a triple
consisting of the name $\ell$, parameter $\cps{V}$, and resumption
$\lambda x.k~x~h$, which passes the same effect continuation $h$ to
ensure deep handler semantics.
The translation of $\Handle~M~\With~H$ invokes the translation of $M$
with new pure and effect continuations for the return and operation
clauses of $H$.
%
The translation of a return clause is a term which garbage collects
the current effect continuation $h$.
%
The translation of a set of operation clauses is a function which
dispatches on encoded operations, and in the default case forwards to
an outer handler.
%
In the forwarding case, the resumption is extended by the parent
continuation pair to ensure that an eventual invocation of the
resumption reinstates the handler stack.
The translation of complete programs feeds the translated term the
identity pure continuation (which discards its handler argument), and
an effect continuation that is never intended to be called.
%
\begin{equations}
\pcps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \UCompCat\\
\pcps{M} &\defas& \cps{M}~(\lambda x.\lambda h.x)~(\lambda \Record{z,\_}.\Absurd~z) \\
\end{equations}
%
Conceptually, this translation encloses the translated program in a
top-level handler with an empty collection of operation clauses and an
identity return clause.
A pleasing property of this particular CPS translation is that it is a
conservative extension to the CPS translation for $\BCalc$. Alas, this
translation also suffers two displeasing properties which makes it
unviable in practice.
\begin{enumerate}
\item The image of the translation is not \emph{properly
tail-recursive}~\citep{Danvy06,DanvyF92,Steele78}, meaning not
every function application occur in tail position in the image, and
thus the image is not stackless. Consequently, the translation
cannot readily be used as the basis for an implementation. This
deficiency is essentially due to the curried representation of the
continuation stack.
\item The image of the translation yields static administrative
redexes, i.e. redexes that could be reduced statically. This is a
classic problem with CPS translations. This problem can be dealt
with by introducing a second pass to clean up the
image~\cite{Plotkin75}. By clever means the clean up pass and the
translation pass can be fused together to make an one-pass
translation~\cite{DanvyF92,DanvyN03}.
\end{enumerate}
The following minimal example readily illustrates both issues.
%
\begin{align*}
\pcps{\Return\;\Record{}}
= & (\lambda k.k\,\Record{})\,(\lambda x.\lambda h.x)\,(\lambda \Record{z,\_}.\Absurd\,z) \\
\reducesto& ((\lambda x.\lambda h.x)\,\Record{})\,(\lambda \Record{z,\_}.\Absurd\,z) \numberthis\label{eq:cps-admin-reduct-1}\\
\reducesto& (\lambda h.\Record{})\,(\lambda \Record{z,\_}.\Absurd\,z) \numberthis\label{eq:cps-admin-reduct-2}\\
\reducesto& \Record{}
\end{align*}
%
The second and third reductions simulate handling $\Return\;\Record{}$
at the top level. The second reduction partially applies the curried
function term $\lambda x.\lambda h.x$ to $\Record{}$, which must
return a value such that the third reduction can be
applied. Consequently, evaluation is not tail-recursive.
%
The lack of tail-recursion is also apparent in our relaxation of
fine-grain call-by-value in Figure~\ref{fig:cps-cbv-target} as the
function position of an application can be a computation.
%
In Section~\ref{sec:first-order-uncurried-cps} we will refine this
translation to be properly tail-recursive.
%
As for administrative redexes, observe that the first reduction is
administrative. It is an artefact introduced by the translation, and
thus it has nothing to do with the dynamic semantics of the original
term. We can eliminate such redexes statically. We will address this
issue in Section~\ref{sec:higher-order-uncurried-deep-handlers-cps}.
Nevertheless, we can show that the image of this CPS translation
simulates the preimage. Due to the presence of administrative
reductions, the simulation is not on the nose, but instead up to
congruence.
%
For reduction in the untyped target calculus we write
$\reducesto_{\textrm{cong}}$ for the smallest relation containing
$\reducesto$ that is closed under the term formation constructs.
%
\begin{theorem}[Simulation]
\label{thm:fo-simulation}
If $M \reducesto N$ then $\pcps{M} \reducesto_{\textrm{cong}}^+
\pcps{N}$.
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
The result follows by composing a call-by-value variant of
\citeauthor{ForsterKLP19}'s translation from effect handlers to
delimited continuations~\citeyearpar{ForsterKLP19} with
\citeauthor{MaterzokB12}'s CPS translation for delimited
continuations~\citeyearpar{MaterzokB12}.
\end{proof}
% \paragraph*{Remark}
% We originally derived this curried CPS translation for effect handlers
% by composing \citeauthor{ForsterKLP17}'s translation from effect
% handlers to delimited continuations~\citeyearpar{ForsterKLP17} with
% \citeauthor{MaterzokB12}'s CPS translation for delimited
% continuations~\citeyearpar{MaterzokB12}.
\subsection{Uncurried translation}
\label{sec:first-order-uncurried-cps}
%
%
\begin{figure}
\flushleft
\textbf{Syntax}
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Computations} &M,N \in \UCompCat &::= & \cdots \mid \XCancel{M\,W} \mid V\,W \mid U\,V\,W \smallskip \\
\XCancel{\slab{Evaluation contexts}} &\XCancel{\EC \in \UEvalCat} &::= & \XCancel{[~] \mid \EC\;W} \\
\end{syntax}
\textbf{Reductions}
\begin{reductions}
\usemlab{App_1} & (\lambda x . M) V &\reducesto& M[V/x] \\
\usemlab{App_2} & (\lambda x . \lambda y. \, M) V\, W &\reducesto& M[V/x,W/y] \\
\XCancel{\usemlab{Lift}} & \XCancel{\EC[M]} &\reducesto& \XCancel{\EC[N], \hfill \text{if } M \reducesto N}
\end{reductions}
\caption{Adjustments to the syntax and semantics of $\UCalc$.}
\label{fig:refined-cps-cbv-target}
\end{figure}
%
In this section we will refine the CPS translation for deep handlers
to make it properly tail-recursive. As remarked in the previous
section, the lack of tail-recursion is apparent in the syntax of the
target calculus $\UCalc$ as it permits an arbitrary computation term
in the function position of an application term.
%
As a first step we may restrict the syntax of the target calculus such
that the term in function position must be a value. With this
restriction the syntax of $\UCalc$ implements the property that any
term constructor features at most one computation term, and this
computation term always appears in tail position. This restriction
suffices to ensure that every function application will be in tail
position.
%
Figure~\ref{fig:refined-cps-cbv-target} contains the adjustments to
syntax and semantics of $\UCalc$. The target calculus now supports
both unary and binary application forms. As we shall see shortly,
binary application turns out be convenient when we enrich the notion
of continuation. Both application forms are comprised only of value
terms. As a result the dynamic semantics of $\UCalc$ no longer makes
use of evaluation contexts. The reduction rule $\usemlab{App_1}$
applies to unary application and it is the same as the
$\usemlab{App}$-rule in Figure~\ref{fig:cps-cbv-target}. The new
$\usemlab{App_2}$-rule applies to binary application: it performs a
simultaneous substitution of the arguments $V$ and $W$ for the
parameters $x$ and $y$, respectively, in the function body $M$.
%
These changes to $\UCalc$ immediately invalidate the curried
translation from the previous section as the image of the translation
is no longer well-formed.
%
The crux of the problem is that the curried interpretation of
continuations causes the CPS translation to produce `large'
application terms, e.g. the translation rule for effect forwarding
produces a three-argument application term.
%
To rectify this problem we can adapt the technique of
\citet{MaterzokB12} to uncurry our CPS translation. Uncurrying
necessitates a change of representation for continuations: a
continuation is now an alternating list of pure continuation functions
and effect continuation functions. Thus, we move to an explicit
representation of the runtime handler stack.
%
The change of continuation representation means the CPS translation
for effect handlers is no longer a conservative extension. The
translation is adjusted as follows to account for the new
representation.
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \UCompCat\\
\cps{\Return~V} &\defas& \lambda (k \cons ks).k\,\cps{V}\,ks \\
\cps{\Let~x \revto M~\In~N} &\defas& \lambda (k \cons ks).\cps{M}((\lambda x.\lambda ks'.\cps{N}(k \cons ks')) \cons ks)
\smallskip \\
\cps{\Do\;\ell\;V} &\defas& \lambda (k \cons h \cons ks).h\,\Record{\ell,\Record{\cps{V}, \lambda x.\lambda ks'.k\,x\,(h \cons ks')}}\,ks
\smallskip \\
\cps{\Handle \; M \; \With \; H} &\defas& \lambda ks . \cps{M} (\cps{\hret} \cons \cps{\hops} \cons ks) \medskip\\
\cps{-} &:& \HandlerCat \to \UCompCat\\
\cps{\{\Return \; x \mapsto N\}} &\defas& \lambda x.\lambda ks.\Let\; (h \cons ks') = ks \;\In\; \cps{N}\,ks'
\\
\cps{\{\ell \; p \; r \mapsto N_\ell\}_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}}
&\defas&
\bl
\lambda \Record{z,\Record{p,r}}. \lambda ks. \Case \; z \;
\{( \bl\ell \mapsto \cps{N_\ell}\,ks)_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}};\,\\
y \mapsto \hforward((y,p,r),ks) \}\el \\
\el \\
\hforward((y,p,r),ks) &\defas& \bl
\Let\; (k' \cons h' \cons ks') = ks \;\In\; \\
h'\,\Record{y, \Record{p, \lambda x.\lambda ks''.\,r\,x\,(k' \cons h' \cons ks'')}}\,ks'\\
\el \medskip\\
\pcps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \UCompCat\\
\pcps{M} &\defas& \cps{M}~((\lambda x.\lambda ks.x) \cons (\lambda \Record{z,\Record{p,r}}. \lambda ks.\,\Absurd~z) \cons \nil)
\end{equations}
%
The other cases are as in the original CPS translation in
Figure~\ref{fig:cps-cbv}.
%
Since we now use a list representation for the stacks of
continuations, we have had to modify the translations of all the
constructs that manipulate continuations. For $\Return$ and $\Let$, we
extract the top continuation $k$ and manipulate it analogously to the
original translation in Figure~\ref{fig:cps-cbv}. For $\Do$, we
extract the top pure continuation $k$ and effect continuation $h$ and
invoke $h$ in the same way as the curried translation, except that we
explicitly maintain the stack $ks$ of additional continuations. The
translation of $\Handle$, however, pushes a continuation pair onto the
stack instead of supplying them as arguments. Handling of operations
is the same as before, except for explicit passing of the
$ks$. Forwarding now pattern matches on the stack to extract the next
continuation pair, rather than accepting them as arguments.
%
% Proper tail recursion coincides with a refinement of the target
% syntax. Now applications are either of the form $V\,W$ or of the form
% $U\,V\,W$. We could also add a rule for applying a two argument lambda
% abstraction to two arguments at once and eliminate the
% $\usemlab{Lift}$ rule, but we defer this until our higher order
% translation in Section~\ref{sec:higher-order-uncurried-cps}.
Let us revisit the example from
Section~\ref{sec:first-order-curried-cps} to see first hand that our
refined translation makes the example properly tail-recursive.
%
\begin{equations}
\pcps{\Return\;\Record{}}
&= & (\lambda (k \cons ks).k\,\Record{}\,ks)\,((\lambda x.\lambda ks.x) \cons (\lambda \Record{z, \_}.\lambda ks.\Absurd\,z) \cons \nil) \\
&\reducesto& (\lambda x.\lambda ks.x)\,\Record{}\,((\lambda \Record{z,\_}.\lambda ks.\Absurd\,z) \cons \nil)\\
&\reducesto& \Record{}
\end{equations}
%
The reduction sequence in the image of this uncurried translation has
one fewer steps (disregarding the administrative steps induced by
pattern matching) than in the image of the curried translation. The
`missing' step is precisely the reduction marked
\eqref{eq:cps-admin-reduct-2}, which was a partial application of the
initial pure continuation function that was not in tail
position. Note, however, that the first reduction (corresponding to
\eqref{eq:cps-admin-reduct-1}) remains administrative, the reduction
is entirely static, and as such, it can be dealt with as part of the
translation.
%
\paragraph{Administrative redexes}
We can determine whether a redex is administrative in the image by
determining whether it corresponds to a redex in the preimage. If
there is no corresponding redex, then the redex is said to be
administrative. We can further classify an administrative redex as to
whether it is \emph{static} or \emph{dynamic}.
A static administrative redex is a by-product of the translation that
does not contribute to the implementation of the dynamic behaviour of
the preimage.
%
The separation between value and computation terms in fine-grain
call-by-value makes it evident where static administrative redexes can
arise. They arise from computation terms, which can clearly be seen
from the translation where each computation term induces a
$\lambda$-abstraction. Each induced $\lambda$-abstraction must
necessarily be eliminated by a unary application. These unary
applications are administrative; they do not correspond to reductions
in the preimage. The applications that do correspond to reductions in
the preimage are the binary (continuation) applications.
A dynamic administrative redex is a genuine implementation detail that
supports some part of the dynamic behaviour of the preimage. An
example of such a detail is the implementation of effect
forwarding. In $\HCalc$ effect forwarding involves no auxiliary
reductions, any operation invocation is instantaneously dispatched to
a suitable handler (if such one exists).
%
The translation presented above realises effect forwarding by
explicitly applying the next effect continuation. This application is
an example of a dynamic administrative reduction. Not every dynamic
administrative reduction is necessary, though. For instance, the
implementation of resumptions as a composition of
$\lambda$-abstractions gives rise to administrative reductions upon
invocation. As we shall see in
Section~\ref{sec:first-order-explicit-resump} administrative
reductions due to resumption invocation can be dealt with by choosing
a more clever implementation of resumptions.
\subsection{Resumptions as explicit reversed stacks}
\label{sec:first-order-explicit-resump}
%
% \dhil{Show an example involving administrative redexes produced by resumptions}
%
Thus far resumptions have been represented as functions, and
forwarding has been implemented using function composition. The
composition of resumption gives rise to unnecessary dynamic
administrative redexes as function composition necessitates the
introduction of an additional lambda abstraction.
%
As an illustration of how and where these administrative redexes arise
let us consider an example with an operation $\Ask : \Unit \opto \Int$
and two handlers $H_\Reader$ and $H_\Other$ such that
$H_\Reader^\Ask = \{\OpCase{\Ask}{\Unit}{r} \mapsto r~42\}$ whilst
$\Ask \not\in \dom(H_\Other)$. We denote the top-level continuation by
$ks_\top$.
%
% \[
% \bl
% \Reader \defas \{\Ask : \Unit \opto \Int\} \smallskip\\
% H_{\Reader} : \alpha \eff \Reader \Harrow \alpha, \{ \OpCase{\Ask}{\Unit}{r} \mapsto r~42 \} \in H_{\Reader}\\
% H_{\Other} : \alpha \eff \varepsilon \Harrow \alpha, \Ask \not\in \dom(H_{\Reader})
% \el
% \]
%
\begin{derivation}
&\pcps{\Handle\; (\Handle\; \Do\;\Ask\,\Unit\;\With\;H_{\Other})\;\With\;H_{\Reader}}\\
% =& \reason{definition of $\cps{-}$}\\
% % &\lambda ks.\cps{\Handle\; \Do\;\Ask\,\Unit\;\With\;H_{\Other}}(\cps{H_{\Reader}^\mret} \cons H_{\Reader}^\mops \cons ks)\\
% % =& \reason{}\\
% &(\lambda ks.(\lambda ks'.\cps{\Do\;\Ask\,\Unit}(\cps{H_{\Other}^\mret} \cons \cps{H_{\Other}^\mops} \cons ks'))(\cps{H_{\Reader}^\mret} \cons H_{\Reader}^\mops \cons ks))\,ks_\top\\
=& \reason{definition of $\pcps{-}$}\\
&(\lambda ks.
\bl
(\lambda ks'.
\bl
(\lambda (k \cons h \cons ks'').h\,\Record{\Ask,\Record{\Unit,\lambda x.\lambda ks'''.k~x~(h \cons ks''')}}\,ks'')\\
(\cps{H_{\Other}^\mret} \cons \cps{H_{\Other}^\mops} \cons ks'))
\el\\
(\cps{H_{\Reader}^\mret} \cons H_{\Reader}^\mops \cons ks))\,ks_\top
\el\\
% \reducesto^\ast& \reason{apply continuation}\\
% & (\lambda (k \cons h \cons ks'').h\,\Record{\Ask,\Record{\Unit,\lambda x.\lambda ks'''.k~x~(h \cons ks''')}})(\cps{H_{\Other}^\mret} \cons \cps{H_{\Other}^\mops} \cons \cps{H_{\Reader}^\mret} \cons H_{\Reader}^\mops \cons ks_\top)\\
\reducesto^\ast & \reason{multiple applications of \usemlab{App}, activation of $H_\Other$}\\
& \cps{H_{\Other}^\mops}\,\Record{\Ask,\Record{\Unit,\lambda x.\lambda ks'''.\cps{H_{\Other}^\mret}~x~(\cps{H_{\Other}^\mops} \cons ks''')}}\,(\cps{H_{\Reader}^\mret} \cons H_{\Reader}^\mops \cons ks_\top)\\
\reducesto^\ast & \reason{effect forwarding to $H_\Reader$}\\
& \bl
H_{\Reader}^\mops\,\Record{\Ask,\Record{\Unit,\lambda x.\lambda ks''. r_\dec{admin}~x~(H_{\Reader}^\mret \cons H_{\Reader}^\mops \cons ks'')}}\,ks_\top\\
\where~r_\dec{admin} \defas \lambda x.\lambda
ks'''.\cps{H_{\Other}^\mret}~x~(\cps{H_{\Other}^\mops} \cons ks''')
\el\\
\reducesto^\ast & \reason{invocation of the administrative resumption} \\
& r_\dec{admin}~42~(H_{\Reader}^\mret \cons H_{\Reader}^\mops \cons ks_\top)\\
\reducesto^\ast & \reason{invocation of the resumption of the operation invocation site}\\
& \cps{H_{\Other}^\mret}~42~(\cps{H_{\Other}^\mops} \cons
H_{\Reader}^\mret \cons H_{\Reader}^\mops \cons ks_\top)
\end{derivation}
%
Effect forwarding introduces the administrative abstraction
$r_{\dec{admin}}$, whose sole purpose is to forward the interpretation
of the operation to the operation invocation site. In a certain sense
$r_{\dec{admin}}$ is a sort of identity frame. The insertion of
identities ought to always trigger the alarm bells as an identity
computation is typically extraneous.
%
The amount of identity frames being generated scales linearly with the
number of handlers the operation needs to pass through before reaching
a suitable handler.
We can avoid generating these administrative resumption redexes by
applying a variation of the technique that we used in the previous
section to uncurry the curried CPS translation.
%
Rather than representing resumptions as functions, we move to an
explicit representation of resumptions as \emph{reversed} stacks of
pure and effect continuations. By choosing to reverse the order of
pure and effect continuations, we can construct resumptions
efficiently using regular cons-lists. We augment the syntax and
semantics of $\UCalc$ with a computation term
$\Let\;r=\Res\,V\;\In\;N$ which allow us to convert these reversed
stacks to actual functions on demand.
%
\begin{reductions}
\usemlab{Res}
& \Let\;r=\Res\,(V_n \cons \dots \cons V_1 \cons \nil)\;\In\;N
& \reducesto
& N[\lambda x\,k.V_1\,x\,(V_2 \cons \dots \cons V_n \cons k)/r]
\end{reductions}
%
This reduction rule reverses the stack, extracts the top continuation
$V_1$, and prepends the remainder onto the current stack $W$. The
stack representing a resumption and the remaining stack $W$ are
reminiscent of the zipper data structure for representing cursors in
lists~\cite{Huet97}. Thus we may think of resumptions as representing
pointers into the stack of handlers.
%
The translations of $\Do$, handling, and forwarding need to be
modified to account for the change in representation of
resumptions.
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \UCompCat\\
\cps{\Do\;\ell\;V}
&\defas& \lambda k \cons h \cons ks.\,h\, \Record{\ell,\Record{\cps{V}, h \cons k \cons \nil}}\, ks
\medskip\\
%
\cps{-} &:& \HandlerCat \to \UCompCat\\
\cps{\{(\ell \; p \; r \mapsto N_\ell)_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}\}}
&\defas& \bl
\lambda \Record{z,\Record{p,rs}}.\lambda ks.\Case \;z\; \{
\bl
(\ell \mapsto \Let\;r=\Res\;rs \;\In\; \cps{N_{\ell}}\, ks)_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}};\,\\
y \mapsto \hforward((y,p,rs),ks) \} \\
\el \\
\el \\
\hforward((y,p,rs),ks)
&\defas&\Let\; (k' \cons h' \cons ks') = ks \;\In\; h'\,\Record{y,\Record{p,h' \cons k' \cons rs}} \,ks'
\end{equations}
%
The translation of $\Do$ constructs an initial resumption stack,
operation clauses extract and convert the current resumption stack
into a function using the $\Res$ construct, and $\hforward$ augments
the current resumption stack with the current continuation pair.
