Re: RA with MV attributes
Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 10:13:35 -0800
Message-ID: <2vdvq250igqo6e9h24o6qbvk16m3cejl4o_at_4ax.com>
"Marshall" <marshall.spight_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>On Jan 17, 10:32 pm, Gene Wirchenko <g..._at_ocis.net> wrote:
>> "Marshall" <marshall.spi..._at_gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> >> Like VB 6? You can declare variables as being of one type (say,
>> >> Integer) or any (Variant).
>>
>> >Sure, that's a start. However what I'm starting to imagine is something
>> >that AFAIK is not in any existent language. The idea is that a given
>> >module could be capable of very strict static checking, such as proving
>> >the absence of infinite loops, faults such as divide by zero, and
>> >freedom
>> >from stack overflows through a proof of maximum resource usage.
>> >Another module could be completely free from such requirements,
>> >fully dynamic, having all checking deferred until runtime. All in the
>> >same language; the choice of where in the continuum you are made
>> >by the programmer based on the needs of the current application.
>>
>> I think that a general solution would require a solution to the
>> halting problem.
>
>No, no, I'm not proposing writing a program that tells whether another
>program halts or not; that is of course impossible. However it
>is certainly possible to write code that can correctly recognize some
^^^^ Magic Weasel Word!
>programs as halting, some programs as diverging, and for other
>programs it cannot tell. There are certain classes of applications
>for which a proof of termination is highly desirable, and some
>of the people building these systems already use termination
>proofs.
The magic weasel word is "some". You can also write some code that will correctly recognise whether some pieces of code will ever, say, generate an integer overflow.
>If one were writing such an application, which has such very
>strict requirements, one might well want a language that
>will issue a compile error unless it has a termination proof of
>the program, whether it is human supplied or automatically
>generated, or a mix.
Sincerely,
Gene Wirchenko
Computerese Irregular Verb Conjugation:
I have preferences. You have biases. He/She has prejudices.Received on Thu Jan 18 2007 - 19:13:35 CET