Re: Semantics Tools

Dave Berry <db@dcs.ed.ac.uk>
Wed, 26 Aug 1992 15:15:40 GMT

          From comp.compilers
Related articles
Re: constant folding at parse time twpierce@amhux1.amherst.EDU (Tim Pierce) (1992-08-19)
Semantics Tools eifrig@beanworld.cs.jhu.edu (1992-08-25)
Re: Semantics Tools Jonathan.Bowen@prg.oxford.ac.uk (1992-08-26)
Re: Semantics Tools db@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Dave Berry) (1992-08-26)
Re: Semantics Tools eifrig@beanworld.cs.jhu.edu (1992-08-28)
Correctness Proofs of Compilers fabio@dcs.edinburgh.ac.uk (1992-09-18)
| List of all articles for this month |
Newsgroups: comp.compilers
From: Dave Berry <db@dcs.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Laboratory for the Foundations of Computer Science, Edinburgh U
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 15:15:40 GMT
References: 92-08-114 92-08-153
Keywords: parse, optimize, semantics

We've done some work on producing tools from operational semantics. In
our case we've looked at debuggers (which are harder than compilers). In
my thesis I looked at the definition of evaluation step in terms of
operational semantics, and described a system that generated animating
interpreters from an operational semantics. Fabio da Silva is just
completing his thesis on another, more rigorous, approach. He includes an
algorithm from generating a deterministic semantics from a certain class
of non-deterministic semantics.


Both our systems require some form of determinacy restriction on the
semantics. I distinguish between a truly operational semantics, and one
written in the natural semantics style but that doesn't have an immediate
operational interpretation.


Unfortunately neither of us have published much. I just haven't had the
time since completing my thesis. We hope to produce a joint paper
sometime. As yet this is still theoretical work, but something may come
of it someday.


Dave.


--

Post a followup to this message

Return to the comp.compilers page.
Search the comp.compilers archives again.