%
\subsection{Higher-order translation for deep effect handlers}
\label{sec:higher-order-uncurried-deep-handlers-cps}
%
\begin{figure}
%
\textbf{Values}
%
\begin{displaymath}
\begin{eqs}
\cps{-} &:& \ValCat \to \UValCat\\
\cps{x} &\defas& x \\
\cps{\lambda x.M} &\defas& \dlam x\,ks.\Let\;(k \dcons h \dcons ks') = ks \;\In\;\cps{M} \sapp (\reflect k \scons \reflect h \scons \reflect ks') \\
% \cps{\Rec\,g\,x.M} &\defas& \Rec\;f\,x\,ks.\cps{M} \sapp \reflect ks\\
\cps{\Lambda \alpha.M} &\defas& \dlam \Unit\,ks.\Let\;(k \dcons h \dcons ks') = ks \;\In\;\cps{M} \sapp (\reflect k \scons \reflect h \scons \reflect ks') \\
\cps{\Record{}} &\defas& \Record{} \\
\cps{\Record{\ell = V; W}} &\defas& \Record{\ell = \cps{V}; \cps{W}} \\
\cps{\ell~V} &\defas& \ell~\cps{V} \\
\end{eqs}
\end{displaymath}
%
\textbf{Computations}
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \SValCat^\ast \to \UCompCat\\
\cps{V\,W} &\defas& \slam \sks.\cps{V} \dapp \cps{W} \dapp \reify \sks \\
\cps{V\,T} &\defas& \slam \sks.\cps{V} \dapp \Record{} \dapp \reify \sks \\
\cps{\Let\; \Record{\ell=x;y} = V \; \In \; N} &\defas& \slam \sks.\Let\; \Record{\ell=x;y} = \cps{V} \; \In \; \cps{N} \sapp \sks \\
\cps{\Case~V~\{\ell~x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\}} &\defas&
\slam \sks.\Case~\cps{V}~\{\ell~x \mapsto \cps{M} \sapp \sks; y \mapsto \cps{N} \sapp \sks\} \\
\cps{\Absurd~V} &\defas& \slam \sks.\Absurd~\cps{V} \\
\cps{\Return~V} &\defas& \slam \sk \scons \sks.\reify \sk \dapp \cps{V} \dapp \reify \sks \\
\cps{\Let~x \revto M~\In~N} &\defas& \slam \sk \scons \sks.\cps{M} \sapp
(\reflect (\dlam x\,\dhk.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;(h \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\\
\cps{N} \sapp (\sk \scons \reflect h \scons \reflect \dhk')) \scons \sks)
\ea\\
\cps{\Do\;\ell\;V}
&\defas& \slam \sk \scons \sh \scons \sks.\reify \sh \dapp \Record{\ell,\Record{\cps{V}, \reify \sh \dcons \reify \sk \dcons \dnil}} \dapp \reify \sks\\
\cps{\Handle \; M \; \With \; H} &\defas& \slam \sks . \cps{M} \sapp (\reflect \cps{\hret} \scons \reflect \cps{\hops} \scons \sks)
%
\end{equations}
%
\textbf{Handler definitions}
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \HandlerCat \to \UValCat\\
\cps{\{\Return \; x \mapsto N\}} &\defas& \dlam x\, \dhk.
\ba[t]{@{~}l}
\Let\; (h \dcons \dk \dcons h' \dcons \dhk') = \dhk \;\In\\
\cps{N} \sapp (\reflect \dk \scons \reflect h' \scons \reflect \dhk')
\ea
\\
\cps{\{(\ell \; p \; r \mapsto N_\ell)_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}\}}
&\defas& \bl
\dlam \Record{z,\Record{p,\dhkr}}\,\dhk.\Case \;z\; \{
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}c@{~}l}
&(\ell \mapsto&
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;r=\Res\;\dhkr \;\In\\
\Let\;(\dk \dcons h \dcons \dhk') = \dhk \;\In\\
\cps{N_{\ell}} \sapp (\reflect \dk \scons \reflect h \scons \reflect \dhk'))_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}};
\ea\\
&y \mapsto& \hforward((y,p,\dhkr),\dhk) \} \\
\ea \\
\el \\
\hforward((y,p,\dhkr),\dhk)
&\defas&\Let\; (\dk' \dcons h' \dcons \dhk') = \dhk \;\In\; h' \dapp \Record{y,\Record{p,h' \dcons \dk' \dcons \dhkr}} \dapp \dhk'
\end{equations}
%
\textbf{Top level program}
%
\begin{equations}
\pcps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \UCompCat\\
\pcps{M} &=& \cps{M} \sapp (\reflect (\dlam x\,\dhk.x) \scons \reflect (\dlam z\,\dhk.\Absurd~z) \scons \snil) \\
\end{equations}
\caption{Higher-order uncurried CPS translation of $\HCalc$.}
\label{fig:cps-higher-order-uncurried}
\end{figure}
%
In the previous sections, we have seen step-wise refinements of the
initial curried CPS translation for deep effect handlers
(Section~\ref{sec:first-order-curried-cps}) to be properly
tail-recursive (Section~\ref{sec:first-order-uncurried-cps}) and to
avoid yielding unnecessary dynamic administrative redexes for
resumptions (Section~\ref{sec:first-order-explicit-resump}).
%
There is still one outstanding issue, namely, that the translation
yields static administrative redexes. In this section we will further
refine the CPS translation to eliminate all static administrative
redexes at translation time.
%
Specifically, the translation will be adapted to a higher-order
one-pass CPS translation~\citep{DanvyF90} that partially evaluates
administrative redexes at translation time.
%
Following \citet{DanvyN03}, I will use a two-level lambda calculus
notation to distinguish between \emph{static} lambda abstraction and
application in the meta language and \emph{dynamic} lambda abstraction
and application in the target language. To disambiguate syntax
constructors in the respective calculi I will mark static constructors
with a {\color{blue}$\overline{\text{blue overline}}$}, whilst dynamic
constructors are marked with a
{\color{red}$\underline{\text{red underline}}$}. The principal idea is
that redexes marked as static are reduced as part of the translation,
whereas those marked as dynamic are reduced at runtime. To facilitate
this notation I will write application explicitly using an infix
``at'' symbol ($@$) in both calculi.
\paragraph{Static terms}
%
As in the dynamic target language, continuations are represented as
alternating lists of pure continuation functions and effect
continuation functions. To ease notation I will make use of pattern
matching notation. The static meta language is generated by the
following productions.
%
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Static\text{ }patterns} &\sP \in \SPatCat &::=& \sks \mid \sk \scons \sP\\
\slab{Static\text{ }values} & \sV, \sW \in \SValCat &::=& \reflect V \mid \sV \scons \sW \mid \slam \sP. \sM\\
\slab{Static\text{ }computations} & \sM \in \SCompCat &::=& \sV \mid \sV \sapp \sW \mid \sV \dapp V \dapp W
\end{syntax}
%
The patterns comprise only static list deconstructing. We let $\sP$
range over static patterns.
%
The static values comprise reflected dynamic values, static lists, and
static lambda abstractions. We let $\sV, \sW$ range over meta language
values; by convention we shall use variables $\sk$ to denote
statically known pure continuations, $\sh$ to denote statically known
effect continuations, and $\sks$ to denote statically known
continuations.
%
I shall use $\sM$ to range over static computations, which comprise
static values, static application and binary dynamic application of a
static value to two dynamic values.
%
Static computations are subject to the following equational axioms.
%
\begin{equations}
(\slam \sks. \sM) \sapp \sV &\defas& \sM[\sV/\sks]\\
(\slam \sk \scons \sks. \sM) \sapp (\sV \scons \sW) &\defas& (\slam \sks. \sM[\sV/\sk]) \sapp \sW\\
\end{equations}
%
The first equation is static $\beta$-equivalence, it states that
applying a static lambda abstraction with binder $\sks$ and body $\sM$
to a static value $\sV$ is equal to substituting $\sV$ for $\sks$ in
$\sM$. The second equation provides a means for applying a static
lambda abstraction to a static list component-wise.
%
Reflected static values are reified as dynamic language values
$\reify \sV$ by induction on their structure.
%
\[
\ba{@{}l@{\qquad}c}
\reify \reflect V \defas V
&\reify (\sV \scons \sW) \defas \reify \sV \dcons \reify \sW
\ea
\]
%
\paragraph{Higher-order translation}
%
As we shall see this translation manipulates the continuation
intricate ways; and since we maintain the interpretation of the
continuation as an alternating list of pure continuation functions and
effect continuation functions it is useful to define the `parity' of a
continuation as follows:
%
a continuation is said to be \emph{odd} if the top element is an
effect continuation function, otherwise it is said to \emph{even}.
%
The complete CPS translation is given in
Figure~\ref{fig:cps-higher-order-uncurried}. In essence, it is the
same as the refined first-order uncurried CPS translation, although
the notation is slightly more involved due to the separation of static
and dynamic parts.
As before, the translation comprises three translation functions, one
for each syntactic category: values, computations, and handler
definitions. Amongst the three functions, the translation function for
computations stands out, because it is the only one that operates on
static continuations. Its type signature,
$\cps{-} : \CompCat \to \SValCat^\ast \to \UCompCat$, signifies that
it is a binary function, taking a $\HCalc$-computation term as its
first argument and a static continuation (a list of static values) as
its second argument, and ultimately produces a $\UCalc$-computation
term. Thus the computation translation function is able to manipulate
the continuation. In fact, the translation is said to be higher-order
because the continuation parameter is a higher-order: it is a list of
functions.
To ensure that static continuation manipulation is well-defined the
translation maintains the invariant that the statically known
continuation stack ($\sk$) always contains at least two continuation
functions, i.e. a complete continuation pair consisting of a pure
continuation function and an effect continuation function.
%
This invariant guarantees that all translations are uniform in whether
they appear statically within the scope of a handler or not, and this
also simplifies the correctness proof
(Theorem~\ref{thm:ho-simulation}).
%
Maintaining this invariant has a cosmetic effect on the presentation
of the translation. This effect manifests in any place where a
dynamically known continuation stack is passed in (as a continuation
parameter $\dhk$), as it must be deconstructed using a dynamic
language $\Let$ to expose the continuation structure and subsequently
reconstructed as a static value with reflected variable names.
The translation of $\lambda$-abstractions provides an example of this
deconstruction and reconstruction in action. The dynamic continuation
$\dhk$ is deconstructed to expose to the next pure continuation
function $\dk$ and effect continuation $h$, and the remainder of the
continuation $\dhk'$; these names are immediately reflected and put
back together to form a static continuation that is provided to the
translation of the body computation $M$.
The only translation rule that consumes a complete reflected
continuation pair is the translation of $\Do$. The effect continuation
function, $\sh$, is dynamically applied to an operation package and
the reified remainder of the continuation $\sks$. As usual, the
operation package contains the payload and the resumption, which is
represented as a reversed continuation slice.
%
The only other translation rules that manipulate the continuation are
$\Return$ and $\Let$, which only consume the pure continuation
function $\sk$. For example, the translation of $\Return$ is a dynamic
application of $\sk$ to the translation of the value $V$ and the
remainder of the continuation $\sks$.
%
The shape of $\sks$ is odd, meaning that the top element is an effect
continuation function. Thus the pure continuation $\sk$ has to account
for this odd shape. Fortunately, the possible instantiations of the
pure continuation are few. We can derive the all possible
instantiations systematically by using the operational semantics of
$\HCalc$. According to the operational semantics the continuation of a
$\Return$-computation is either the continuation of a
$\Let$-expression or a $\Return$-clause (a bare top-level
$\Return$-computation is handled by the $\pcps{-}$ translation).
%
The translations of $\Let$-expressions and $\Return$-clauses each
account for odd continuations. For example, the translation of $\Let$
consumes the current pure continuation function and generates a
replacement: a pure continuation function which expects an odd dynamic
continuation $\dhk$, which it deconstructs to expose the effect
continuation $h$ along with the current pure continuation function in
the translation of $N$. The modified continuation is passed to the
translation of $M$.
%
To provide a flavour of how this continuation manipulation functions
in practice, consider the following example term.
%
\begin{derivation}
&\pcps{\Let\;x \revto \Return\;V\;\In\;N}\\
=& \reason{definition of $\pcps{-}$}\\
&\ba[t]{@{}l}(\slam \sk \scons \sks.\cps{\Return\;V} \sapp
(\reflect(\dlam x\,ks.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;(h \dcons ks') = ks \;\In\\
\cps{N} \sapp (\sk \scons \reflect h \scons \reflect ks')) \scons \sks)
\ea\\
\sapp (\reflect (\dlam x\,ks.x) \scons \reflect (\dlam z\,ks.\Absurd~z) \scons \snil))
\ea\\
=& \reason{definition of $\cps{-}$}\\
&\ba[t]{@{}l}(\slam \sk \scons \sks.(\slam \sk \scons \sks. \reify \sk \dapp \cps{V} \dapp \reify \sks) \sapp
(\reflect(\dlam x\,ks.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;(h \dcons ks') = ks \;\In\\
\cps{N} \sapp (\sk \scons \reflect h \scons \reflect ks')) \scons \sks)
\ea\\
\sapp (\reflect (\dlam x\,ks.x) \scons \reflect (\dlam z\,ks.\Absurd~z) \scons \snil))
\ea\\
=& \reason{static $\beta$-reduction}\\
&(\slam \sk \scons \sks. \reify \sk \dapp \cps{V} \dapp \reify \sks)
\sapp
(\reflect(\dlam x\,\dhk.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;(h \dcons \dhk') = \dhk \;\In\\
\cps{N} \sapp
\ba[t]{@{}l}
(\reflect (\dlam x\,\dhk.x) \scons \reflect h \scons \reflect \dhk'))\\
~~\scons \reflect (\dlam z\,\dhk.\Absurd~z) \scons \snil))
\ea
\ea\\
=& \reason{static $\beta$-reduction}\\
&\ba[t]{@{}l@{~}l}
&(\dlam x\,\dhk.
\Let\;(h \dcons \dhk') = \dhk \;\In\;
\cps{N} \sapp
(\reflect (\dlam x\,\dhk.x) \scons \reflect h \scons \reflect \dhk'))\\
\dapp& \cps{V} \dapp ((\dlam z\,\dhk.\Absurd~z) \dcons \dnil)\\
\ea\\
\reducesto& \reason{\usemlab{App_2}}\\
&\Let\;(h \dcons \dhk') = (\dlam z\,\dhk.\Absurd~z) \dcons \dnil \;\In\;
\cps{N[V/x]} \sapp
(\reflect (\dlam x\,\dhk.x) \scons \reflect h \scons \reflect \dhk'))\\
\reducesto^+& \reason{dynamic pattern matching and substitution}\\
&\cps{N[V/x]} \sapp
(\reflect (\dlam x\,\dhk.x) \scons \reflect (\dlam z\,\dhk.\Absurd~z) \scons \reflect \dnil)
\end{derivation}
%
The translation of $\Return$ provides the generated dynamic pure
continuation function with the odd continuation
$((\dlam z\,ks.\Absurd~z) \dcons \dnil)$. After the \usemlab{App_2}
reduction, the pure continuation function deconstructs the odd
continuation in order to bind the current effect continuation function
to the name $h$, which would have been used during the translation of
$N$.
The translation of $\Handle$ applies the translation of $M$ to the
current continuation extended with the translation of the
$\Return$-clause, acting as a pure continuation function, and the
translation of operation-clauses, acting as an effect continuation
function.
%
The translation of a $\Return$-clause discards the effect continuation
$h$ and in addition exposes the next pure continuation $\dk$ and
effect continuation $h'$ which are reflected to form a static
continuation for the translation of $N$.
%
The translation of operation clauses unpacks the provided operation
package to perform a case-split on the operation label $z$. The branch
for $\ell$ deconstructs the continuation $\dhk$ in order to expose the
continuation structure. The forwarding branch also deconstructs the
continuation, but for a different purpose; it augments the resumption
$\dhkr$ with the next pure and effect continuation functions.
Let us revisit the example from
Section~\ref{sec:first-order-curried-cps} to see that the higher-order
translation eliminates the static redex at translation time.
%
\begin{equations}
\pcps{\Return\;\Record{}}
&=& (\slam \sk \scons \sks. \sk \dapp \Record{} \dapp \reify \sks) \sapp (\reflect (\dlam x\,\dhk.x) \scons \reflect (\dlam z\,\dhk.\Absurd\;z) \scons \snil)\\
&=& (\dlam x\,\dhk.x) \dapp \Record{} \dapp (\reflect (\dlam z\,\dhk.\Absurd\;z) \dcons \dnil)\\
&\reducesto& \Record{}
\end{equations}
%
In contrast with the previous translations, the reduction sequence in
the image of this translation contains only a single dynamic reduction
(disregarding the dynamic administrative reductions arising from
continuation construction and deconstruction); both
\eqref{eq:cps-admin-reduct-1} and \eqref{eq:cps-admin-reduct-2}
reductions have been eliminated as part of the translation.
The elimination of static redexes coincides with a refinements of the
target calculus. Unary application is no longer a necessary
primitive. Every unary application dealt with by the metalanguage,
i.e. all unary applications are static.
\paragraph{Implicit lazy continuation deconstruction}
%
An alternative to the explicit deconstruction of continuations is to
implicitly deconstruct continuations on demand when static pattern
matching fails. This was the approach taken by
\citet*{HillerstromLAS17}. On one hand this approach leads to a
slightly slicker presentation. On the other hand it complicates the
proof of correctness as one must account for static pattern matching
failure.
%
A practical argument in favour of the explicit eager continuation
deconstruction is that it is more accessible from an implementation
point of view. No implementation details are hidden away in side
conditions.
%
Furthermore, it is not clear that lazy deconstruction has any
advantage over eager deconstruction, as the translation must reify the
continuation when it transitions from computations to values and
reflect the continuation when it transitions from values to
computations, in which case static pattern matching would fail.
\subsubsection{Correctness}
\label{sec:higher-order-cps-deep-handlers-correctness}
We establish the correctness of the higher-order uncurried CPS
translation via a simulation result in the style of
Plotkin~\cite{Plotkin75} (Theorem~\ref{thm:ho-simulation}). However,
before we can state and prove this result, we first several auxiliary
lemmas describing how translated terms behave. First, the higher-order
CPS translation commutes with substitution.
%
\begin{lemma}[Substitution]\label{lem:ho-cps-subst}
%
The higher-order uncurried CPS translation commutes with
substitution in value terms
%
\[
\cps{W}[\cps{V}/x] = \cps{W[V/x]},
\]
%
and with substitution in computation terms
\[
(\cps{M} \sapp (\sk \scons \sh \scons \sks))[\cps{V}/x]
= \cps{M[V/x]} \sapp (\sk \scons \sh \scons \sks)[\cps{V}/x],
\]
%
and with substitution in handler definitions
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{\hret}[\cps{V}/x]
&=& \cps{\hret[V/x]},\\
\cps{\hops}[\cps{V}/x]
&=& \cps{\hops[V/x]}.
\end{equations}
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
By mutual induction on the structure of $W$, $M$, $\hret$, and
$\hops$.
\end{proof}
%
It follows as a corollary that top-level substitution is well-behaved.
%
\begin{corollary}[Top-level substitution]
\[
\pcps{M}[\cps{V}/x] = \pcps{M[V/x]}.
\]
\end{corollary}
%
\begin{proof}
Follows immediately by the definitions of $\pcps{-}$ and
Lemma~\ref{lem:ho-cps-subst}.
\end{proof}
%
In order to reason about the behaviour of the \semlab{Op} rule, which
is defined in terms of an evaluation context, we need to extend the
CPS translation to evaluation contexts.
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \EvalCat \to \SValCat\\
\cps{[~]} &\defas& \slam \sks.\sks \\
\cps{\Let\; x \revto \EC \;\In\; N} &\defas& \slam \sk \scons \sks.\cps{\EC} \sapp
(\reflect(\dlam x\,ks.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;(h \dcons ks') = ks\;\In\;\\
\cps{N} \sapp (\sk \scons \reflect h \scons \reflect ks')) \scons \sks)
\ea\\
\cps{\Handle\; \EC \;\With\; H} &\defas& \slam \sks. \cps{\EC} \sapp (\cps{\hret} \scons \cps{\hops} \scons \sks)
\end{equations}
%
The following lemma is the characteristic property of the CPS
translation on evaluation contexts.
%
It provides a means for decomposing an evaluation context, such that
we can focus on the computation contained within the evaluation
context.
%
\begin{lemma}[Decomposition]
\label{lem:decomposition}
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{\EC[M]} \sapp (\sV \scons \sW) &=& \cps{M} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sV \scons \sW)) \\
\end{equations}
%
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
By structural induction on the evaluation context $\EC$.
\end{proof}
%
Even though we have eliminated the static administrative redexes, we
still need to account for the dynamic administrative redexes that
arise from pattern matching against a reified continuation. To
properly account for these administrative redexes it is convenient to
treat list pattern matching as a primitive in $\UCalc$, therefore we
introduce a new reduction rule $\usemlab{SplitList}$ in $\UCalc$.
%
\begin{reductions}
\usemlab{SplitList} & \Let\; (k \dcons ks) = V \dcons W \;\In\; M &\reducesto& M[V/k, W/ks] \\
\end{reductions}
%
Note this rule is isomorphic to the \usemlab{Split} rule with lists
encoded as right nested pairs using unit to denote nil.
%
We write $\areducesto$ for the compatible closure of
\usemlab{SplitList}.
We also need to be able to reason about the computational content of
reflection after reification. By definition we have that
$\reify \reflect V = V$, the following lemma lets us reason about the
inverse composition.
%
\begin{lemma}[Reflect after reify]
\label{lem:reflect-after-reify}
%
Reflection after reification may give rise to dynamic administrative
reductions, i.e.
