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Nested datatypes

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Mathematics of Program Construction (MPC 1998)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1422))

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Abstract

A nested datatype, also known as a non-regular datatype, is a parametrised datatype whose declaration involves different instances of the accompanying type parameters. Nested datatypes have been mostly ignored in functional programming until recently, but they are turning out to be both theoretically important and useful in practice. The aim of this paper is to suggest a functorial semantics for such datatypes, with an associated calculational theory that mirrors and extends the standard theory for regular datatypes. Though elegant and generic, the proposed approach appears more limited than one would like, and some of the limitations are discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programming Research Group, Oxford University, Wolfson Building, Parks Road, OX1 3QD, Oxford, UK

    Richard Bird

  2. CWI and Department of Computer Science, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 94079, 1090, GB Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Lambert Meertens

Authors
  1. Richard Bird
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  2. Lambert Meertens
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Johan Jeuring

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© 1998 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Bird, R., Meertens, L. (1998). Nested datatypes. In: Jeuring, J. (eds) Mathematics of Program Construction. MPC 1998. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1422. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0054285

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0054285

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-64591-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-69345-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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