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Abstract. Landin’s SECD machine was the first abstract machine for applicative expressions, i.e., functional programs. Landin’s J operator was the first control operator for functional languages, and was specified by an extension of the SECD machine. We present a family of evaluation functions corresponding to this extension of the SECD machine, using a series of elementary transformations (transformation into continuation-passing style (CPS) and defunctionalization, chiefly) and their left inverses (transformation into direct style and refunctionalization). To this end, we modernize the SECD machine into a bisimilar one that operates in lockstep with the original one but that (1) does not use a data stack and (2) uses the caller-save rather than the callee-save convention for environments. We also identify that the dump component of the SECD machine is managed in a callee-save way. The caller-save counterpart of the modernized SECD machine precisely corresponds to Thielecke’s doublebarrelled continuations and to Felleisen’s encoding of J in terms of call/cc. We then variously characterize the J operator in terms of CPS and in terms of delimited-control operators in the CPS hierarchy. As a byproduct, we also present several reduction semantics for applicative expressions

Abstract. Normal form bisimulation is a powerful theory of program equivalence, originally developed to characterize Lévy-Longo tree equivalence and Boehm tree equivalence. It has been adapted to a range of untyped, higher-order calculi, but types have presented a difficulty. In this paper, we present an account of normal form bisimulation for types, including recursive types. We develop our theory for a continuation-passing style calculus, Jump-With-Argument (JWA), where normal form bisimilarity takes a very simple form. We give a novel congruence proof, based on insights from game semantics. A notable feature is the seamless treatment of eta-expansion. We demonstrate the normal form bisimulation proof principle by using it to establish a syntactic minimal invariance result and the uniqueness of the fixed point operator at each type.

Making linguistic theory is like specifying a programming language...

We present the call-by-push-value (CBPV) calculus, which decomposes the typed call-by-value (CBV) and typed call-by-name (CBN) paradigms into fine-grain primitives. On the operational side, we give big-step semantics and a stack machine for CBPV, which leads to a straightforward push/pop reading of CBPV programs. On the denotational side, we model CBPV using cpos and, more generally, using algebras for a strong monad. For storage, we present an O’Hearn-style “behaviour semantics” that does not use a monad. We present the translations from CBN and CBV to CBPV. All these translations straightforwardly preserve denotational semantics. We also study their operational properties: simulation and full abstraction. We give an equational theory for CBPV, and show it equivalent to a categorical semantics using monads and algebras. We use this theory to formally compare CBPV to Filinski’s variant of the monadic metalanguage, as well as to Marz’s language SFPL, both of which have essentially the same type structure as CBPV. We also discuss less formally the differences between the CBPV and monadic frameworks.

Abstract. This paper studies continuations by means of a polymorphic type system. The traditional call-by-name continuation passing style transform admits a typing in which some answer types are polymorphic, even in the presence of first-class control operators. By building on this polymorphic typing, and using parametricity reasoning, we show that the call-by-name transform satisfies the eta-law, and is in fact isomorphic to the more recent CPS transform defined by Streicher. 1

We investigate continuations in the context of idealized call-by-value programming languages. On the semantic side, we analyze the categorical structures that arise from continuation models of call-by-value languages. On the syntactic side, we study the call-by-value continuation-passing transformation as a translation between equational theories. Among the novelties are an unusually simple axiomatization of control operators and a strengthened completeness result with a proof based on a delaying transform.

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