%
\[
\cps{M} \sapp (\sV_1 \scons \dots \sV_n \scons \reflect \reify \sW)
\areducesto^\ast \cps{M} \sapp (\sV_1 \scons \dots \sV_n \scons \sW)
\]
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the structure of $M$.
\end{proof}
%
We next observe that the CPS translation simulates forwarding.
%
\begin{lemma}[Forwarding]
\label{lem:forwarding}
If $\ell \notin dom(H_1)$ then
%
\[
\cps{\hops_1} \dapp \Record{\ell,\Record{U, V}} \dapp (V_2 \dcons \cps{\hops_2} \dcons W)
\reducesto^+
\cps{\hops_2} \dapp \Record{\ell,\Record{U, \cps{\hops_2} \dcons V_2 \dcons V}} \dapp W
\]
%
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
By direct calculation.
\end{proof}
%
Now we show that the translation simulates the \semlab{Op}
rule.
%
\begin{lemma}[Handling]
\label{lem:handle-op}
If $\ell \notin BL(\EC)$ and $\hell = \{\ell\,p\,r \mapsto N_\ell\}$ then
%
\[
\bl
\cps{\Do\;\ell\;V} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\reflect\cps{\hret} \scons \reflect\cps{\hops} \scons \sV)) \reducesto^+\areducesto^\ast \\
\quad
(\cps{N_\ell} \sapp \sV)[\cps{V}/p, (\lambda y\,ks.\cps{\Return\;y} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\reflect\cps{\hret} \scons \reflect\cps{\hops} \scons \reflect ks)))/]
\el
\]
%
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
Follows from Lemmas~\ref{lem:decomposition},
\ref{lem:reflect-after-reify}, and \ref{lem:forwarding}.
\end{proof}
%
Finally, we have the ingredients to state and prove the simulation
result. The following theorem shows that the only extra behaviour
exhibited by a translated term is the bureaucracy of deconstructing
the continuation stack.
%
\begin{theorem}[Simulation]
\label{thm:ho-simulation}
If $M \reducesto N$ then $\pcps{M} \reducesto^+ \areducesto^* \pcps{N}$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By case analysis on the reduction relation using Lemmas
\ref{lem:decomposition}--\ref{lem:handle-op}. The \semlab{Op} case
follows from Lemma~\ref{lem:handle-op}.
\end{proof}
%
% In common with most CPS translations, full abstraction does not
% hold. However, as our semantics is deterministic it is straightforward
% to show a backward simulation result.
% %
% \begin{corollary}[Backwards simulation]
% If $\pcps{M} \reducesto^+ \areducesto^* V$ then there exists $W$ such that
% $M \reducesto^* W$ and $\pcps{W} = V$.
% \end{corollary}
% %
% \begin{proof}
% TODO\dots
% \end{proof}
%
\section{Transforming shallow effect handlers}
\label{sec:cps-shallow}
In this section we will continue to build upon the higher-order
uncurried CPS translation
(Section~\ref{sec:higher-order-uncurried-deep-handlers-cps}) in order
to add support for shallow handlers. The dynamic nature of shallow
handlers pose an interesting challenge, because unlike deep resumption
capture, a shallow resumption capture discards the handler leaving
behind a dangling pure continuation. The dangling pure continuation
must be `adopted' by whichever handler the resumption invocation occur
under. This handler is determined dynamically by the context, meaning
the CPS translation must be able to modify continuation pairs.
In Section~\ref{sec:cps-shallow-flawed} I will discuss an attempt at a
`natural' extension of the higher-order uncurried CPS translation for
deep handlers, but for various reasons this extension is
flawed. However, the insights gained by attempting this extension
leads to yet another change of the continuation representation
(Section~\ref{sec:generalised-continuations}) resulting in the notion
of a \emph{generalised continuation}.
%
In Section~\ref{sec:cps-gen-conts} we will see how generalised
continuations provide a basis for implementing deep and shallow effect
handlers simultaneously, solving all of the problems encountered thus
far uniformly.
\subsection{A specious attempt}
\label{sec:cps-shallow-flawed}
%
Initially it is tempting to try to extend the interpretation of the
continuation representation in the higher-order uncurried CPS
translation for deep handlers to squeeze in shallow handlers. The main
obstacle one encounters is how to decouple a pure continuation from
its handler such that a it can later be picked up by another handler.
To fully uninstall a handler, we must uninstall both the pure
continuation function corresponding to its return clause and the
effect continuation function corresponding to its operation clauses.
%
In the current setup it is impossible to reliably uninstall the former
as due to the translation of $\Let$-expressions it may be embedded
arbitrarily deep within the current pure continuation and the
extensional representation of pure continuations means that we cannot
decompose them.
A quick fix to this problem is to treat pure continuation functions
arising from return clauses separately from pure continuation
functions arising from $\Let$-expressions.
%
Thus we can interpret the continuation as a sequence of triples
consisting of two pure continuation functions followed by an effect
continuation function, where the first pure continuation function
corresponds the continuation induced by some $\Let$-expression and the
second corresponds to the return clause of the current handler.
%
To distinguish between the two kinds of pure continuations, we shall
write $\svhret$ for statically known pure continuations arising from
return clauses, and $\vhret$ for dynamically known ones. Similarly, we
write $\svhops$ and $\vhops$, respectively, for statically and
dynamically, known effect continuations. With this notation in mind,
we may translate operation invocation and handler installation using
the new interpretation of the continuation representation as follows.
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \SValCat^\ast \to \UCompCat \smallskip\\
\cps{\Do\;\ell\;V} &\defas& \slam \sk \scons \svhret \scons \svhops \scons \sks.
\reify\svhops \ba[t]{@{}l}
\dapp \Record{\ell, \Record{\cps{V}, \reify\svhops \dcons \reify\svhret \dcons \reify\sk \dcons \dnil}}\\
\dapp \reify \sks
\ea\smallskip\\
\cps{\ShallowHandle \; M \; \With \; H} &\defas&
\slam \sks . \cps{M} \sapp (\reflect\kid \scons \reflect\cps{\hret} \scons \reflect\cps{\hops}^\dagger \scons \sks) \medskip\\
\kid &\defas& \dlam x\, \dhk.\Let\; (\vhret \dcons \dhk') = \dhk \;\In\; \vhret \dapp x \dapp \dhk'
\end{equations}
%
The only change to the translation of operation invocation is the
extra bureaucracy induced by the additional pure continuation.
%
The translation of handler installation is a little more interesting
as it must make up an initial pure continuation in order to maintain
the sequence of triples interpretation of the continuation
structure. As the initial pure continuation we use the administrative
function $\kid$, which amounts to a dynamic variation of the
translation rule for the trivial computation term $\Return$: it
invokes the next pure continuation with whatever value it was
provided.
%
Although, I will not demonstrate it here, the translation rules for
$\lambda$-abstractions, $\Lambda$-abstractions, and $\Let$-expressions
must also be adjusted accordingly to account for the extra
bureaucracy. The same is true for the translation of $\Return$-clause,
thus it is rather straightforward to adapt it to the new continuation
interpretation.
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \HandlerCat \to \UValCat\\
\cps{\{\Return \; x \mapsto N\}} &\defas& \dlam x\, \dhk.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\; (\_ \dcons \dk \dcons \vhret \dcons \vhops \dcons \dhk') = \dhk \;\In\\
\cps{N} \sapp (\reflect \dk \scons \reflect \vhret \scons \reflect \vhops \scons \reflect \dhk')
\ea
\end{equations}
%
As before, the translation ensures that the associated effect
continuation is discarded (the first element of the dynamic
continuation $ks$). In addition the next continuation triple is
extracted and reified as a static continuation triple.
%
The interesting rule is the translation of operation clauses.
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{\{(\ell \; p \; r \mapsto N_\ell)_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}\}}^\dagger
&\defas&
\bl
\dlam \Record{z,\Record{p,\dhkr}}\,\dhk.\\
\qquad\Case \;z\; \{
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}c@{~}l}
(&\ell &\mapsto
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;(\dk \dcons \vhret \dcons \vhops \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\\
\Let\;(\_ \dcons \_ \dcons \dhkr') = \dhkr \;\In\\
\Let\;r = \Res\,(\hid \dcons \rid \dcons \dhkr') \;\In \\
\cps{N_{\ell}} \sapp (\reflect\dk \scons \reflect\vhret \scons \reflect\vhops \scons \reflect \dhk'))_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}} \\
\ea \\
&y &\mapsto \hforward((y,p,\dhkr),\dhk) \} \\
\ea
\el \medskip\\
\hforward((y, p, \dhkr), \dhk) &\defas& \bl
\Let\; (\dk \dcons \vhret \dcons \vhops \dcons \dhk') = \dhk \;\In \\
\vhops \dapp \Record{y, \Record{p, \vhops \dcons \vhret \dcons \dk \dcons \dhkr}} \dapp \dhk' \\
\el \smallskip\\
\hid &\defas& \dlam\,\Record{z,\Record{p,\dhkr}}\,\dhk.\hforward((z,p,\dhkr),\dhk) \smallskip\\
\rid &\defas& \dlam x\, \dhk.\Let\; (\vhops \dcons \dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk \;\In\; \dk \dapp x \dapp \dhk'
% \pcps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \UCompCat\\
% \pcps{M} &\defas& \cps{M} \sapp (\reflect \kid \scons \reflect (\dlam x\,\dhk.x) \scons \reflect (\dlam z\,ks.\Absurd~z) \scons \snil) \\
\end{equations}
%
The main difference between this translation rule and the translation
rule for deep handler operation clauses is the realisation of
resumptions.
%
Recall that a resumption is represented as a reversed slice of a
continuation. Thus the deconstruction of the resumption $\dhkr$
effectively ensures that the current handler gets properly
uninstalled. However, it presents a new problem as the remainder
$\dhkr'$ is not a well-formed continuation slice, because the top
element is a pure continuation without a handler.
%
To rectify this problem, we can insert a dummy identity handler
composed from $\hid$ and $\rid$. The effect continuation $\hid$
forwards every operation, and the pure continuation $\rid$ is an
identity clause. Thus every operation and the return value will
effectively be handled by the next handler.
%
Unfortunately, insertion of such identity handlers lead to memory
leaks~\cite{Kiselyov12,HillerstromL18}.
%
% \dhil{Give the counting example}
%
The use of identity handlers is symptomatic for the need of a more
general notion of resumptions. During resumption invocation the
dangling pure continuation should be composed with the current pure
continuation which suggests the need for a shallow variation of the
resumption construction primitive $\Res$.
%
\[
\bl
\Let\; r = \Res^\dagger (\_ \dcons \_ \dcons \dk \dcons h_n^{\mathrm{ops}} \dcons h_n^{\mathrm{ret}} \dcons \dk_n \dcons \cdots \dcons h_1^{\mathrm{ops}} \dcons h_1^{\mathrm{ret}} \dcons \dk_1 \dcons \dnil)\;\In\;N \reducesto\\
\quad N[(\dlam x\,\dhk.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\; (\dk' \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\\
\dk_1 \dapp x \dapp (h_1^{\mathrm{ret}} \dcons h_1^{\mathrm{ops}} \cdots \dcons \dk_n \dcons h_n^{\mathrm{ret}} \dcons h_n^{\mathrm{ops}} \dcons (\dk' \circ \dk) \dcons \dhk'))/r]
\ea
\el
\]
%
where $\circ$ is defined to be function composition in continuation
passing style.
%
\[
g \circ f \defas \lambda x\,\dhk.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;(\dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\; \In\\
f \dapp x \dapp ((\lambda x\,\dhk. g \dapp x \dapp (\dk \dcons \dhk)) \dcons \dhk')
\ea
\]
%
The idea is that $\Res^\dagger$ uninstalls the appropriate handler and
composes the dangling pure continuation $\dk$ with the next
\emph{dynamically determined} pure continuation $\dk'$, and reverses
the remainder of the resumption and composes it with the modified
dynamic continuation ($(\dk' \circ \dk) \dcons ks'$).
%
While the underlying idea is correct, this particular realisation of
the idea is problematic as the use of function composition
reintroduces a variation of the dynamic administrative redexes that we
dealt with in Section~\ref{sec:first-order-explicit-resump}.
%
In order to avoid generating these administrative redexes we need a
more intensional continuation representation.
%
Another telltale sign that we require a more intensional continuation
representation is the necessary use of the administrative function
$\kid$ in the translation of $\Handle$ as a placeholder for the empty
pure continuation.
%
In terms of aesthetics, the non-uniform continuation deconstructions
also suggest that we could benefit from a more structured
interpretation of continuations.
%
Although it is seductive to program with lists, it quickly gets
unwieldy.
\subsection{Generalised continuations}
\label{sec:generalised-continuations}
One problem is that the continuation representation used by the
higher-order uncurried translation for deep handlers is too
extensional to support shallow handlers efficiently. Specifically, the
representation of pure continuations needs to be more intensional to
enable composition of pure continuations without having to materialise
administrative continuation functions.
%
Another problem is that the continuation representation integrates the
return clause into the pure continuations, but the semantics of
shallow handlers demands that this return clause is discarded when any
of the operations is invoked.
The solution to the first problem is to reuse the key idea of
Section~\ref{sec:first-order-explicit-resump} to avoid administrative
continuation functions by representing a pure continuation as an
explicit list consisting of pure continuation functions. As a result
the composition of pure continuation functions can be realised as a
simple cons-operation.
%
The solution to the second problem is to pair the continuation
functions corresponding to the $\Return$-clause and operation clauses
in order to distinguish the pure continuation function induced by a
$\Return$-clause from those induced by $\Let$-expressions.
%
Plugging these two solutions yields the notion of \emph{generalised
continuations}. A generalised continuation is a list of
\emph{continuation frames}. A continuation frame is a triple
$\Record{fs, \Record{\vhret, \vhops}}$, where $fs$ is list of stack
frames representing the pure continuation for the computation
occurring between the current execution and the handler, $\vhret$ is
the (translation of the) return clause of the enclosing handler, and
$\vhops$ is the (translation of the) operation clauses.
%
The change of representation of pure continuations does mean that we
can no longer invoke them by simple function application. Instead, we
must inspect the structure of the pure continuation $fs$ and act
appropriately. To ease notation it is convenient introduce a new
computation form for pure continuation application $\kapp\;V\;W$ that
feeds a value $W$ into the continuation represented by $V$. There are
two reduction rules.
%
\begin{reductions}
\usemlab{KAppNil}
& \kapp\;(\dRecord{\dnil, \dRecord{\vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhk)\,W
& \reducesto
& \vhret\,W\,\dhk
\\
\usemlab{KAppCons}
& \kapp\;(\dRecord{f \cons fs, h} \dcons \dhk)\,W
& \reducesto
& f\,W\,(\dRecord{fs, h} \dcons \dhk)
\end{reductions}
%
\dhil{Say something about skip frames?}
%
The first rule describes what happens when the pure continuation is
exhausted and the return clause of the enclosing handler is
invoked. The second rule describes the case when the pure continuation
has at least one element: this pure continuation function is invoked
and the remainder of the continuation is passed in as the new
continuation.
We must also change how resumptions (i.e. reversed continuations) are
converted into functions that can be applied. Resumptions for deep
handlers ($\Res\,V$) are similar to
Section~\ref{sec:first-order-explicit-resump}, except that we now use
$\kapp$ to invoke the continuation. Resumptions for shallow handlers
($\Res^\dagger\,V$) are more complex. Instead of taking all the frames
and reverse appending them to the current stack, we remove the current
handler $h$ and move the pure continuation
($f_1 \dcons \dots \dcons f_m \dcons \dnil$) into the next frame. This
captures the intended behaviour of shallow handlers: they are removed
from the stack once they have been invoked. The following two
reduction rules describe their behaviour.
%
\[
\ba{@{}l@{\quad}l}
\usemlab{Res}
& \Let\;r=\Res\,(V_n \dcons \dots \dcons V_1 \dcons \dnil)\;\In\;N
\reducesto N[\dlam x\, \dhk.\kapp\;(V_1 \dcons \dots V_n \dcons \dhk)\,x/r] \\
\usemlab{Res^\dagger}
& \Let\;r=\Res^\dagger\,(\dRecord{f_1 \dcons \dots \dcons f_m \dcons \nil, h} \dcons V_n \dcons \dots \dcons V_1 \dcons \dnil)\;\In\;N \reducesto \\
& \qquad N[\dlam x\,\dhk.\bl
\Let\,\dRecord{fs',h'} \dcons \dhk' = \dhk\;\In\;\\
\kapp\,(V_1 \dcons \dots \dcons V_n \dcons \dRecord{f_1 \dcons \dots \dcons f_m \dcons fs', h'} \dcons \dhk')\,x/r]
\el
\ea
\]
%
These constructs along with their reduction rules are
macro-expressible in terms of the existing constructs.
%
I choose here to treat them as primitives in order to keep the
presentation relatively concise.
Essentially, a generalised continuation amounts to a sort of
\emph{defunctionalised} continuation, where $\kapp$ acts as an
interpreter for the continuation
structure~\cite{Reynolds98a,DanvyN01}.
\subsection{Dynamic terms: the target calculus revisited}
\label{sec:target-calculus-revisited}
\begin{figure}[t]
\textbf{Syntax}
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Values} &V, W \in \UValCat &::= & x \mid \dlam x\,\dhk.M \mid \Rec\,g\,x\,\dhk.M \mid \ell \mid \dRecord{V, W}
\smallskip \\
\slab{Computations} &M,N \in \UCompCat &::= & V \mid U \dapp V \dapp W \mid \Let\; \dRecord{x, y} = V \; \In \; N \\
& &\mid& \Case\; V\, \{\ell \mapsto M; x \mapsto N\} \mid \Absurd\;V\\
& &\mid& \kapp\,V\,W \mid \Let\;r=\Res^\depth\;V\;\In\;M
\end{syntax}
\textbf{Syntactic sugar}
\begin{displaymath}
\bl
\begin{eqs}
\Let\; x = V \;\In\; N &\equiv& N[V/x] \\
\ell\;V &\equiv& \dRecord{\ell, V} \\
\end{eqs}
\qquad
\begin{eqs}
\Record{} &\equiv& \ell_{\Record{}} \\
\Record{\ell=V; W} &\equiv& \ell\;\dRecord{V, W} \\
\end{eqs}
\qquad
\begin{eqs}
\dnil &\equiv& \ell_{\dnil} \\
V \dcons W &\equiv& \ell_{\dcons}\;\dRecord{V, W} \\
\end{eqs}
\smallskip \\
\ba{@{}c@{\quad}c@{}}
\Case\;V\;\{\ell\,x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\} \equiv \\
\qquad \bl
\Let\; y=V \;\In\;
\Let\; \dRecord{z, x} = y \;\In \\
\Case\;z\;\{\ell \mapsto M; z \mapsto N\} \\
\el \\
\ea
\qquad
\ba{@{}l@{\quad}l@{}}
\Let\;\Record{\ell=x; y} = V \;\In\; N \equiv \\
\qquad \bl
\Let\; \dRecord{z, z'} = V \;\In\;
\Let\; \dRecord{x, y} = z' \;\In \\
\Case\; z \;\{\ell \mapsto N; z \mapsto \ell_{\bot}\} \\
\el \\
\ea \\
\el
\end{displaymath}
%
\textbf{Standard reductions}
%
\begin{reductions}
%% Standard reductions
\usemlab{App} & (\dlam x\,\dhk.M) \dapp V \dapp W &\reducesto& M[V/x, W/\dhk] \\
\usemlab{Rec} & (\Rec\,g\,x\,\dhk.M) \dapp V \dapp W &\reducesto& M[\Rec\,g\,x\,\dhk.M/g, V/x, W/\dhk] \smallskip\\
\usemlab{Split} & \Let \; \dRecord{x, y} = \dRecord{V, W} \; \In \; N &\reducesto& N[V/x, W/y] \\
\usemlab{Case_1} &
\Case \; \ell \,\{ \ell \; \mapsto M; x \mapsto N\} &\reducesto& M \\
\usemlab{Case_2} &
\Case \; \ell \,\{ \ell' \; \mapsto M; x \mapsto N\} &\reducesto& N[\ell/x], \hfill\quad \text{if } \ell \neq \ell' \smallskip\\
\end{reductions}
%
\textbf{Continuation reductions}
%
\begin{reductions}
\usemlab{KAppNil} &
\kapp \; (\dRecord{\dnil, \dRecord{v, e}} \dcons \dhk) \, V &\reducesto& v \dapp V \dapp \dhk \\
\usemlab{KAppCons} &
\kapp \; (\dRecord{\dlf \dcons \dlk, h} \dcons \dhk) \, V &\reducesto& \dlf \dapp V \dapp (\dRecord{\dlk, h} \dcons \dhk) \\
\end{reductions}
%
\textbf{Resumption reductions}
%
\[
\ba{@{}l@{\quad}l@{}}
\usemlab{Res} &
\Let\;r=\Res(V_n \dcons \dots \dcons V_1 \dcons \dnil)\;\In\;N \reducesto \\
&\quad N[\dlam x\,\dhk. \bl\Let\;\dRecord{fs, \dRecord{\vhret, \vhops}}\dcons \dhk' = \dhk\;\In\\
\kapp\;(V_1 \dcons \dots \dcons V_n \dcons \dRecord{fs, \dRecord{\vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhk')\;x/r]\el
\\
\usemlab{Res^\dagger} &
\Let\;r=\Res^\dagger(\dRecord{\dlf_1 \dcons \dots \dcons \dlf_m \dcons \dnil, h} \dcons V_n \dcons \dots \dcons V_1 \dcons \dnil)\;\In\;N \reducesto\\
& \quad N[\dlam x\,k. \bl
\Let\;\dRecord{\dlk', h'} \dcons \dhk' = \dhk \;\In \\
\kapp\;(V_1 \dcons \dots \dcons V_n \dcons \dRecord{\dlf_1 \dcons \dots \dcons \dlf_m \dcons \dlk', h'} \dcons \dhk')\;x/r] \\
\el
\ea
\]
%
\caption{Untyped target calculus supporting generalised continuations.}
\label{fig:cps-target-gen-conts}
\end{figure}
Let us revisit the target
calculus. Figure~\ref{fig:cps-target-gen-conts} depicts the untyped
target calculus with support for generalised continuations.
