Abstract not found

This paper de nes a set of type inference rules for resolving overloading introduced by type classes. Programs including type classes are transformed into ones which may be typed by the Hindley-Milner inference rules. In contrast to other work on type classes, the rules presented here relate directly to user programs. An innovative aspect of this work is the use of second-order lambda calculus to record type information in the program. 1.

The Gofer system is a functional programming environment for a small, Haskell-like language. Supporting a wide range of different machines, including home computers, the system is widely used, both for teaching and research. This report describes the main ideas and techniques used in the implementation of Gofer. This information will be particularly useful for work using Gofer as a platform to explore the use of new language features or primitives. It should also be of interest to those curious to see how the general techniques of functional programming language compilation are adapted to a simple, but practical, implementation.