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The Pizza Compiler:ExtendingJavaInAFunctionalWay

Stc
Date: 2006-10-19

Time: 11:45

Room: BBL room 471

----+++ Speaker: Sander Mak

----+++ Title: The Pizza Compiler: extending Java in a functional way

----+++ Abstract

The Pizza Compiler was a research project of Philip Wadler et al., which 
aimed at extending the object-oriented language Java with features from 
functional programming languages. Though the project is not maintained 
anymore, it still harbors some good and interesting ideas. Its language 
design is worthwhile looking into: you will even recognize a fresh 
feature of Java 1.5 in this project, which was conceived in 1996!

Pizza adds higher-order functions and algebraic datatypes to the Java 
language. We will examine how the compiler implements these features, 
while maintaining a high level of compatibility with 'plain' Java. Of 
course it is not all gold that glitters, so we will look into some of 
the 'rough edges' as well. If you are interested in both functional and 
OO programming languages and their design, and want to see a compelling 
example of research that hit the mainstream, then this talk is for you!

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