%
This is essentially the same as the target calculus used for the
higher-order uncurried CPS translation for deep effect handlers in
Section~\ref{sec:higher-order-uncurried-deep-handlers-cps}, except for
the addition of recursive functions. The calculus also includes the
$\kapp$ and $\Let\;r=\Res^\depth\;V\;\In\;N$ constructs described in
Section~\ref{sec:generalised-continuations}. There is a small
difference in the reduction rules for the resumption constructs: for
deep resumptions we do an additional pattern match on the current
continuation ($\dhk$). This is required to make the simulation proof
for the CPS translation with generalised continuations
(Section~\ref{sec:cps-gen-conts}) go through, because it makes the
functions that resumptions get converted to have the same shape as the
translation of source level functions -- this is required because the
operational semantics does not treat resumptions as distinct
first-class objects, but rather as a special kinds of functions.
\subsection{Translation with generalised continuations}
\label{sec:cps-gen-conts}
%
\begin{figure}
%
\textbf{Values}
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \ValCat \to \UValCat\\
\cps{x} &\defas& x\\
\cps{\lambda x.M} &\defas& \dlam x\,\dhk.\Let\;(\dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\;\cps{M} \sapp (\reflect\dk \scons \reflect \dhk') \\
\cps{\Lambda \alpha.M} &\defas& \dlam \Unit\,\dhk.\Let\;(\dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\;\cps{M} \sapp (\reflect\dk \scons \reflect \dhk') \\
\cps{\Rec\,g\,x.M} &\defas& \Rec\,g\,x\,\dhk.\Let\;(\dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\;\cps{M} \sapp (\reflect\dk \scons \reflect \dhk') \\
\multicolumn{3}{c}{
\cps{\Record{}} \defas \Record{}
\qquad
\cps{\Record{\ell = \!\!V; W}} \defas \Record{\ell = \!\cps{V}; \cps{W}}
\qquad
\cps{\ell\,V} \defas \ell\,\cps{V}
}
\end{equations}
%
\textbf{Computations}
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \SValCat^\ast \to \UCompCat\\
\cps{V\,W} &\defas& \slam \shk.\cps{V} \dapp \cps{W} \dapp \reify \shk \\
\cps{V\,T} &\defas& \slam \shk.\cps{V} \dapp \Record{} \dapp \reify \shk \\
\cps{\Let\; \Record{\ell=x;y} = V \; \In \; N} &\defas& \slam \shk.\Let\; \Record{\ell=x;y} = \cps{V} \; \In \; \cps{N} \sapp \shk \\
\cps{\Case~V~\{\ell~x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\}} &\defas&
\slam \shk.\Case~\cps{V}~\{\ell~x \mapsto \cps{M} \sapp \shk; y \mapsto \cps{N} \sapp \shk\} \\
\cps{\Absurd~V} &\defas& \slam \shk.\Absurd~\cps{V} \\
\end{equations}
\begin{equations}
\cps{\Return\,V} &\defas& \slam \shk.\kapp\;(\reify \shk)\;\cps{V} \\
\cps{\Let~x \revto M~\In~N} &\defas&
\bl\slam \sRecord{\shf, \sv} \scons \shk.
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\cps{M} \sapp (\sRecord{\bl\reflect((\dlam x\,\dhk.\bl\Let\;(\dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\\
\cps{N} \sapp (\reflect\dk \scons \reflect \dhk')) \el\\
\dcons \reify\shf), \sv} \scons \shk)\el
\ea
\el\\
\cps{\Do\;\ell\;V} &\defas&
\slam \sRecord{\shf, \sRecord{\svhret, \svhops}} \scons \shk.\,
\reify\svhops \bl\dapp \dRecord{\ell,\dRecord{\cps{V}, \dRecord{\reify \shf, \dRecord{\reify\svhret, \reify\svhops}} \dcons \dnil}}\\
\dapp \reify \shk\el \\
\cps{\Handle^\depth \, M \; \With \; H} &\defas&
\slam \shk . \cps{M} \sapp (\sRecord{\snil, \sRecord{\reflect \cps{\hret}, \reflect \cps{\hops}^\depth}} \scons \shk) \\
\end{equations}
%
\textbf{Handler definitions}
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \HandlerCat \to \UValCat\\
% \cps{H}^\depth &=& \sRecord{\reflect \cps{\hret}, \reflect \cps{\hops}^\depth}\\
\cps{\{\Return \; x \mapsto N\}} &\defas& \dlam x\,\dhk.\Let\;(\dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\;\cps{N} \sapp (\reflect\dk \scons \reflect \dhk') \\
\cps{\{(\ell \; p \; r \mapsto N_\ell)_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}\}}^\depth
&\defas&
\dlam \dRecord{z,\dRecord{p,\dhkr}}\,\dhk.
\Case \;z\; \{
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}c@{~}l}
(&\ell &\mapsto
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;r=\Res^\depth\,\dhkr\;\In\; \\
\Let\;(\dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\\
\cps{N_{\ell}} \sapp (\reflect\dk \scons \reflect \dhk'))_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}
\ea\\
&y &\mapsto \hforward((y, p, \dhkr), \dhk) \} \\
\ea \\
\hforward((y, p, \dhkr), \dhk) &\defas& \bl
\Let\; \dRecord{fs, \dRecord{\vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhk' = \dhk \;\In \\
\vhops \dapp \dRecord{y,\dRecord{p, \dRecord{fs, \dRecord{\vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhkr}} \dapp \dhk' \\
\el
\end{equations}
\textbf{Top-level program}
%
\begin{equations}
\pcps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \UCompCat\\
\pcps{M} &\defas& \cps{M} \sapp (\sRecord{\snil, \sRecord{\reflect \dlam x\,\dhk. x, \reflect \dlam \dRecord{z,\dRecord{p,\dhkr}}\,\dhk.\Absurd~z}} \scons \snil) \\
\end{equations}
%
\caption{Higher-order uncurried CPS translation for effect handlers.}
\label{fig:cps-higher-order-uncurried-simul}
\end{figure}
%
The CPS translation is given in
Figure~\ref{fig:cps-higher-order-uncurried-simul}. In essence, it is
the same as the CPS translation for deep effect handlers as described
in Section~\ref{sec:higher-order-uncurried-deep-handlers-cps}, though
it is adjusted to account for generalised continuation
representation. For notational convenience, we write $\chi$ to denote
a statically known effect continuation frame
$\sRecord{\svhret,\svhops}$.
%
The translation of $\Return$ invokes the continuation $\shk$ using the
continuation application primitive $\kapp$.
%
The translations of deep and shallow handlers differ only in their use
of the resumption construction primitive.
A major aesthetic improvement due to the generalised continuation
representation is that continuation construction and deconstruction
are now uniform: only a single continuation frame is inspected at a
time.
\subsubsection{Correctness}
\label{sec:cps-gen-cont-correctness}
%
The correctness of this CPS translation
(Theorem~\ref{thm:ho-simulation-gen-cont}) follows closely the
correctness result for the higher-order uncurried CPS translation for
deep handlers (Theorem~\ref{thm:ho-simulation}). Save for the
syntactic difference, the most notable difference is the extension of
the operation handling lemma (Lemma~\ref{lem:handle-op-gen-cont}) to
cover shallow handling in addition to deep handling. Each lemma is
stated in terms of static continuations, where the shape of the top
element is always known statically, i.e., it is of the form
$\sRecord{\sV_{fs}, \sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons
\sW$. Moreover, the static values $\sV_{fs}$, $\sV_{\mret}$, and
$\sV_{\mops}$ are all reflected dynamic terms (i.e., of the form
$\reflect V$). This fact is used implicitly in the proofs. For brevity
we write $\sV_f$ to denote a statically known continuation frame
$\sRecord{\sV_{fs}, \sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}}$.
%
\begin{lemma}[Substitution]\label{lem:subst-gen-cont}
%
The CPS translation commutes with substitution in value terms
%
\[
\cps{W}[\cps{V}/x] = \cps{W[V/x]},
\]
%
and with substitution in computation terms
\[
\ba{@{}l@{~}l}
% &(\cps{M} \sapp (\sRecord{\sV_{fs},\sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons \sW))[\cps{V}/x]\\
% = &\cps{M[V/x]} \sapp (\sRecord{\sV_{fs},\sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons\sW)[\cps{V}/x],
&(\cps{M} \sapp (\sV_f \scons \sW))[\cps{V}/x]\\
= &\cps{M[V/x]} \sapp (\sV_f \scons \sW)[\cps{V}/x],
\ea
\]
%
and with substitution in handler definitions
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{\hret}[\cps{V}/x]
&=& \cps{\hret[V/x]},\\
\cps{\hops}[\cps{V}/x]
&=& \cps{\hops[V/x]}.
\end{equations}
\end{lemma}
%
In order to reason about the behaviour of the \semlab{Op} and
\semlab{Op^\dagger} rules, which are defined in terms of evaluation
contexts, we extend the CPS translation to evaluation contexts, using
the same translations as for the corresponding constructs in $\SCalc$.
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{[~]}
&=& \slam \shk. \shk \\
\cps{\Let\; x \revto \EC \;\In\; N}
&=&
\begin{array}[t]{@{}l}
\slam \sRecord{\shf, \sv} \scons \shk.\\
\quad \cps{\EC} \sapp (\bl\sRecord{\reflect((\dlam x\,\dhk.\bl\Let\;\dRecord{fs,\dRecord{\vhret,\vhops}}\dcons \dhk'=\dhk\;\In\\
\cps{N} \sapp (\sRecord{\reflect fs, \sRecord{\reflect \vhret, \reflect \vhops}} \scons \reflect \dhk')) \dcons \reify\shf),\el\\
\sv} \scons \shk)\el
\end{array}
\\
\cps{\Handle^\depth\; \EC \;\With\; H}
&=& \slam \shk.\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sRecord{[], \cps{H}^\depth} \scons \shk)
\end{equations}
%
The following lemma is the characteristic property of the CPS
translation on evaluation contexts.
%
This allows us to focus on the computation within an evaluation
context.
%
\begin{lemma}[Evaluation context decomposition]
\label{lem:decomposition-gen-cont}
\[
% \cps{\EC[M]} \sapp (\sRecord{\sV_{fs}, \sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons \sW)
% =
% \cps{M} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sRecord{\sV_{fs}, \sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons \sW))
\cps{\EC[M]} \sapp (\sV_f \scons \sW)
=
\cps{M} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sV_f \scons \sW))
\]
\end{lemma}
%
By definition, reifying a reflected dynamic value is the identity
($\reify \reflect V = V$), but we also need to reason about the
inverse composition. As a result of the invariant that the translation
always has static access to the top of the handler stack, the
translated terms are insensitive to whether the remainder of the stack
is statically known or is a reflected version of a reified stack. This
is captured by the following lemma. The proof is by induction on the
structure of $M$ (after generalising the statement to stacks of
arbitrary depth), and relies on the observation that translated terms
either access the top of the handler stack, or reify the stack to use
dynamically, whereupon the distinction between reflected and reified
becomes void. Again, this lemma holds when the top of the static
continuation is known.
%
\begin{lemma}[Reflect after reify]
\label{lem:reflect-after-reify-gen-cont}
%
\[
% \cps{M} \sapp (\sRecord{\sV_{fs}, \sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons \reflect \reify \sW)
% =
% \cps{M} \sapp (\sRecord{\sV_{fs}, \sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons \sW).
\cps{M} \sapp (\sV_f \scons \reflect \reify \sW)
=
\cps{M} \sapp (\sV_f \scons \sW).
\]
\end{lemma}
The next lemma states that the CPS translation correctly simulates
forwarding. The proof is by inspection of how the translation of
operation clauses treats non-handled operations.
%
\begin{lemma}[Forwarding]\label{lem:forwarding-gen-cont}
If $\ell \notin dom(H_1)$ then:
%
\[
\bl
\cps{\hops_1}^\delta \dapp \dRecord{\ell, \dRecord{V_p, V_{\dhkr}}} \dapp (\dRecord{V_{fs}, \cps{H_2}^\delta} \dcons W)
\reducesto^+ \qquad \\
\hfill
\cps{\hops_2}^\delta \dapp \dRecord{\ell, \dRecord{V_p, \dRecord{V_{fs}, \cps{H_2}^\delta} \dcons V_{\dhkr}}} \dapp W. \\
\el
\]
%
\end{lemma}
The following lemma is central to our simulation theorem. It
characterises the sense in which the translation respects the handling
of operations. Note how the values substituted for the resumption
variable $r$ in both cases are in the image of the translation of
$\lambda$-terms in the CPS translation. This is thanks to the precise
way that the reductions rules for resumption construction works in our
dynamic language, as described above.
%
\begin{lemma}[Handling]\label{lem:handle-op-gen-cont}
Suppose $\ell \notin BL(\EC)$ and $\hell = \{\ell\,p\,r \mapsto N_\ell\}$. If $H$ is deep then
%
% \[
% \bl
% \cps{\Do\;\ell\;V} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sRecord{\snil, \cps{H}} \scons \sRecord{\sV_{fs},\sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons \sW)) \reducesto^+ \\
% \quad (\cps{N_\ell} \sapp \sRecord{\sV_{fs},\sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons \sW)\\
% \qquad \quad [\cps{V}/p,
% \dlam x\,\dhk.\bl
% \Let\;\dRecord{fs, \dRecord{\vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhk' = \dhk\;\In\;\\
% \cps{\Return\;x} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sRecord{\snil, \cps{H}} \scons \sRecord{\reflect \dlk, \sRecord{\reflect \vhret, \reflect \vhops}} \scons \reflect\dhk'))/r]. \\
% \el\\
% \el
% \]
\[
\bl
\cps{\Do\;\ell\;V} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sRecord{\snil, \cps{H}} \scons \sV_f \scons \sW)) \reducesto^+ \\
\quad (\cps{N_\ell} \sapp (\sV_f \scons \sW))
[\cps{V}/p,
\dlam x\,\dhk.\bl
\Let\;\dRecord{fs, \dRecord{\vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhk' = \dhk\;\In\;
\cps{\Return\;x}\\
\sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sRecord{\snil, \cps{H}} \scons \sRecord{\reflect \dlk, \sRecord{\reflect \vhret, \reflect \vhops}} \scons \reflect\dhk'))/r]. \\
\el\\
\el
\]
%
Otherwise if $H$ is shallow then
%
% \[
% \bl
% \cps{\Do\;\ell\;V} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sRecord{\snil, \cps{H}^\dagger} \scons \sRecord{\sV_{fs},\sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons \sW)) \reducesto^+ \\
% \quad (\cps{N_\ell} \sapp \sRecord{\sV_{fs},\sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons \sW)\\
% \qquad [\cps{V}/p, \dlam x\,\dhk. \bl
% \Let\;\dRecord{\dlk, \dRecord{\vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhk' = \dhk \;\In \\
% \cps{\Return\;x} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sRecord{\reflect \dlk, \sRecord{\reflect \vhret, \reflect \vhops}} \scons \reflect\dhk'))/r]. \\
% \el \\
% \el
% \]
\[
\bl
\cps{\Do\;\ell\;V} \sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sRecord{\snil, \cps{H}^\dagger} \scons \sV_f \scons \sW)) \reducesto^+ \\
\quad (\cps{N_\ell} \sapp (\sV_f \scons \sW))
[\cps{V}/p, \dlam x\,\dhk. \bl
\Let\;\dRecord{\dlk, \dRecord{\vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhk' = \dhk \;\In\;\cps{\Return\;x}\\
\sapp (\cps{\EC} \sapp (\sRecord{\reflect \dlk, \sRecord{\reflect \vhret, \reflect \vhops}} \scons \reflect\dhk'))/r]. \\
\el \\
\el
\]
%
\end{lemma}
\medskip
With the aid of the above lemmas we can state and prove the main
result for the translation: a simulation result in the style of
\citet{Plotkin75}.
%
\begin{theorem}[Simulation]
\label{thm:ho-simulation-gen-cont}
If $M \reducesto N$ then
\[
\cps{M} \sapp (\sRecord{\sV_{fs}, \sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}}
\scons \sW) \reducesto^+ \cps{N} \sapp (\sRecord{\sV_{fs},
\sRecord{\sV_{\mret},\sV_{\mops}}} \scons \sW).
\]
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
The proof is by case analysis on the reduction relation using Lemmas
\ref{lem:decomposition-gen-cont}--\ref{lem:handle-op-gen-cont}. In
particular, the \semlab{Op} and \semlab{Op^\dagger} cases follow
from Lemma~\ref{lem:handle-op-gen-cont}.
\end{proof}
In common with most CPS translations, full abstraction does not hold
(a function could count the number of handlers it is invoked within by
examining the continuation, for example). However, as the semantics is
deterministic it is straightforward to show a backward simulation
result.
%
\begin{lemma}[Backwards simulation]
If $\pcps{M} \reducesto^+ V$ then there exists $W$
such that $M \reducesto^\ast W$ and $\pcps{W} = V$.
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{corollary}
$M \reducesto^\ast V$ if and only if $\pcps{M} \reducesto^\ast \pcps{V}$.
\end{corollary}
\section{Transforming parameterised handlers}
\label{sec:cps-param}
%
\begin{figure}
% \textbf{Continuation reductions}
% %
% \begin{reductions}
% \usemlab{KAppNil} &
% \kapp \; (\dRecord{\dnil, \dRecord{q, v, e}} \dcons \dhk) \, V &\reducesto& v \dapp \dRecord{q,V} \dapp \dhk \\
% \usemlab{KAppCons} &
% \kapp \; (\dRecord{\dlf \dcons \dlk, h} \dcons \dhk) \, V &\reducesto& \dlf \dapp V \dapp (\dRecord{\dlk, h} \dcons \dhk) \\
% \end{reductions}
% %
% \textbf{Resumption reductions}
% %
% \[
% \ba{@{}l@{\quad}l@{}}
% \usemlab{Res}^\ddag &
% \Let\;r=\Res(V_n \dcons \dots \dcons V_1 \dcons \dnil)\;\In\;N \reducesto \\
% &\quad N[\dlam x\,\dhk. \bl\Let\;\dRecord{fs, \dRecord{q,\vhret, \vhops}}\dcons \dhk' = \dhk\;\In\\
% \kapp\;(V_1 \dcons \dots \dcons V_n \dcons \dRecord{fs, \dRecord{q,\vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhk')\;x/r]\el
% \\
% \ea
% \]
%
\textbf{Computations}
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \CompCat \to \SValCat^\ast \to \UCompCat\\
% \cps{\Let~x \revto M~\In~N} &\defas&
% \bl\slam \sRecord{\shf, \sRecord{\xi, \svhret, \svhops}} \scons \shk.
% \ba[t]{@{}l}
% \cps{M} \sapp (\sRecord{\bl\reflect((\dlam x\,\dhk.\bl\Let\;(\dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\\
% \cps{N} \sapp (\reflect\dk \scons \reflect \dhk')) \el\\
% \dcons \reify\shf), \sRecord{\xi, \svhret, \svhops}} \scons \shk)\el
% \ea
% \el\\
\cps{\Do\;\ell\;V} &\defas&
\slam \sRecord{\shf, \sRecord{\xi, \svhret, \svhops}} \scons \shk.\,
\reify\svhops \bl\dapp \dRecord{\reify\xi, \ell,
\dRecord{\bl
\cps{V}, \dRecord{\reify \shf, \dRecord{\reify\xi,\reify\svhret, \reify\svhops}}\\
\dcons \dnil}}
\dapp \reify \shk\el\el \\
\end{equations}
\begin{equations}
\cps{\ParamHandle \, M \; \With \; (q.H)(W)} &\defas&
\slam \shk . \cps{M} \sapp (\sRecord{\snil, \sRecord{\reflect\cps{W},\reflect \cps{\hret}^{\ddag}_q, \reflect \cps{\hops}^{\ddag}_q}} \scons \shk) \\
\end{equations}
\textbf{Handler definitions}
%
\begin{equations}
\cps{-} &:& \HandlerCat \times \UValCat \to \UValCat\\
% \cps{H}^\depth &=& \sRecord{\reflect \cps{\hret}, \reflect \cps{\hops}^\depth}\\
\cps{\{\Return \; x \mapsto N\}}^{\ddag}_q &\defas& \dlam \dRecord{q,x}\,\dhk.\Let\;(\dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\;\cps{N} \sapp (\reflect\dk \scons \reflect \dhk') \\
\cps{\{(\ell \; p \; r \mapsto N_\ell)_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}\}}^{\ddag}_q
&\defas&
\dlam \dRecord{q,z,\dRecord{p,\dhkr}}\,\dhk.
