This is more of a meta-comment, but it is always interesting seeing links like this (here on Hacker News and elsewhere) which attract a fair number of upvotes, but no comments.
Perhaps we're all afraid of looking stupid... easier to discuss Job's retirement or something less scary :)
Anyway, to drop down a metalevel, this is fabulous but also interesting for what the lambda calculus doesn't talk about - concurrency and more broadly time. I'd like to see more pages like this but which come from an actor model of computation or some other process calculus.
Matt, I've read several articles on your site and wanted to say thanks for writing them. I'd be very interested in reading an article about compiling to the pi-calculus.
I often find that I want to comment on stories like this to express my enthusiasm for an interesting topic, but yeah I know that by doing so there is the risk that I'll expose myself as being pretty naive & unsophisticated in an advanced subject.
And I'd be doing this in front of a large audience of very intelligent yet potentially ruthless peers ;)
the lambda calculus doesn't talk about concurrency but it does discuss time. like turing machines there is a concept of time inasmuch as a particular algorithm will take so long to complete (complexity). The reason it doesnt talk about concurrency is because concurrency doesn't bring anything to the table in terms of deciding complexity or computability.
to be a little more blunt :) Talking about concurrency in the lambda calculus is like talking about concurrent math or paralelizing the concept of addition (not an implementation).
Comments
This is more of a meta-comment, but it is always interesting seeing links like this (here on Hacker News and elsewhere) which attract a fair number of upvotes, but no comments.
Perhaps we're all afraid of looking stupid... easier to discuss Job's retirement or something less scary :)
Anyway, to drop down a metalevel, this is fabulous but also interesting for what the lambda calculus doesn't talk about - concurrency and more broadly time. I'd like to see more pages like this but which come from an actor model of computation or some other process calculus.
Would you like a "Compiling over to the pi-calculus" article?
Definitely. If done in the same general style as your lambda calculus one I think it would be a great resource.
Registered for HN just to say I'd love to see this
Matt, I've read several articles on your site and wanted to say thanks for writing them. I'd be very interested in reading an article about compiling to the pi-calculus.
Somebody please write this.
Yes please :-)
I often find that I want to comment on stories like this to express my enthusiasm for an interesting topic, but yeah I know that by doing so there is the risk that I'll expose myself as being pretty naive & unsophisticated in an advanced subject.
And I'd be doing this in front of a large audience of very intelligent yet potentially ruthless peers ;)
the lambda calculus doesn't talk about concurrency but it does discuss time. like turing machines there is a concept of time inasmuch as a particular algorithm will take so long to complete (complexity). The reason it doesnt talk about concurrency is because concurrency doesn't bring anything to the table in terms of deciding complexity or computability.
to be a little more blunt :) Talking about concurrency in the lambda calculus is like talking about concurrent math or paralelizing the concept of addition (not an implementation).