\Case \;z\; \{
\ba[t]{@{}l@{}c@{~}l}
(&\ell &\mapsto
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;r=\Res^\ddag\,\dhkr\;\In\; \\
\Let\;(\dk \dcons \dhk') = \dhk\;\In\\
\cps{N_{\ell}} \sapp (\reflect\dk \scons \reflect \dhk'))_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}
\ea\\
&y &\mapsto \hforward((y, p, \dhkr), \dhk) \} \\
\ea \\
\hforward((y, p, \dhkr), \dhk) &\defas& \bl
\Let\; \dRecord{fs, \dRecord{q, \vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhk' = \dhk \;\In \\
\vhops \dapp \dRecord{q, y,\dRecord{p, \dRecord{fs, \dRecord{q,\vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhkr}} \dapp \dhk' \\
\el
\end{equations}
\textbf{Top-level program}
\begin{equations}
\pcps{M} &=& \cps{M} \sapp (\sRecord{\dnil, \sRecord{\reflect\dRecord{},\reflect \dlam \dRecord{q,x}\,\dhk. x, \reflect \dlam \dRecord{q,z}\,\dhk.\Absurd~z}} \scons \snil) \\
\end{equations}
\caption{CPS translation for parameterised handlers.}
\label{fig:param-cps}
\end{figure}
Generalised continuations provide a versatile implementation strategy
for effect handlers as exemplified in the previous section. In this
section we add further emphasis on the versatility of generalised
continuations by demonstrating how to adapt the continuation structure
to accommodate parameterised handlers. In order to support
parameterised handlers, each effect continuation must store the
current value of the handler parameter. Thus, an effect continuation
becomes a triple consisting of the parameter, return clause, and
operation clause(s). Furthermore, the return clause gets transformed
into a binary function, that takes the current value of the handler
parameter as its first argument and the return value of the handled
computation as its second argument. Similarly, the operation clauses
are transformed into a binary function, that takes the handler
parameter first and the operation package second. This strategy
effectively amounts to explicit state passing as the parameter value
gets threaded through every handler continuation
function. Operationally, the pure continuation invocation rule
$\usemlab{KAppNil}$ requires a small adjustment to account for the
handler parameter.
%
\[
\kapp \; (\dRecord{\dnil, \dRecord{q, \vhret, \vhops}} \dcons \dhk) \, V \reducesto \vhret \dapp \Record{q,V} \dapp \dhk
\]
%
The pure continuation $v$ is now applied to a pair consisting of the
current value of the handler parameter $q$ and the return value
$V$. Similarly, the resumption rule $\usemlab{Res}$ must also be
adapted to update the value of the handler parameter.
%
\[
\bl
\Let\;r=\Res^\ddag\,(\dRecord{q,\vhret,\vhops} \dcons \dots \dcons V_1 \dcons \dnil)\;\In\;N\reducesto\\
\qquad N[\dlam \dRecord{q',x}\,\dhk.\kapp\;(V_1 \dcons \dots \dcons \dRecord{q',\vhret,\vhops} \dcons \dhk)\;x/r]
\el
\]
%
The rule is not much different from the original $\usemlab{Res}$
rule. The difference is that this rule unpacks the current handler
parameter $q$ along with the return clause, $\vhret$, and operation
clauses, $\vhops$. The reduction constructs a resumption function,
whose first parameter $q'$ binds the updated value of the handler
parameter. The $q'$ is packaged with the original $\vhret$ and
$\vhops$ such that the next activation of the handler gets the
parameter value $q'$ rather than $q$.
The CPS translation is updated accordingly to account for the triple
effect continuation structure. This involves updating the cases that
scrutinise the effect continuation structure as it now includes the
additional state value. The cases that need to be updated are shown in
Figure~\ref{fig:param-cps}. We write $\xi$ to denote static handler
parameters.
%
% The translation of $\Let$ unpacks and repacks the effect continuation
% to maintain the continuation length invariant.
The translation of $\Do$ invokes the effect continuation
$\reify \svhops$ with a triple consisting of the value of the handler
parameter, the operation, and the operation payload. The parameter is
also pushed onto the reversed resumption stack. This is necessary to
account for the case where the effect continuation $\reify \svhops$
does not handle operation $\ell$.
% An alternative option is to push the parameter back
% on the resumption stack during effect forwarding. However that means
% the resumption stack will be nonuniform as the top element sometimes
% will be a pair.
%
The translation of the return and operation clauses are parameterised
by the name of the binder for the handler parameter. Each translation
yields functions that take a pair as input in addition to the current
continuation. The forwarding case is adjusted in the same way as the
translation for $\Do$. The current continuation $k$ is deconstructed
in order to identify the next effect continuation $\vhops$ and its
parameter $q$. Then $\vhops$ is invoked with the updated resumption
stack and the value of its parameter $q$.
%
The top-level translation adds a `dummy' unit value, which is ignored
by both the pure continuation and effect continuation.% The amended
% CPS translation for parameterised handlers is not a zero cost
% translation for shallow and ordinary deep handlers as they will have
% to thread a ``dummy'' parameter value through.
We can avoid the use of such values entirely if the target language
had proper sums to tag effect continuation frames
accordingly. Obviously, this entails performing a case analysis every
time an effect continuation frame is deconstructed.
\section{Related work}
\label{sec:cps-related-work}
\paragraph{CPS transforms for effect handlers}
%
The one-pass higher-order CPS translation for deep, shallow, and
parameterised handlers draws on insights from the literature on CPS
translations for delimited control operators such as shift and
reset~\citep{DanvyF90,DanvyF92,DanvyN03,MaterzokB12}.
%
% \citet{DybvigJS07} develop a lean monadic framework for implementing
% multi-prompt delimited continuations.
% \paragraph{CPS translations for handlers}
%
Other CPS translations for handlers use a monadic approach. For
example, \citet{Leijen17} implements deep and parameterised handlers
in Koka~\citep{Leijen14} by translating them into a free monad
primitive in the runtime. \citeauthor{Leijen17} uses a selective CPS
translation to lift code into the monad. The selective aspect is
important in practice to avoid overhead in code that does not use
effect handlers.
%
Scala Effekt~\citep{BrachthauserS17,BrachthauserSO20} provides an
implementation of effect handlers as a library for the Scala
programming language. The implementation is based closely on the
monadic delimited control framework of \citet{DybvigJS07}.
%
A variation of the Scala Effekt library is used to implement effect
handlers as an interface for programming with delimited continuations
in Java~\citep{BrachthauserSO18}. The implementation of delimited
continuations depend on special byte code instructions, inserted via a
selective type-driven CPS translation.
The Effekt language (which is distinct from the Effekt library)
implements handlers by a translation into capability-passing style,
which may more informatively be dubbed \emph{handler-passing style} as
handlers are passed downwards to the invocation sites of their
respective operations~\cite{SchusterBO20,BrachthauserSO20b}. The
translation into capability-passing style is realised by way of a
effect-type directed iterated CPS transform, which introduces a
continuation argument per handler in scope~\cite{SchusterBO20}. The
idea of iterated CPS is due to \citet{DanvyF90}, who used it to give
develop a CPS transform for shift and reset.
%
\citet{XieBHSL20} have devised an \emph{evidence-passing translation}
for deep effect handlers. The basic idea is similar to
capability-passing style as evidence for handlers are passed downwards
to their operations in shape of a vector containing the handlers in
scope through computations. \citet{XieL20} have realised handlers by
evidence-passing style as a Haskell library.
There are clear connections between the CPS translations presented in
this chapter and the continuation monad implementation of
\citet{KammarLO13}. Whereas \citeauthor{KammarLO13} present a
practical Haskell implementation depending on sophisticated features
such as type classes, which to some degree obscures the essential
structure, here we have focused on a foundational formal treatment.
%
\citeauthor{KammarLO13} obtain impressive performance results by
taking advantage of the second class nature of type classes in Haskell
coupled with the aggressive fusion optimisations GHC
performs~\citep{WuS15}.
\paragraph{Plotkin's colon translation}
%
The original method for proving the correctness of a CPS
translation is by way of a simulation result. Simulation states that
every reduction sequence in a given source program is mimicked by its
CPS transformation.
%
Static administrative redexes in the image of a CPS translation
provide hurdles for proving simulation, since these redexes do not
arise in the source program.
%
\citet{Plotkin75} uses the so-called \emph{colon translation} to
overcome static administrative reductions.
%
Informally, it is defined such that given some source term $M$ and
some continuation $k$, then the term $M : k$ is the result of
performing all static administrative reductions on $\cps{M}\,k$, that
is to say $\cps{M}\,k \areducesto^* M : k$.
%
Thus this translation makes it possible to bypass administrative
reductions and instead focus on the reductions inherited from the
source program.
%
The colon translation captures precisely the intuition that drives CPS
transforms, namely, that if in the source $M \reducesto^\ast \Return\;V$
then in the image $\cps{M}\,k \reducesto^\ast k\,\cps{V}$.
%\dhil{Check whether the first pass marks administrative redexes}
% CPS The colon translation captures the
% intuition tThe colon translation is itself a CPS translation which
% yields
% In his seminal work, \citet{Plotkin75} devises CPS translations for
% call-by-value lambda calculus into call-by-name lambda calculus and
% vice versa. \citeauthor{Plotkin75} establishes the correctness of his
% translations by way of simulations, which is to say that every
% reduction sequence in a given source program is mimicked by the
% transformed program.
% %
% His translations generate static administrative redexes, and as argued
% previously in this chapter from a practical view point this is an
% undesirable property in practice. However, it is also an undesirable
% property from a theoretical view point as the presence of
% administrative redexes interferes with the simulation proofs.
% To handle the static administrative redexes, \citeauthor{Plotkin75}
% introduced the so-called \emph{colon translation} to bypass static
% administrative reductions, thus providing a means for focusing on
% reductions induced by abstractions inherited from the source program.
% %
% The colon translation is itself a CPS translation, that given a source
% expression, $e$, and some continuation, $K$, produces a CPS term such
% that $\cps{e}K \reducesto e : K$.
% \citet{DanvyN03} used this insight to devise a one-pass CPS
% translation that contracts all administrative redexes at translation
% time.
% \paragraph{Partial evaluation}
\paragraph{ANF vs CPS}
\paragraph{Selective CPS transforms}
\citet{Nielsen01} \citet{DanvyH92} \citet{DanvyH93} \citet{Leijen17}
\chapter{Abstract machine semantics}
\label{ch:abstract-machine}
%\dhil{The text is this chapter needs to be reworked}
In this chapter we will demonstrate an application of generalised
continuations (Section~\ref{sec:generalised-continuations}) to
\emph{abstract machines}. An abstract machine is a model of
computation that makes program control more apparent than standard
reduction semantics. Abstract machines come in different styles and
flavours, though, a common trait is that they closely model how an
actual computer might go about executing a program, meaning they
embody some high-level abstract models of main memory and the
instruction fetch-execute cycle of processors~\cite{BryantO03}.
\paragraph{Relation to prior work} The work in this chapter is based
on work in the following previously published papers.
%
\begin{enumerate}[i]
\item \bibentry{HillerstromL16} \label{en:ch-am-HL16}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromL18} \label{en:ch-am-HL18}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromLA20} \label{en:ch-am-HLA20}
\end{enumerate}
%
The particular presentation in this chapter follows closely that of
item~\ref{en:ch-am-HLA20}.
% In this chapter we develop an abstract machine that supports deep and
% shallow handlers \emph{simultaneously}, using the generalised
% continuation structure we identified in the previous section for the
% CPS translation. We also build upon prior work~\citep{HillerstromL16}
% that developed an abstract machine for deep handlers by generalising
% the continuation structure of a CEK machine (Control, Environment,
% Kontinuation)~\citep{FelleisenF86}.
%
% \citet{HillerstromL16} sketched an adaptation for shallow handlers. It
% turns out that this adaptation had a subtle flaw, similar to the flaw
% in the sketched implementation of a CPS translation for shallow
% handlers given by \citet{HillerstromLAS17}. We fix the flaw here with
% a full development of shallow handlers along with a statement of the
% correctness property.
\section{Machine configurations}
\label{sec:machine-configurations}
The abstract machine syntax is given in
Figure~\ref{fig:abstract-machine-syntax}.
% A machine continuation is a list of handler frames. A handler frame is
% a pair of a \emph{handler closure} (handler definition) and a
% \emph{pure continuation} (a sequence of let bindings), analogous to
% the structured frames used in the CPS translation in
% \Sec\ref{sec:higher-order-uncurried-cps}.
% %
% Handling an operation amounts to searching through the continuation
% for a matching handler.
% %
% The resumption is constructed during the search by reifying each
% handler frame. As in the CPS translation, the resumption is assembled
% in one of two ways depending on whether the matching handler is deep
% or shallow.
% %
% For a deep handler, the current handler closure is included, and a deep
% resumption is a reified continuation.
% %
% An invocation of a deep resumption amounts to concatenating it with
% the current machine continuation.
% %
% For a shallow handler, the current handler closure must be discarded
% leaving behind a dangling pure continuation, and a shallow resumption
% is a pair of this pure continuation and the remaining reified
% continuation.
% %
% (By contrast, the prior flawed adaptation prematurely precomposed the
% pure continuation with the outer handler in the current resumption.)
% %
% An invocation of a shallow resumption again amounts to concatenating
% it with the current machine continuation, but taking care to
% concatenate the dangling pure continuation with that of the next
% frame.
%
\begin{figure}[t]
\flushleft
\begin{syntax}
\slab{Configurations} & \conf \in \MConfCat &::= & \cek{M \mid \env \mid \shk \circ \shk'} \\
\slab{Value\textrm{ }environments} &\env \in \MEnvCat &::= & \emptyset \mid \env[x \mapsto v] \\
\slab{Values} &v, w \in \MValCat &::= & (\env, \lambda x^A . M) \mid (\env, \Lambda \alpha^K . M) \\
& &\mid& \Record{} \mid \Record{\ell = v; w} \mid (\ell\, v)^R \mid \shk^A \mid (\shk, \slk)^A \medskip\\
% \end{syntax}
% \begin{displaymath}
% \ba{@{}l@{~~}r@{~}c@{~}l@{\quad}l@{~~}r@{~}c@{~}l@{}}
% \slab{Continuations} &\shk &::= & \nil \mid \shf \cons \shk & \slab{Continuation frames} &\shf &::= & (\slk, \chi) \\
% & & & & \slab{Handler closures} &\chi &::= & (\env, H)^\depth \smallskip \\
% \slab{Pure continuations} &\slk &::= & \nil \mid \slf \cons \slk & \slab{Pure continuation frames} &\slf &::= & (\env, x, N) \\
% \ea
% \end{displaymath}
% \begin{syntax}
\slab{Continuations} &\shk \in \MGContCat &::= & \nil \mid \shf \cons \shk \\
\slab{Continuation\textrm{ }frames} &\shf \in \MGFrameCat &::= & (\slk, \chi) \\
\slab{Pure\textrm{ }continuations} &\slk \in \MPContCat &::= & \nil \mid \slf \cons \slk \\
\slab{Pure\textrm{ }continuation\textrm{ }frames} &\slf \in \MPFrameCat &::= & (\env, x, N) \\
\slab{Handler\textrm{ }closures} &\chi \in \MHCloCat &::= & (\env, H) \mid (\env, H)^\dagger \medskip \\
\end{syntax}
\caption{Abstract machine syntax.}
\label{fig:abstract-machine-syntax}
\end{figure}
%% A CEK machine~\citep{FelleisenF86} operates on configurations, which
%% are (Control, Environment, Continuation) triples.
%% %
% Our machine, like Hillerström and Lindley's, generalises the usual
% notion of continuation to accommodate handlers.
%
%
\begin{figure}
\[
\bl
\multicolumn{1}{c}{\val{-} : \ValCat \times \MEnvCat \to \MValCat}\\[1ex]
\ba[t]{@{}r@{~}c@{~}l@{}}
\val{x}{\env} &\defas& \env(x) \\
\val{\lambda x^A.M}{\env} &\defas& (\env, \lambda x^A.M) \\
\val{\Rec\,g^{A \to C}\,x.M}{\env} &\defas& (\env, \Rec\,g^{A \to C}\,x.M) \\
\val{\Lambda \alpha^K.M}{\env} &\defas& (\env, \Lambda \alpha^K.M) \\
\ea
\qquad
\ba[t]{@{}r@{~}c@{~}l@{}}
\val{\Record{}}{\env} &\defas& \Record{} \\
\val{\Record{\ell = V; W}}{\env} &\defas& \Record{\ell = \val{V}{\env}; \val{W}{\env}} \\
\val{(\ell\, V)^R}{\env} &\defas& (\ell\, \val{V}{\env})^R \\
\ea
\el
\]
\caption{Value interpretation definition.}
\label{fig:abstract-machine-val-interp}
\end{figure}
%
\begin{figure}[p]
\rotatebox{90}{
\begin{minipage}{0.99\textheight}%
\[
\bl
\multicolumn{1}{c}{\stepsto \subseteq \MConfCat \times \MConfCat}\\[1ex]
\ba{@{}l@{\quad}r@{~}c@{~}l@{\quad}l@{}}
% \mlab{Init} & \multicolumn{3}{@{}c@{}}{M \stepsto \cek{M \mid \emptyset \mid [(\nil, (\emptyset, \{\Return\;x \mapsto \Return\;x\}))]}} \\[1ex]
% App
\mlab{App} & \cek{ V\;W \mid \env \mid \shk}
&\stepsto& \cek{ M \mid \env'[x \mapsto \val{W}{\env}] \mid \shk},
&\text{if }\val{V}{\env} = (\env', \lambda x^A.M) \\
\mlab{AppRec} & \cek{ V\;W \mid \env \mid \shk}
&\stepsto& \cek{ M \mid \env'[g \mapsto (\env', \Rec\,g^{A \to C}\,x.M), x \mapsto \val{W}{\env}] \mid \shk},
&\text{if }\val{V}{\env} = (\env', \Rec\,g^{A \to C}\,x.M) \\
% Deep resumption application
\mlab{Resume} & \cek{ V\;W \mid \env \mid \shk}
&\stepsto& \cek{ \Return \; W \mid \env \mid \shk' \concat \shk},
&\text{if }\val{V}{\env} = (\shk')^A \\
% Shallow resumption application
\mlab{Resume^\dagger} & \cek{ V\,W \mid \env \mid (\slk, \chi) \cons \shk}
&\stepsto&
\cek{\Return\; W \mid \env \mid \shk' \concat ((\slk' \concat \slk, \chi) \cons \shk)},
&\text{if } \val{V}{\env} = (\shk', \slk')^A \\
% TyApp
\mlab{AppType} & \cek{ V\,T \mid \env \mid \shk}
&\stepsto& \cek{ M[T/\alpha] \mid \env' \mid \shk},
&\text{if }\val{V}{\env} = (\env', \Lambda \alpha^K . \, M) \\[2ex]
%
\mlab{Split} & \cek{ \Let \; \Record{\ell = x;y} = V \; \In \; N \mid \env \mid \shk}
&\stepsto& \cek{ N \mid \env[x \mapsto v, y \mapsto w] \mid \shk},
&\text{if }\val{V}{\env} = \Record{\ell=v; w} \\
% Case
\mlab{Case} & \cek{ \Case\; V\, \{ \ell~x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\} \mid \env \mid \shk}
&\stepsto& \begin{cases}
\cek{ M \mid \env[x \mapsto v] \mid \shk}, &
\text{ if }\val{V}{\env} = \ell\, v\\
\cek{ N \mid \env[y \mapsto \ell'\, v] \mid \shk}, &
\text{ if }\val{V}{\env} = \ell'\, v \text{ and } \ell \neq \ell'
\end{cases}\\[2ex]
% Let - eval M
\mlab{Let} & \cek{ \Let \; x \revto M \; \In \; N \mid \env \mid (\slk, \chi) \cons \shk}
&\stepsto& \cek{ M \mid \env \mid ((\env,x,N) \cons \slk, \chi) \cons \shk} \\
% Handle
\mlab{Handle} & \cek{ \Handle^\depth \, M \; \With \; H \mid \env \mid \shk}
&\stepsto& \cek{ M \mid \env \mid (\nil, (\env, H)^\depth) \cons \shk} \\[1ex]
% Return - let binding
\mlab{PureCont} &\cek{ \Return \; V \mid \env \mid ((\env',x,N) \cons \slk, \chi) \cons \shk}
&\stepsto& \cek{ N \mid \env'[x \mapsto \val{V}{\env}] \mid (\slk, \chi) \cons \shk} \\
% Return - handler
\mlab{GenCont} & \cek{ \Return \; V \mid \env \mid (\nil, (\env',H)) \cons \shk}
&\stepsto& \cek{ M \mid \env'[x \mapsto \val{V}{\env}] \mid \shk},
&\text{if } \hret = \{\Return\; x \mapsto M\} \\[2ex]
% \mlab{Halt} & \cek{\Return\;V \mid \env \mid \nil} &\stepsto& \val{V}{\env} \\[1ex]
% Deep
\mlab{Do} & \cek{ (\Do \; \ell \; V)^E \mid \env \mid ((\slk, (\env', H)) \cons \shk) \circ \shk'}
&\stepsto& \cek{M \mid \env'[p \mapsto \val{V}{\env},
r \mapsto (\shk' \concat [(\slk, (\env', H))])^B] \mid \shk},\\
&&&\quad\text{if } \ell : A \to B \in E \text{ and } \hell = \{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto M\} \\
% Shallow
\mlab{Do^\dagger} & \cek{ (\Do \; \ell \; V)^E \mid \env \mid ((\slk, (\gamma', H)^\dagger) \cons \shk) \circ \shk'} &\stepsto& \cek{M \mid \env'[p \mapsto \val{V}{\env},
r \mapsto (\shk', \slk)^B] \mid \shk},\\
&&&\quad\text{if } \ell : A \to B \in E \text{ and } \hell = \{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto M\} \\
% Forward
\mlab{Forward} & \cek{ (\Do \; \ell \; V)^E \mid \env \mid ((\slk, (\env', H)^\depth) \cons \shk) \circ \shk'}
&\stepsto& \cek{ (\Do \; \ell \; V)^E \mid \env \mid \shk \circ (\shk' \concat [(\slk, (\env', H)^\depth)])},
&\text{if } \hell = \emptyset
\ea
\el
\]
\caption{Abstract machine transitions.}
\label{fig:abstract-machine-semantics}
\end{minipage}
}
\end{figure}
%
\begin{figure}
\[
\bl
\ba{@{~}l@{\quad}l@{~}l}
\multicolumn{2}{l}{\textbf{Identity continuation}}\\
\multicolumn{3}{l}{\quad\shk_0 \defas [(\nil, (\emptyset, \{\Return\;x \mapsto x\}))]}
\medskip\\
%
\textbf{Initialisation} & \stepsto \subseteq \CompCat \times \MConfCat\\
\quad\mlab{Init} & \multicolumn{2}{l}{\quad M \stepsto \cek{M \mid \emptyset \mid \shk_0}}
\medskip\\
%
\textbf{Finalisation} & \stepsto \subseteq \MConfCat \times \ValCat\\
\quad\mlab{Halt} & \multicolumn{2}{l}{\quad\cek{\Return\;V \mid \env \mid \nil} \stepsto \val{V}\env}
\ea
\el
\]
\caption{Machine initialisation and finalisation.}
\end{figure}
%
A configuration $\conf = \cek{M \mid \env \mid \shk \circ \shk'}$
of our abstract machine is a quadruple of a computation term ($M$), an
environment ($\env$) mapping free variables to values, and two
continuations ($\shk$) and ($\shk'$).
%
The latter continuation is always the identity, except when forwarding
an operation, in which case it is used to keep track of the extent to
which the operation has been forwarded.
%
We write $\cek{M \mid \env \mid \shk}$ as syntactic sugar for $\cek{M
\mid \env \mid \shk \circ []}$ where $[]$ is the identity
continuation.
%
%% Our continuations differ from the standard machine. On the one hand,
%% they are somewhat simplified, due to our strict separation between
%% computations and values. On the other hand, they have considerably
%% more structure in order to accommodate effects and handlers.
Values consist of function closures, type function closures, records,
variants, and captured continuations.
%
A continuation $\shk$ is a stack of frames $[\shf_1, \dots,
\shf_n]$. We annotate captured continuations with input types in order
to make the results of Section~\ref{subsec:machine-correctness} easier
to state. Each frame $\shf = (\slk, \chi)$ represents pure
continuation $\slk$, corresponding to a sequence of let bindings,
inside handler closure $\chi$.
%
A pure continuation is a stack of pure frames. A pure frame $(\env, x,
N)$ closes a let-binding $\Let \;x=[~] \;\In\;N$ over environment
$\env$. A handler closure $(\env, H)$ closes a handler definition $H$
over environment $\env$.
%
We write $\nil$ for an empty stack, $x \cons s$ for the result of
pushing $x$ on top of stack $s$, and $s \concat s'$ for the
concatenation of stack $s$ on top of $s'$. We use pattern matching to
deconstruct stacks.
\section{Machine transitions}
\label{sec:machine-transitions}
The abstract machine semantics defining the transition function $\stepsto$ is given in
Fig.~\ref{fig:abstract-machine-semantics}.
%
It depends on an interpretation function $\val{-}$ for values.
%
The machine is initialised (\mlab{Init}) by placing a term in a
configuration alongside the empty environment and identity
continuation.
%
The rules (\mlab{AppClosure}), (\mlab{AppRec}), (\mlab{AppCont}),
(\mlab{AppCont^\dagger}), (\mlab{AppType}), (\mlab{Split}), and
(\mlab{Case}) enact the elimination of values.
%
The rules (\mlab{Let}) and (\mlab{Handle}) extend the current
continuation with let bindings and handlers respectively.
%
The rule (\mlab{RetCont}) binds a returned value if there is a pure
continuation in the current continuation frame;
%
(\mlab{RetHandler}) invokes the return clause of a handler if the pure
continuation is empty; and (\mlab{RetTop}) returns a final value if
the continuation is empty.
%
%% The rule (\mlab{Op}) switches to a special four place configuration in
%% order to handle an operation. The fourth component of the
%% configuration is an auxiliary forwarding continuation, which keeps
%% track of the continuation frames through which the operation has been
%% forwarded. It is initialised to be empty.
%% %
The rule (\mlab{Do}) applies the current handler to an operation if
the label matches one of the operation clauses. The captured
continuation is assigned the forwarding continuation with the current
frame appended to the end of it.
%
The rule (\mlab{Do^\dagger}) is much like (\mlab{Do}), except it
constructs a shallow resumption, discarding the current handler but
keeping the current pure continuation.
%
The rule (\mlab{Forward}) appends the current continuation
frame onto the end of the forwarding continuation.
%
The (\mlab{Init}) rule provides a canonical way to map a computation
term onto a configuration.
\newcommand{\Chiid}{\ensuremath{\Chi_{\text{id}}}}
\newcommand{\kappaid}{\ensuremath{\kappa_{\text{id}}}}
\paragraph{Example} To make the transition rules in
Figure~\ref{fig:abstract-machine-semantics} concrete we give an
example of the abstract machine in action. We reuse the small producer
and consumer from Section~\ref{sec:shallow-handlers-tutorial}. We
reproduce their definitions here in ANF.
%
\[
\bl
\Ones \defas \Rec\;ones~\Unit. \Do\; \Yield~1; ones~\Unit \\
\AddTwo \defas
\lambda \Unit.
\Let\; x \revto \Do\;\Await~\Unit \;\In\;
\Let\; y \revto \Do\;\Await~\Unit \;\In\;
x + y \\
\el
\]%
%
Let $N_x$ denote the term $\Let\;x \revto \Do\;\Await~\Unit\;\In\;N_y$
and $N_y$ the term $\Let\;y \revto \Do\;\Await~\Unit\;\In\;x+y$.
%
%% For clarity, we annotate each bound variable $resume$ with a subscript
%% $\Await$ or $\Yield$ according to whether it was captured by a
%% consumer or a producer.
%
Suppose $\Ones$, $\AddTwo$, $\Pipe$, and $\Copipe$ are bound in
$\env_\top$. Furthermore, let $H_\Pipe$ and $H_\Copipe$ denote the
pipe and copipe handler definitions. The machine begins by applying
$\Pipe$.
%
\begin{derivation}
&\cek{\Pipe~\Record{\Ones, \AddTwo} \mid \env_\top \mid \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{apply $\Pipe$}\\
&\cek{\ShallowHandle\;c~\Unit\;\With\;H_\Pipe \mid \env_\top[c \mapsto (\emptyset, \AddTwo), p \mapsto (\emptyset, \Ones)] \mid \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{install $H_\Pipe$ with $\env_\Pipe = \env_\top[c \mapsto (\emptyset, \AddTwo), p \mapsto (\emptyset, \Ones)]$}\\
&\cek{c~\Unit \mid \env_\Pipe \mid (\nil, (\env_\Pipe, H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{apply $c$ and $\val{c}\env_\Pipe = (\emptyset, \AddTwo)$}\\
&\cek{N_x \mid \emptyset \mid (\nil, (\env_\Pipe, H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{focus on left operand}\\
&\cek{\Do\;\Await~\Unit \mid \emptyset \mid ([(\emptyset, x, N_y)], (\env_\Pipe, H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{shallow continuation capture $v_\Await = (\nil, [(\emptyset, x, N_y)])$}\\
&\cek{\Copipe~\Record{resume, p} \mid \env_\Pipe[resume \mapsto v_\Await] \mid \kappaid}\\
\end{derivation}
%
The invocation of $\Await$ begins a search through the machine
continuation to locate a matching handler. In this instance the
top-most handler $H_\Pipe$ handles $\Await$. The complete shallow
resumption consists of an empty continuation and a singleton pure
continuation. The former is empty as $H_\Pipe$ is a shallow handler,
meaning that it is discarded.
Evaluation continues by applying $\Copipe$.
%
\begin{derivation}
\stepsto& \reason{apply $\Copipe$}\\
&\cek{\ShallowHandle\; p~\Unit \;\With\;H_\Copipe \mid \env_\top[c \mapsto v_\Await, p \mapsto (\emptyset, \Ones)] \mid \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{install $H_\Copipe$ with $\env_\Copipe = \env_\top[c \mapsto v_\Await, p \mapsto (\emptyset, \Ones)]$}\\
&\cek{p~\Unit \mid \env_\Copipe \mid (\emptyset, (\env_\Copipe, H_\Copipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto^2& \reason{apply $p$, $\val{p}\env_\Copipe = (\emptyset, \Ones)$, and $\env_{\Ones} = \emptyset[ones \mapsto (\emptyset, \Ones)]$}\\
% &\cek{\Do\;\Yield~1;~ones~\Unit \mid \env_{ones} \mid (\nil, (\env_\Copipe, H_\Copipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
% \stepsto^2& \reason{focus on $\Yield$}\\
&\cek{\Do\;\Yield~1 \mid \env_{\Ones} \mid ([(\env_{\Ones},\_,ones~\Unit)], (\env_\Copipe, H_\Copipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{shallow continuation capture $v_\Yield = (\nil, [(\env_{\Ones}, \_, ones~\Unit)])$}\\
&\cek{\Pipe~\Record{resume, \lambda\Unit.c~s} \mid \env_\Copipe[s \mapsto 1,resume \mapsto v_\Yield] \mid \kappaid}
\end{derivation}
%
At this point the situation is similar as before: the invocation of
$\Yield$ causes the continuation to be unwound in order to find an
appropriate handler, which happens to be $H_\Copipe$. Next $\Pipe$ is
applied.
%
\begin{derivation}
\stepsto& \reason{apply $\Pipe$ and $\env_\Pipe' = \env_\top[c \mapsto (\env_\Copipe[c \mapsto v_\Await, s\mapsto 1]), p \mapsto v_\Yield])]$}\\
&\cek{\ShallowHandle\;c~\Unit\;\With\; H_\Pipe \mid \env_\Pipe' \mid \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{install $H_\Pipe$}\\
&\cek{c~\Unit \mid \env_\Pipe' \mid (\nil, (\env_\Pipe', H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{apply $c$ and $\val{c}\env_\Pipe' = (\env_\Copipe[c \mapsto v_\Await, s\mapsto 1])$}\\
&\cek{c~s \mid \env_\Copipe[c \mapsto v_\Await, s\mapsto 1] \mid (\nil, (\env_\Pipe', H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{shallow resume with $v_\Await = (\nil, [(\emptyset,x,N_y)])$}\\
&\cek{\Return\;1 \mid \env_\Pipe' \mid ([(\emptyset,x,N_y)], (\env_\Pipe', H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid}
\end{derivation}
%
Applying the resumption concatenates the first component (the
continuation) with the machine continuation. The second component
(pure continuation) gets concatenated with the pure continuation of
the top-most frame of the machine continuation. Thus in this
particular instance, the machine continuation is manipulated as
follows.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\nil \concat ([(\emptyset,x,N_y)] \concat \nil, (\env_\Pipe', H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid\\
=& ([(\emptyset,x,N_y)], (\env_\Pipe', H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid
\ea
\]
%
Because the control component contains the expression $\Return\;1$ and
the pure continuation is nonempty, the machine applies the pure
continuation.
\begin{derivation}
\stepsto& \reason{apply pure continuation, $\env_{\AddTwo} = \emptyset[x \mapsto 1]$}\\
&\cek{N_y \mid \env_{\AddTwo} \mid (\nil, (\env_\Pipe', H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{focus on right operand}\\
&\cek{\Do\;\Await~\Unit \mid \env_{\AddTwo} \mid ([(\env_{\AddTwo}, y, x + y)], (\env_\Pipe', H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto^2& \reason{shallow continuation capture $w_\Await = (\nil, [(\env_{\AddTwo}, y, x + y)])$, apply $\Copipe$}\\
&\cek{\ShallowHandle\;p~\Unit \;\With\; \env_\Copipe \mid \env_\top[c \mapsto w_\Await, p \mapsto v_\Yield] \mid \kappaid}\\
\reducesto& \reason{install $H_\Copipe$ with $\env_\Copipe = \env_\top[c \mapsto w_\Await, p \mapsto v_\Yield]$}\\
&\cek{p~\Unit \mid \env_\Copipe \mid (\nil, (\env_\Copipe, H_\Copipe)) \cons \kappaid}
\end{derivation}
%
The variable $p$ is bound to the shallow resumption $v_\Yield$, thus
invoking it will transfer control back to the $\Ones$ computation.
%
\begin{derivation}
\stepsto & \reason{shallow resume with $v_\Yield = (\nil, [(\env_{\Ones}, \_, ones~\Unit)])$}\\
&\cek{\Return\;\Unit \mid \env_\Copipe \mid ([(\env_{\Ones}, \_, ones~\Unit)], (\env_\Copipe, H_\Copipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto^3& \reason{apply pure continuation, apply $ones$, focus on $\Yield$}\\
&\cek{\Do\;\Yield~1 \mid \env_{\Ones} \mid ([(\env_{\Ones}, \_, ones~\Unit)], (\env_\Copipe, H_\Copipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\end{derivation}
%
At this stage the machine repeats the transitions from before: the
shallow continuation of $\Do\;\Yield~1$ is captured, control passes to
the $\Yield$ clause in $H_\Copipe$, which again invokes $\Pipe$ and
subsequently installs the $H_\Pipe$ handler with an environment
$\env_\Pipe''$. The handler runs the computation $c~\Unit$, where $c$
is an abstraction over the resumption $w_\Await$ applied to the
yielded value $1$.
%
\begin{derivation}
\stepsto^6 & \reason{by the above reasoning, shallow resume with $w_\Await = (\nil, [(\env_{\AddTwo}, y, x + y)])$}\\
&\cek{x + y \mid \env_{\AddTwo}[y \mapsto 1] \mid (\nil, (\env_\Pipe'', H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid}\\
\stepsto& \reason{$\val{x}\env_{\AddTwo}[y\mapsto 1] = 1$ and $\val{y}\env_{\AddTwo}[y\mapsto 1] = 1$}\\
&\cek{\Return\;2 \mid \env_{\AddTwo}[y \mapsto 1] \mid (\nil, (\env_\Pipe'', H_\Pipe)) \cons \kappaid}
\end{derivation}
%
Since the pure continuation is empty the $\Return$ clause of $H_\Pipe$
gets invoked with the value $2$. Afterwards the $\Return$ clause of the
identity continuation in $\kappaid$ is invoked, ultimately
transitioning to the following final configuration.
%
\begin{derivation}
\stepsto^2& \reason{by the above reasoning}\\
&\cek{\Return\;2 \mid \emptyset \mid \nil}
\end{derivation}
%
%\env_\top[c \mapsto (\env_\Copipe, \lambda\Unit.w_\Await~1),p \mapsto (\nil, [(\env_{\Ones}, \_, ones~\Unit)])]
\begin{figure}[t]
\flushleft
\newcommand{\contapp}[2]{#1 #2}
\newcommand{\contappp}[2]{#1(#2)}
%% \newcommand{\contapp}[2]{#1[#2]}
%% \newcommand{\contapp}[2]{#1\mathbin{@}#2}
%% \newcommand{\contappp}[2]{#1\mathbin{@}(#2)}
%
\textbf{Configurations}
\begin{displaymath}
\inv{\cek{M \mid \env \mid \shk \circ \shk'}} = \contappp{\inv{\shk' \concat \shk}}{\inv{M}\env}
= \contappp{\inv{\shk'}}{\contapp{\inv{\shk}}{\inv{M}\env}}
\end{displaymath}
\textbf{Pure continuations}
\begin{displaymath}
\contapp{\inv{[]}}{M} = M \qquad \contapp{\inv{((\env, x, N) \cons \slk)}}{M}
= \contappp{\inv{\slk}}{\Let\; x \revto M \;\In\; \inv{N}(\env \res \{x\})}
\end{displaymath}
%% \begin{equations}
%% \contapp{\inv{[]}}{M}
%% &=& M \\
%% \contapp{\inv{((\env, x, N) \cons \slk)}}{M}
%% &=& \contappp{\inv{\slk}}{\Let\; x \revto M \;\In\; \inv{N}(\env \res \{x\})} \\
%% \end{equations}
\textbf{Continuations}
\begin{displaymath}
\contapp{\inv{[]}}{M}
= M \qquad
\contapp{\inv{(\slk, \chi) \cons \shk}}{M}
= \contapp{\inv{\shk}}{(\contappp{\inv{\chi}}{\contappp{\inv{\slk}}{M}})}
\end{displaymath}
%% \begin{equations}
%% \contapp{\inv{[]}}{M}
%% &=& M \\
%% \contapp{\inv{(\slk, \chi) \cons \shk}}{M}
%% &=& \contapp{\inv{\shk}}{(\contappp{\inv{\chi}}{\contappp{\inv{\slk}}{M}})} \\
%% \end{equations}
\textbf{Handler closures}
\begin{displaymath}
\contapp{\inv{(\env, H)}^\depth}{M}
= \Handle^\depth\;M\;\With\;\inv{H}\env
\end{displaymath}
%% \begin{equations}
%% \contapp{\inv{(\env, H)}}{M}
%% &=& \Handle\;M\;\With\;\inv{H}\env \\
%% \contapp{\inv{(\env, H)^\dagger}}{M}
%% &=& \ShallowHandle\;M\;\With\;\inv{H}\env \\
%% \end{equations}
\textbf{Computation terms}
\begin{equations}
\inv{V\,W}\env &=& \inv{V}\env\,\inv{W}{\env} \\
\inv{V\,T}\env &=& \inv{V}\env\,T \\
\inv{\Let\;\Record{\ell = x; y} = V \;\In\;N}\env
&=& \Let\;\Record{\ell = x; y} =\inv{V}\env \;\In\; \inv{N}(\env \res \{x, y\}) \\
\inv{\Case\;V\,\{\ell\;x \mapsto M; y \mapsto N\}}\env
&=& \Case\;\inv{V}\env \,\{\ell\;x \mapsto \inv{M}(\env \res \{x\}); y \mapsto \inv{N}(\env \res \{y\})\} \\
\inv{\Return\;V}\env &=& \Return\;\inv{V}\env \\
\inv{\Let\;x \revto M \;\In\;N}\env
&=& \Let\;x \revto\inv{M}\env \;\In\; \inv{N}(\env \res \{x\}) \\
\inv{\Do\;\ell\;V}\env
&=& \Do\;\ell\;\inv{V}\env \\
\inv{\Handle^\depth\;M\;\With\;H}\env
&=& \Handle^\depth\;\inv{M}\env\;\With\;\inv{H}\env \\
\end{equations}
\textbf{Handler definitions}
\begin{equations}
\inv{\{\Return\;x \mapsto M\}}\env
&=& \{\Return\;x \mapsto \inv{M}(\env \res \{x\})\} \\
\inv{\{\ell\;x\;k \mapsto M\} \uplus H}\env
&=& \{\ell\;x\;k \mapsto \inv{M}(\env \res \{x, k\}\} \uplus \inv{H}\env \\
\end{equations}
\textbf{Value terms and values}
\begin{displaymath}
\ba{@{}c@{}}
\begin{eqs}
\inv{x}\env &=& \inv{v}, \quad \text{ if }\env(x) = v \\
\inv{x}\env &=& x, \quad \text{ if }x \notin dom(\env) \\
\inv{\lambda x^A.M}\env &=& \lambda x^A.\inv{M}(\env \res \{x\}) \\
\inv{\Lambda \alpha^K.M}\env &=& \Lambda \alpha^K.\inv{M}\env \\
\inv{\Record{}}\env &=& \Record{} \\
\inv{\Record{\ell=V; W}}\env &=& \Record{\ell=\inv{V}\env; \inv{W}\env} \\
\inv{(\ell\;V)^R}\env &=& (\ell\;\inv{V}\env)^R \\
\end{eqs}
\quad
\begin{eqs}
\inv{\shk^A} &=& \lambda x^A.\inv{\shk}(\Return\;x) \\
\inv{(\shk, \slk)^A} &=& \lambda x^A.\inv{\slk}(\inv{\shk}(\Return\;x)) \\
\inv{(\env, \lambda x^A.M)} &=& \lambda x^A.\inv{M}(\env \res \{x\}) \\
\inv{(\env, \Lambda \alpha^K.M)} &=& \Lambda \alpha^K.\inv{M}\env \\
\inv{\Record{}} &=& \Record{} \\
\inv{\Record{\ell=v; w}} &=& \Record{\ell=\inv{v}; \inv{w}} \\
\inv{(\ell\;v)^R} &=& (\ell\;\inv{v})^R \\
\end{eqs} \smallskip\\
\inv{\Rec\,g^{A \to C}\,x.M}\env = \Rec\,g^{A \to C}\,x.\inv{M}(\env \res \{g, x\})
= \inv{(\env, \Rec\,g^{A \to C}\,x.M)} \\
\ea
\end{displaymath}
\caption{Mapping from abstract machine configurations to terms.}
\label{fig:config-to-term}
\end{figure}
\paragraph{Remark} If the main continuation is empty then the machine gets
stuck. This occurs when an operation is unhandled, and the forwarding
continuation describes the succession of handlers that have failed to
handle the operation along with any pure continuations that were
encountered along the way.
%
Assuming the input is a well-typed closed computation term $\typc{}{M
: A}{E}$, the machine will either not terminate, return a value of
type $A$, or get stuck failing to handle an operation appearing in
$E$. We now make the correspondence between the operational semantics
and the abstract machine more precise.
\section{Correctness}
\label{subsec:machine-correctness}
Fig.~\ref{fig:config-to-term} defines an inverse mapping $\inv{-}$
from configurations to computation terms via a collection of mutually
recursive functions defined on configurations, continuations,
computation terms, handler definitions, value terms, and values.
%
We write $dom(\gamma)$ for the domain of $\gamma$ and $\gamma \res
\{x_1, \dots, x_n\}$ for the restriction of environment $\gamma$ to
$dom(\gamma) \res \{x_1, \dots, x_n\}$.
%
The $\inv{-}$ function enables us to classify the abstract machine
reduction rules by how they relate to the operational
semantics.
%
The rules (\mlab{Init}) and (\mlab{RetTop}) concern only initial
input and final output, neither a feature of the operational
semantics.
%
The rules (\mlab{AppCont^\depth}), (\mlab{Let}), (\mlab{Handle}),
and (\mlab{Forward}) are administrative in that $\inv{-}$ is invariant
under them.
%
This leaves $\beta$-rules (\mlab{AppClosure}), (\mlab{AppRec}),
(\mlab{AppType}), (\mlab{Split}), (\mlab{Case}), (\mlab{RetCont}),
(\mlab{RetHandler}), (\mlab{Do}), and (\mlab{Do^\dagger}),
each of which corresponds directly to performing a reduction in the
operational semantics.
%
We write $\stepsto_a$ for administrative steps, $\stepsto_\beta$ for
$\beta$-steps, and $\Stepsto$ for a sequence of steps of the form
$\stepsto_a^* \stepsto_\beta$.
Each reduction in the operational semantics is simulated by a sequence
of administrative steps followed by a single $\beta$-step in the
abstract machine. The $Id$ handler (\S\ref{subsec:terms})
implements the top-level identity continuation.
\\
\begin{theorem}[Simulation]
\label{lem:simulation}
If $M \reducesto N$, then for any $\conf$ such that $\inv{\conf} =
Id(M)$ there exists $\conf'$ such that $\conf \Stepsto \conf'$ and
$\inv{\conf'} = Id(N)$.
%% If $M \reducesto N$, then for any $\conf$ such that $\inv{\conf} = M$
%% there exists $\conf'$ such that $\conf \Stepsto \conf'$ and
%% $\inv{\conf'} = N$.
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
By induction on the derivation of $M \reducesto N$.
\end{proof}
\begin{corollary}
If $\typc{}{M : A}{E}$ and $M \reducesto^+ N \not\reducesto$, then $M
\stepsto^+ \conf$ with $\inv{\conf} = N$.
\end{corollary}
\part{Expressiveness}
\chapter{Interdefinability of effect handlers}
\label{ch:deep-vs-shallow}
On the surface, shallow handlers seem to offer more flexibility than
deep handlers as they do not enforce a particular recursion scheme
over effectful computations. An interesting hypothesis worth
investigating is whether this flexibility is a mere programming
convenience or whether it enables shallow handlers to implement
programs that would otherwise be impossible to implement with deep
handlers. Put slightly different, the hypothesis to test is whether
handlers can implement one another. To test this sort of hypothesis we
first need to pin down what it means for `something to be able to
implement something else'.
For example in Section~\ref{sec:pipes} I asserted that shallow
handlers provide the natural basis for implementing pipes, suggesting
that an implementation based on deep handlers would be fiddly. If we
were to consider the wider design space of programming language
features, then it turns out that deep handlers offer a direct
implementation of pipes by shifting recursion from terms to the level
of types (the interested reader may consult either \citet{KammarLO13}
or \citet{HillerstromL18} for the precise details). Thus in some sense
pipes are implementable with deep handlers, however, this particular
implementation strategy is not realisable in the $\HCalc$-calculus
since it has no notion of recursive types, meaning we cannot use this
strategy to argue that deep handlers can implement pipes in our
setting.
%
We will restrict our attention to the calculi $\HCalc$, $\SCalc$, and
$\HPCalc$ and use the notion of \emph{typability-preserving
macro-expressiveness} to determine whether handlers are
interdefinable. In our particular setting, typability-preserving
macro-expressiveness asks whether there exists a \emph{local}
transformation that can transform one kind of handler into another
kind of handler, whilst preserving typability in the image of the
transformation. By mandating that the transform is local we rule out
the possibility of rewriting the entire program in, say, CPS notation
to implement deep and shallow handlers as in Chapter~\ref{ch:cps}.
%
In this chapter we use the notion of typability-preserving
macro-expressiveness to show that shallow handlers and general
recursion can simulate deep handlers up to congruence, and that deep
handlers can simulate shallow handlers up to administrative
reductions. % The
% latter construction generalises the example of pipes implemented
% using deep handlers that we gave in Section~\ref{sec:pipes}.
%
\paragraph{Relation to prior work} The results in this chapter has
been published previously in the following papers.
%
\begin{enumerate}[i]
\item \bibentry{HillerstromL18} \label{en:ch-def-HL18}
\item \bibentry{HillerstromLA20} \label{en:ch-def-HLA20}
\end{enumerate}
%
The results of Sections~\ref{sec:deep-as-shallow} and
\ref{sec:shallow-as-deep} appear in item \ref{en:ch-def-HL18}, whilst
the result of Section~\ref{sec:param-desugaring} appear in item
\ref{en:ch-def-HLA20}.
\section{Deep as shallow}
\label{sec:deep-as-shallow}
\newcommand{\dstrans}[1]{\mathcal{S}\llbracket #1 \rrbracket}
The implementation of deep handlers using shallow handlers (and
recursive functions) is by a direct local translation, similar to how
one would implement a fold (catamorphism) in terms of general
recursion. Each handler is wrapped in a recursive function and each
resumption has its body wrapped in a call to this recursive function.
%
Formally, the translation $\dstrans{-}$ is defined as the homomorphic
extension of the following equations to all terms and substitutions.
%
\[
\bl
\dstrans{-} : \CompCat \to \CompCat\\
\dstrans{\Handle \; M \; \With \; H} \defas
(\Rec~h~f.\ShallowHandle\; f\,\Unit \; \With \; \dstrans{H}_h)\,(\lambda \Unit{}.\dstrans{M}) \medskip\\
% \dstrans{H}h &=& \dstrans{\hret}h \uplus \dstrans{\hops}h \\
\dstrans{-} : \HandlerCat \times \ValCat \to \HandlerCat\\
\ba{@{}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\dstrans{\{ \Return \; x \mapsto N\}}_h &\defas&
\{ \Return \; x \mapsto \dstrans{N} \}\\
\dstrans{\{ \OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N_\ell \}_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}}_h &\defas&
\{ \OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto
\bl
\Let \; r \revto \Return \; \lambda x.h\,(\lambda \Unit{}.r\,x)\\
\In\;\dstrans{N_\ell} \}_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}
\el
\ea
\el
\]
%
The translation of $\Handle$ uses a $\Rec$-abstraction to introduce a
fresh name $h$ for the handler $H$. This name is used by the
translation of the handler definitions. The translation of
$\Return$-clauses is the identity, and thus ignores the handler
name. However, the translation of operation clauses uses the name to
simulate a deep resumption by guarding invocations of the shallow
resumption $r$ with $h$.
In order to exemplify the translation, let us consider a variation of
the $\environment$ handler from Section~\ref{sec:tiny-unix-env}, which
handles an operation $\Ask : \UnitType \opto \Int$.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\mathcal{D}\left\llbracket
\ba[m]{@{}l}
\Handle\;\Do\;\Ask\,\Unit + \Do\;\Ask\,\Unit\;\With\\
\quad\ba[m]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;x &\mapsto& \Return\;x\\
\OpCase{\Ask}{\Unit}{r} &\mapsto& r~42
\ea
\ea
\right\rrbracket \medskip\\
=& \bl
(\Rec\;env~f.
\bl
\ShallowHandle\;f\,\Unit\;\With\\
\quad\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;x &\mapsto& \Return\;x\\
\OpCase{\Ask}{\Unit}{r} &\mapsto&
\bl
\Let\;r \revto \Return\;\lambda x.env~(\lambda\Unit.r~x)\;\In\\
r~42)~(\lambda\Unit.\Do\;\Ask\,\Unit + \Do\;\Ask\,\Unit)
\el
\ea
\el
\el
\ea
\]
%
The deep semantics are simulated by generating the name $env$ for the
shallow handlers and recursively apply the handler under the modified
resumption.
The translation commutes with substitution and preserves typability.
%
\begin{lemma}\label{lem:dstrans-subst}
Let $\sigma$ denote a substitution. The translation $\dstrans{-}$
commutes with substitution, i.e.
%
\[
\dstrans{V}\dstrans{\sigma} = \dstrans{V\sigma},\quad
\dstrans{M}\dstrans{\sigma} = \dstrans{M\sigma},\quad
\dstrans{H}\dstrans{\sigma} = \dstrans{H\sigma}.
\]
%
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the structures of $V$, $M$, and $H$.
\end{proof}
\begin{theorem}
If $\Delta; \Gamma \vdash M : C$ then $\Delta; \Gamma \vdash
\dstrans{M} : \dstrans{C}$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
In order to obtain a simulation result, we allow reduction in the
simulated term to be performed under lambda abstractions (and indeed
anywhere in a term), which is necessary because of the redefinition of
the resumption to wrap the handler around its body.
%
Nevertheless, the simulation proof makes minimal use of this power,
merely using it to rename a single variable.
%
% We write $R_{\Cong}$ for the compatible closure of relation
% $R$, that is the smallest relation including $R$ and closed under term
% constructors for $\SCalc$.
%% , otherwise known as \emph{reduction up to
%% congruence}.
\begin{theorem}[Simulation up to congruence]
If $M \reducesto N$ then $\dstrans{M} \reducesto_{\Cong}^+
\dstrans{N}$.
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
By case analysis on $\reducesto$ using
Lemma~\ref{lem:dstrans-subst}. The interesting case is
$\semlab{Op}$, which is where we apply a single $\beta$-reduction,
renaming a variable, under the $\lambda$-abstraction representing
the resumption. The proof of this case is as follows.
%
\begin{derivation}
& \dstrans{\Handle\;\EC[\Do\;\ell~V]\;\With\;H}\\
=& \reason{definition of $\dstrans{-}$}\\
& (\Rec\;h\;f.\ShallowHandle\;f\,\Unit\;\With\;\dstrans{H}_h)\,(\lambda\Unit.\dstrans{\EC}[\Do\;\ell~\dstrans{V}])\\
\reducesto^+& \reason{\semlab{Rec}, \semlab{App}, \semlab{Op^\dagger} with $\hell = \{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N\}$}\\
& (\Let\;r \revto \Return\;\lambda x.h\,(\lambda\Unit.r~x)\;\In\;\dstrans{N})[\lambda y.\dstrans{\EC}[\Return\;y]/r,\dstrans{V}/p]\\
=& \reason{definition of [-]}\\
&(\Let\;r \revto \Return\;\lambda x.h\,(\lambda\Unit.(\lambda y.\dstrans{\EC}[\Return\;y])~x)\;\In\;\dstrans{N}[\dstrans{V}/p]\\
\reducesto_\Cong & \reason{\semlab{App} reduction under $\lambda x.\cdots$}\\
&(\Let\;r \revto \Return\;\lambda x.h\,(\lambda\Unit.\dstrans{\EC}[\Return\;x])\;\In\;\dstrans{N}[\dstrans{V}/p]\\
\reducesto& \reason{\semlab{Let} and Lemma~\ref{lem:dstrans-subst}}\\
% & \dstrans{N}[\dstrans{V}/p,\lambda x.h\,(\lambda\Unit.\dstrans{\EC}[\Return\;x])/r]\\
% =& \reason{}\\
&\dstrans{N[V/p,\lambda x.h\,(\lambda\Unit.\EC[\Return\;x])/r]}
\end{derivation}
\end{proof}
\section{Shallow as deep}
\label{sec:shallow-as-deep}
\newcommand{\sdtrans}[1]{\mathcal{D}\llbracket #1 \rrbracket}
Implementing shallow handlers in terms of deep handlers is slightly
more involved than the other way round.
%
It amounts to the encoding of a case split by a fold and involves a
translation on handler types as well as handler terms.
%
Formally, the translation $\sdtrans{-}$ is defined as the homomorphic
extension of the following equations to all types, terms, type
environments, and substitutions.
%
\[
\bl
\sdtrans{-} : \HandlerTypeCat \to \HandlerTypeCat\\
\sdtrans{A\eff E_1 \Rightarrow B\eff E_2} \defas
\sdtrans{A\eff E_1} \Rightarrow \Record{\UnitType \to \sdtrans{C \eff E_1}; \UnitType \to \sdtrans{B \eff E_2}} \eff \sdtrans{E_2} \medskip \medskip\\
% \sdtrans{C \Rightarrow D} \defas
% \sdtrans{C} \Rightarrow \Record{\UnitType \to \sdtrans{C}; \UnitType \to \sdtrans{D}} \medskip \medskip\\
\sdtrans{-} : \CompCat \to \CompCat\\
\sdtrans{\ShallowHandle \; M \; \With \; H} \defas
\ba[t]{@{}l}
\Let\;z \revto \Handle \; \sdtrans{M} \; \With \; \sdtrans{H} \; \In\\
\Let\;\Record{f; g} = z \;\In\;
g\,\Unit
\ea \medskip\\
\sdtrans{-} : \HandlerCat \to \HandlerCat\\
% \sdtrans{H} &=& \sdtrans{\hret} \uplus \sdtrans{\hops} \\
\ba{@{}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\sdtrans{\{\Return \; x \mapsto N\}} &\defas&
\{\Return \; x \mapsto \Return\; \Record{\lambda \Unit.\Return\; x; \lambda \Unit.\sdtrans{N}}\} \\
\sdtrans{\{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N\}_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}} &\defas& \{
\bl
\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto\\
\qquad\bl\Let \;r \revto
\lambda x. \Let\; z \revto r~x\;\In\;
\Let\; \Record{f; g} = z\; \In\; f\,\Unit\;\In\\
\Return\;\Record{\lambda \Unit.\Let\; x \revto \Do\;\ell~p\; \In\; r~x; \lambda \Unit.\sdtrans{N}}\}_{\ell \in \mathcal{L}}
\el
\el
\ea
\el
\]
%
As evident from the translation of handler types, each shallow handler
is encoded as a deep handler that returns a pair of thunks. It is
worth noting that the handler construction is actually pure, yet we
need to annotate the pair with the translated effect signature
$\sdtrans{E_2}$, because the calculus has no notion of effect
subtyping. Technically we could insert an administrative identity
handler to coerce the effect signature. There are practical reasons
for avoiding administrative handlers, though, as we shall discuss
momentarily the inordinate administrative overhead of this
transformation might conceal the additional overhead incurred by the
introduction of administrative identity handlers. The first component
of the pair forwards all operations, acting as the identity on
computations. The second component interprets a single operation
before reverting to forwarding.
%
The following example illustrates the translation on an instance of
the $\Pipe$ operator from Section~\ref{sec:pipes} using the consumer
computation $\Do\;\Await\,\Unit + \Do\;\Await\,\Unit$ and the
suspended producer computation
$\Rec\;ones\,\Unit.\Do\;\Yield~1;ones\,\Unit$.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\mathcal{D}\left\llbracket
\ba[m]{@{}l}
\ShallowHandle\;\Do\;\Await\,\Unit + \Do\;\Await\,\Unit\;\With\\
\quad\ba[m]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;x &\mapsto& \Return\;x\\
\OpCase{\Await}{\Unit}{r} &\mapsto& \Copipe\,\Record{r;\Rec\;ones\,\Unit.\Do\;\Yield~1;ones\,\Unit}
\ea
\ea
\right\rrbracket \medskip\\
=& \bl
\Let\;z \revto \bl
\Handle\;(\lambda\Unit.\Do\;\Await\,\Unit + \Do\;\Await\,\Unit)\,\Unit\;\With\\
\quad\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;x &\mapsto& \Return\;\Record{\lambda\Unit.\Return\;x;\lambda\Unit.\Return\;x}\\
\OpCase{\Await}{\Unit}{r} &\mapsto&\\
\multicolumn{3}{l}{
\quad\bl
\Let\;r \revto \lambda x.\Let\;z \revto r~x\;\In\;\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit\;\In\\
\Return\;\Record{\bl
\lambda\Unit.\Let\;x \revto \Do\;\ell~p\;\In\;r~x;\\
\lambda\Unit. \sdtrans{\Copipe}\,\Record{r;\Rec\;ones\,\Unit.\Do\;\Yield~1;ones\,\Unit}}\el
\el}
\ea
\el\\
\In\;\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;g\,\Unit
\el
\ea
\]
%
Evaluation of both the left hand side and right hand side of the
equals sign yields the value $2 : \Int$. The $\Return$-case in the
image contains a redundant pair, because the $\Return$-case of $\Pipe$
is the identity. The translation of the $\Await$-case sets up the
forwarding component and handling component of the pair of thunks.
The distinction between deep and shallow handlers is that the latter
is discharged after handling a single operation, whereas the former is
persistent and apt for continual operation interpretations. The
persistence of deep handlers means that any handler in the image of
the translation remains in place for the duration of the handled
computation after handling a single operation, which has noticeable
asymptotic performance implications. Each activation of a handler in
the image introduces another layer of indirection that any subsequent
operation invocation have to follow. Supposing some source program
contains $n$ handlers and performs $k$ operation invocations, then the
image introduces $k$ additional handlers, meaning the total amount of
handlers in the image is $n+k$. Viewed through the practical lens of
the CPS translation (Chapter~\ref{ch:cps}) or abstract machine
(Chapter~\ref{ch:abstract-machine}) it means that in the worst case
handler lookup takes $\BigO(n+k)$ time. For example, consider the
extreme case where $n = 1$, that is, the handler lookup takes
$\BigO(1)$ time in the source, but in the image it takes $\BigO(k)$
time.
%
Thus this translation is more of theoretical significance than
practical interest. It also demonstrates that typability-preserving
macro-expressiveness is rather coarse-grained notion of
expressiveness, as it blindly considers whether some construct is
computable using another construct without considering the
computational cost.
The translation commutes with substitution and preserves typability.
%
\begin{lemma}\label{lem:sdtrans-subst}
Let $\sigma$ denote a substitution. The translation $\sdtrans{-}$
commutes with substitution, i.e.
%
\[
\sdtrans{V}\sdtrans{\sigma} = \sdtrans{V\sigma},\quad
\sdtrans{M}\sdtrans{\sigma} = \sdtrans{M\sigma},\quad
\sdtrans{H}\sdtrans{\sigma} = \sdtrans{H\sigma}.
\]
%
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the structures of $V$, $M$, and $H$.
\end{proof}
%
\begin{theorem}
If $\Delta; \Gamma \vdash M : C$ then $\sdtrans{\Delta};
\sdtrans{\Gamma} \vdash \sdtrans{M} : \sdtrans{C}$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
\newcommand{\admin}{admin}
\newcommand{\approxa}{\gtrsim}
As with the implementation of deep handlers as shallow handlers, the
implementation is again given by a typability-preserving local
translation. However, this time the administrative overhead is more
significant. Reduction up to congruence is insufficient and we require
a more semantic notion of administrative reduction.
\begin{definition}[Administrative evaluation contexts]\label{def:admin-eval}
An evaluation context $\EC \in \EvalCat$ is administrative,
$\admin(\EC)$, when the following two criteria hold.
\begin{enumerate}
\item For all values $V \in \ValCat$, we have: $\EC[\Return\;V] \reducesto^\ast
\Return\;V$
\item For all evaluation contexts $\EC' \in \EvalCat$, operations
$\ell \in \BL(\EC) \backslash \BL(\EC')$, and values
$V \in \ValCat$:
%
\[
\EC[\EC'[\Do\;\ell\;V]] \reducesto_\Cong^\ast \Let\; x \revto \Do\;\ell\;V \;\In\; \EC[\EC'[\Return\;x]].
\]
\end{enumerate}
\end{definition}
%
The intuition is that an administrative evaluation context behaves
like the empty evaluation context up to some amount of administrative
reduction, which can only proceed once the term in the context becomes
sufficiently evaluated.
%
Values annihilate the evaluation context and handled operations are
forwarded.
%
%% The forwarding handler is a technical device which allows us to state
%% the second property in a uniform way by ensuring that the operation is
%% handled at least once.
\begin{definition}[Approximation up to administrative reduction]\label{def:approx-admin}
Define $\approxa$ as the compatible closure of the following inference
rules.
%
\begin{mathpar}
\inferrule*
{ }
{M \approxa M}
\inferrule*
{M \reducesto M' \\ M' \approxa N}
{M \approxa N}
\inferrule*
{\admin(\EC) \\ M \approxa N}
{\EC[M] \approxa N}
\end{mathpar}
%
We say that $M$ approximates $N$ up to administrative reduction if $M
\approxa N$.
\end{definition}
%
Approximation up to administrative reduction captures the property
that administrative reduction may occur anywhere within a term.
%
The following lemma states that the forwarding component of the
translation is administrative.
%
\begin{lemma}\label{lem:sdtrans-admin}
For all shallow handlers $H$, the following context is administrative
%
\[
\Let\; z \revto
\Handle\; [~] \;\With\; \sdtrans{H}\;
\In\;
\Let\; \Record{f;\_} = z\; \In\; f\,\Unit.
\]
%
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
We have to check both conditions of Definition~\ref{def:admin-eval}.
\begin{enumerate}
\item Follows by direct calculation.
% \item We need to show that for all $V \in \ValCat$
% %
% \[
% \Let\; z \revto
% \Handle\; \Return\;V \;\With\; \sdtrans{H}\;
% \In\;
% \Let\; \Record{f;\_} = z\; \In\; f\,\Unit \reducesto^\ast \Return\;V.
% \]
% %
% We show this by direct calculation using the assumption $\hret = \{\Return\;x \mapsto N\}$.
% \begin{derivation}
% &\Let\; z \revto
% \Handle\; \Return\;V \;\With\; \sdtrans{H}\;
% \In\;
% \Let\; \Record{f;\_} = z\; \In\; f\,\Unit\\
% \reducesto^+& \reason{\semlab{Lift}, \semlab{Ret}, \semlab{Let}, \semlab{Split}}\\
% % &\Let\;\Record{f;\_} = \Record{\lambda\Unit.\Return\;x;\lambda\Unit.\sdtrans{N}}\;\In\;f\,\Unit
% & (\lambda\Unit.\Return\;V)\,\Unit \reducesto \Return\;V
% \end{derivation}
\item % We need to show that for all evaluation contexts
% $\EC' \in \EvalCat$, operations
% $\ell \in \BL(\EC) \backslash \BL(\EC')$, and values
% $V \in \ValCat$
% %
% \[
% \ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
% &\Let\; z \revto
% \Handle\; \EC'[\Do\;\ell\;V]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H} \;\In\;\Record{f;\_} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit\\
% \reducesto_\Cong^\ast& \Let\; x \revto \Do\;\ell\;V \;\In\; \Let\; z \revto \Handle\; \EC'[\Return\;x]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H}\;\In\;\Let\;\Record{f;\_} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit
% \ea
% \]
%
Follows by direct calculation using the assumption that
$\ell \notin \BL(\EC')$.
\begin{derivation}
&\Let\; z \revto
\Handle\; \EC'[\Do\;\ell\;V]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H}\;\In\;
\Let\;\Record{f;\_} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit\\
\reducesto& \reason{\semlab{Op} using assumption $\ell \notin \BL(\EC')$}\\
&\bl \Let\; z \revto
\bl
\Let\;r\revto
\lambda x.\bl\Let\;z \revto (\lambda x.\Handle\;\EC'[\Return\;x]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H})~x\\
\In\;\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit
\el\\
\In\;\Return\;\Record{\lambda\Unit.\Let\;x\revto \Do\;\ell~V\;\In\;r~x;\lambda\Unit.\sdtrans{N}}
\el\\
\In\;\Record{f;\_} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit
\el\\
\reducesto^+& \reason{\semlab{Let}, \semlab{Split}, \semlab{App}}\\
&(\Let\;x\revto \Do\;\ell~V\;\In\;r~x)[(\lambda x.\bl
\Let\;z \revto (\lambda x.\Handle\;\EC'[\Return\;x]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H})\,x\\
\In\;\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit)/r]\el\\
\reducesto_\Cong &\reason{\semlab{App} tail position reduction}\\
&\bl
\Let\;x \revto \Do\;\ell~V\;\In\;\Let\;z \revto (\lambda x.\Handle\;\EC'[\Return\;x]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H})\,x\; \In\\\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit
\el\\
\reducesto_\Cong& \reason{\semlab{App} reduction under binder}\\
&\bl \Let\;x \revto \Do\;\ell~V\;\In\;\Let\;z \revto \Handle\;\EC'[\Return\;x]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H}\; \In\\\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit\el
\end{derivation}
\end{enumerate}
\end{proof}
%
\begin{theorem}[Simulation up to administrative reduction]
If $M' \approxa \sdtrans{M}$ and $M \reducesto N$ then there exists
$N'$ such that $N' \approxa \sdtrans{N}$ and $M' \reducesto^+ N'$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By case analysis on $\reducesto$ using Lemma~\ref{lem:sdtrans-subst}
and Lemma~\ref{lem:sdtrans-admin}. We show only the interesting case
$\semlab{Op^\dagger}$, which uses Lemma~\ref{lem:sdtrans-admin} to
approximate the body of the resumption up to administrative
reduction.\smallskip
\noindent\textbf{Case} $\ShallowHandle\;\EC[\Do\;\ell~V]\;\With\;H \reducesto
N_\ell[V/p,\lambda y.\EC[\Return\;y]/r]$ where
$\ell \notin \BL(\EC)$ and
$H^\ell = \{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N_\ell\}$. \smallskip\\
%
Pick $M' =
\sdtrans{\ShallowHandle\;\EC[\Do\;\ell~V]\;\With\;H}$. Clearly
$M' \approxa \sdtrans{M}$. We compute $N'$ via reduction as follows.
\begin{derivation}
& \sdtrans{\ShallowHandle\;\EC[\Do\;\ell~V]\;\With\;H}\\
=& \reason{definition of $\sdtrans{-}$}\\
&\bl
\Let\;z \revto \Handle\;\sdtrans{\EC}[\Do\;\ell~\sdtrans{V}]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H}\;\In\\
\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;g\,\Unit
\el\\
\reducesto^+& \reason{\semlab{Op} using assumption $\ell \notin \BL(\sdtrans{\EC})$, \semlab{Let}, \semlab{Let}}\\
% &\bl
% \Let\;z \revto
% (\bl
% \Let\;r \revto \lambda x.\Let\;z \revto r~x\;\In\;\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit\;\In\\
% \Return\;\Record{
% \bl
% \lambda\Unit.\Let\;x \revto \Do\;\ell~p\;\In\;r~x;\\
% \lambda\Unit.\sdtrans{N_\ell}})[
% \bl
% \sdtrans{V}/p,\\
% \lambda y.\Handle\;\sdtrans{\EC}[\Return\;y]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H}/r]
% \el
% \el
% \el\\
% \In\;\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;g\,\Unit
% \el\\
% \reducesto^+& \reason{\semlab{Let}, \semlab{Let}}\\
&\bl
\Let\;\Record{f;g} = \Record{
\bl
\lambda\Unit.\Let\;x \revto \Do\;\ell~\sdtrans{V}\;\In\;r~x;\\
\lambda\Unit.\sdtrans{N_\ell}}[\lambda x.
\bl
\Let\;z \revto (\lambda y.\Handle\;\sdtrans{\EC}[\Return\;y]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H})~x\;\In\\
\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit/r,\sdtrans{V}/p]\;\In\; g\,\Unit
\el
\el\\
\el\\
\reducesto^+ &\reason{\semlab{Split}, \semlab{App}}\\
&\sdtrans{N_\ell}[\lambda x.
\bl
\Let\;z \revto (\lambda y.\Handle\;\sdtrans{\EC}[\Return\;y]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H})~x\;\In\\
\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit/r,\sdtrans{V}/p]
\el\\
=& \reason{by Lemma~\ref{lem:sdtrans-subst}}\\
&\sdtrans{N_\ell[\lambda x.
\bl
\Let\;z \revto (\lambda y.\Handle\;\EC[\Return\;y]\;\With\;H)~x\;\In\\
\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z\;\In\;f\,\Unit/r,V/p]}
\el
\end{derivation}
%
We take the above computation term to be our $N'$. If
$r \notin \FV(N_\ell)$ then the two terms $N'$ and
$\sdtrans{N_\ell[V/p,\lambda y.\EC[\Return\;y]/r]}$ are the
identical, and thus by reflexivity of the $\approxa$-relation it
follows that
$N' \approxa \sdtrans{N_\ell[V/p,\lambda
y.\EC[\Return\;y]/r]}$. Otherwise $N'$ approximates
$N_\ell[V/p,\lambda y.\EC[\Return\;y]/r]$ at least up to a use of
$r$. We need to show that the approximation remains faithful during
any application of $r$. Specifically, we proceed to show that for
any value $W \in \ValCat$
%
\[
(\bl
\lambda x.\Let\;z \revto (\lambda y.\Handle\;\sdtrans{\EC}[\Return\;y]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H})~x\;\In\\
\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z \;\In\;f\,\Unit)~W \approxa (\lambda y.\sdtrans{\EC}[\Return\;y])~W.
\el
\]
%
The right hand side reduces to $\sdtrans{\EC}[\Return\;W]$. Two
applications of \semlab{App} on the left hand side yield the term
%
\[
\Let\;z \revto \Handle\;\sdtrans{\EC}[\Return\;W]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H}\;\In\;\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z \;\In\;f\,\Unit.
\]
%
Define
%
$\EC' \defas \Let\;z \revto \Handle\; [\,]\;\With\;\sdtrans{H}\;\In\;\Let\;\Record{f;g} = z \;\In\;f\,\Unit$
%
such that $\EC'$ is an administrative evaluation context by
Lemma~\ref{lem:sdtrans-admin}. Then it follows by
Defintion~\ref{def:approx-admin} that
$\EC'[\sdtrans{\EC}[\Return\;W]] \approxa
\sdtrans{\EC}[\Return\;W]$.
\end{proof}
\section{Parameterised handlers as ordinary deep handlers}
\label{sec:param-desugaring}
\newcommand{\PD}[1]{\mathcal{P}\cps{#1}}
%
As mentioned in Section~\ref{sec:unary-parameterised-handlers},
parameterised handlers codify the parameter-passing idiom. They may be
seen as an optimised form of parameter-passing deep handlers. We now
show formally that parameterised handlers are special instances of
ordinary deep handlers.
%
We define a local transformation $\PD{-}$ which translates
parameterised handlers into ordinary deep handlers. Formally, the
translation is defined on terms, types, environments, and
substitutions. We omit the homomorphic cases and show only the
interesting cases.
%
\[
\bl
\PD{-} : \HandlerTypeCat \to \HandlerTypeCat\\
\PD{\Record{C; A} \Rightarrow^\param B \eff E} \defas \PD{C} \Rightarrow (\PD{A} \to \PD{B \eff E})\eff \PD{E} \medskip\\
\PD{-} : \CompCat \to \CompCat\\
\PD{\ParamHandle\;M\;\With\;(q.\,H)(W)} \defas \left(\Handle\; \PD{M}\; \With\; \PD{H}_q\right)~\PD{W} \medskip\\
\PD{-} : \HandlerCat \times \ValCat \to \HandlerCat\\
\ba{@{}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\PD{\{\Return\;x \mapsto M\}}_q &\defas& \{\Return\;x \mapsto \lambda q. \PD{M}\}\\
\PD{\{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto M\}}_q &\defas&
\{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto \lambda q.
\Let\; r \revto \Return\;\lambda \Record{x;q'}. r~x~q'\;
\In\; \PD{M}\}
\ea
\el
\]
%
The parameterised $\ParamHandle$ construct becomes an application of a
$\Handle$ construct to the translation of the parameter. The
translation of $\Return$ and operation clauses are parameterised by
the name of the handler parameter as each clause body is enclosed in a
$\lambda$-abstraction whose formal parameter is the handler parameter
$q$. As a result the ordinary deep resumption $r$ is a curried
function. However, the uses of $r$ in $M$ expects a binary
function. To repair this discrepancy, we construct an uncurried
interface of $r$ by embedding it under a binary $\lambda$-abstraction.
%
To illustrate the translation in action consider the following example
program that adds the results obtained by performing two invocations
of some stateful operation $\dec{Incr} : \UnitType \opto \Int$, which
increments some global counter and returns its prior value.
%
\[
\ba{@{~}l@{~}l}
&\mathcal{P}\left\llbracket
\ba[m]{@{}l}
\ParamHandle\;\Do\;\dec{Incr}\,\Unit + \Do\;\dec{Incr}\,\Unit\;\With\\
\left( q.\ba[m]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;x &\mapsto& \Return\;\Record{x;q}\\
\OpCase{\dec{Incr}}{\Unit}{r} &\mapsto& r\,\Record{q;q+1}
\ea\right)~40
\ea
\right\rrbracket \medskip\\
=& \left(
\ba[m]{@{}l}
\Handle\;\Do\;\dec{Incr}\,\Unit + \Do\;\dec{Incr}\,\Unit\;\With\\
\quad\ba[t]{@{~}l@{~}c@{~}l}
\Return\;x &\mapsto& \lambda q.\Return\;\Record{x;q}\\
\OpCase{\dec{Incr}}{\Unit}{r} &\mapsto& \lambda q. \Let\;r \revto \Return\;\lambda\Record{x;q}.r~x~q\;\In\;r\,\Record{q;q+1}
\ea
\ea\right)~40
\ea
\]
%
Evaluation of the program on either side of the equals sign yields
$\Record{81;42} : \Int$. The translation desugars the parameterised
handler into an ordinary deep handler that makes use of the
parameter-passing idiom to maintain the state of the handled
computation~\cite{Pretnar15}.
The translation commutes with substitution and preserves typability.
%
\begin{lemma}\label{lem:pd-subst}
Let $\sigma$ denote a substitution. The translation $\PD{-}$
commutes with substitution, i.e.
%
\[
\PD{V}\PD{\sigma} = \PD{V\sigma},\quad
\PD{M}\PD{\sigma} = \PD{M\sigma},\quad
\PD{(q.\,H)}\PD{\sigma} = \PD{(q.\,H)\sigma}.
\]
%
\end{lemma}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the structures of $V$, $M$, and $q.H$.
\end{proof}
%
\begin{theorem}
If $\Delta; \Gamma \vdash M : C$ then $\PD{\Delta};
\sdtrans{\Gamma} \vdash \PD{M} : \PD{C}$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By induction on the typing derivations.
\end{proof}
%
This translation of parameterised handlers simulates the native
semantics. As with the simulation of deep handlers via shallow
handlers in Section~\ref{sec:deep-as-shallow}, this simulation is not
quite on the nose as the image simulates the source only up to
congruence due to the need for an application of a pure function to a
variable to be reduced.
%
\begin{theorem}[Simulation up to congruence]
\label{thm:param-simulation}
If $M \reducesto N$ then $\PD{M} \reducesto^+_{\Cong} \PD{N}$.
\end{theorem}
%
\begin{proof}
By case analysis on the relation $\reducesto$ using
Lemma~\ref{lem:pd-subst}. The interesting case is
\semlab{Op^\param}, which is where we need to reduce under the
$\lambda$-abstraction representing the parameterised resumption.
% \begin{description}
% \item[Case]
% $M = \ParamHandle\; \Return\;V\;\With\;(q.~H)(W) \reducesto
% N[V/x,W/q]$, where $\hret = \{ \Return\; x \mapsto N \}$.
% %
% \begin{derivation}
% &\PD{\ParamHandle\;\Return\;V\;\With\;(q.~H)(W)}\\
% =& \reason{definition of $\PD{-}$}\\
% &(\Handle\;\Return\;\PD{V}\;\With\;\PD{H}_q)~\PD{W}\\
% \reducesto& \reason{$\semlab{Ret}$ with $\PD{\hret}_q = \{\Return~x \mapsto \lambda q. \PD{N}\}$}\\
% &(\lambda q. \PD{N}[\PD{V}/x])~\PD{W}\\
% \reducesto& \reason{$\semlab{App}$}\\
% &\PD{N}[\PD{V}/x,\PD{W}/q]\\
% =& \reason{lemma~\ref{lem:pd-subst}}\\
% &\PD{N[V/x,W/q]}
% \end{derivation}
% \item[Case] $M = \ParamHandle\; \EC[\Do\;\ell~V]\;\With\;(q.~H)(W) \reducesto \\
% \qquad
% N[V/p,W/q,\lambda \Record{x,q'}. \ParamHandle\;\EC[\Return\;x]\;\With\;(q.~H)(q')/r]$, where $\hell = \{ \OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N \}$.
\begin{derivation}
&\PD{\ParamHandle\;\EC[\Do\;\ell~V]\;\With\;(q.~H)(W)}\\
=& \reason{definition of $\PD{-}$}\\
&(\Handle\;\PD{\EC}[\Do\;\ell~\PD{V}]\;\With\;\PD{H}_q)~\PD{W}\\
\reducesto& \reason{$\semlab{Op}$ with $\hell = \{\OpCase{\ell}{p}{r} \mapsto N\}$}\\
&((\lambda q. \bl
\Let\;r \revto \lambda \Record{x;q'}. r~x~q\;\In \\
\PD{N})[\PD{V}/p,\lambda x.\Handle\;\PD{\EC}[\Return\;x]\;\With\;\PD{H}_q/r])~\PD{W}\\
\el \\
=& \reason{definition of $[-]$}\\
&(\lambda q. \bl
\Let\; r \revto \lambda \Record{x,q'}. (\lambda x. \Handle\;\PD{\EC}[\Return\;x]\;\With\; \PD{H}_q)~x~q'\;\In \\
\PD{N}[\PD{V}/p])\,\PD{W}\\
\el \\
\reducesto& \reason{\semlab{App}}\\
&\bl
\Let\; r \revto \lambda \Record{x;q'}. (\lambda x. \Handle\;\PD{\EC}[\Return\;x]\;\With\; \PD{H}_q)~x~q'\;\In\\
\PD{N}[\PD{V}/p,\PD{W}/q]
\el\\
\reducesto_\Cong& \reason{\semlab{App} under $\lambda\Record{x;q'}.\cdots$}\\
&\bl
\Let\; r \revto \lambda \Record{x;q'}.(\Handle\;\PD{\EC}[\Return\;x]\;\With\; \PD{H}_q)~q'\;\In\\
\PD{N}[\PD{V}/p,\PD{W}/q]
\el\\
\reducesto& \reason{\semlab{Let}}\\
&\PD{N}[\bl
\PD{V}/p,\PD{W}/q, \\
\lambda \Record{x,q'}. (\Handle\;\PD{\EC}[\Return\;x]\;\With\; \PD{H}_q)~q'/r]\\
\el \\
=& \reason{definition of $\PD{-}$ and Lemma~\ref{lem:pd-subst}}\\
&\PD{N[V/p,W/q,\lambda \Record{x,q'}. \ParamHandle\;\EC[\Return\;x]\;\With\; (q.~H)(q')/r]}
\end{derivation}
% \end{description}
\end{proof}
\section{Related work}
Precisely how effect handlers fit into the landscape of programming
language features is largely unexplored in the literature. The most
relevant related work in this area is due to my collaborators and
myself on the inherited efficiency of effect handlers
(c.f. Chapter~\ref{ch:handlers-efficiency}) and \citet{ForsterKLP17}, who
investigate various relationships between effect handlers, delimited
control in the form of shift/reset, and monadic reflection using the
notions of typability-preserving macro-expressiveness and untyped
macro-expressiveness~\cite{ForsterKLP17,ForsterKLP19}. They show that
in an untyped setting all three are interdefinable, whereas in a
simply typed setting effect handlers cannot macro-express
either. \citet{PirogPS19} build upon the work of
\citeauthor{ForsterKLP17} as they show that with sufficient
polymorphism effect handlers and delimited control can simulate one
another.
The work of \citet{Shan04,Shan07} is related in spirit to the work
presented in this chapter. \citeauthor{Shan04} shows that static and
dynamic notions of delimited control are interdefinable in an untyped
setting. The work in this chapter has a similar flavour to
\citeauthor{Shan04}'s work as we can view deep handlers as a kind of
static control facility and shallow handlers as a kind of dynamic
control facility. In order to simulate dynamic control using static
control, \citeauthor{Shan04}'s translation makes use of recursive
delimited continuations to construct the dynamic context surrounding
and including the invocation context. A recursive continuation allows
the captured context and continuation invocation context to coincide.
% \chapter{Computability, complexity, and expressivness}
% \label{ch:expressiveness}
% \section{Notions of expressiveness}
% Felleisen's macro-expressiveness, Longley's type-respecting
% expressiveness, Kammar's typability-preserving expressiveness.
\chapter{Asymptotic speedup with first-class control}
\label{ch:handlers-efficiency}
Describe the methodology\dots
\section{Generic search}
\section{Calculi}
\subsection{Base calculus}
\subsection{Handler calculus}
\section{A practical model of computation}
\subsection{Syntax}
\subsection{Semantics}
\subsection{Realisability}
\section{Points, predicates, and their models}
\section{Efficient generic search with effect handlers}
\subsection{Space complexity}
\section{Best-case complexity of generic search without control}
\subsection{No shortcuts}
\subsection{No sharing}
% \chapter{Speeding up programs in ML-like programming languages}
% \section{Mutable state}
% \section{Exception handling}
% \section{Effect system}
\part{Conclusions}
\chapter{Conclusions}
\label{ch:conclusions}
Some profound conclusions\dots
\chapter{Future Work}
\label{ch:future-work}
%%
%% Appendices
%%
% \appendix
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%\nocite{*}
\singlespace
%\nocite{*}
%\printbibliography[heading=bibintoc]
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}
\bibliography{\jobname}
%% ... that's all, folks!
\end{document}