Lambda the Ultimate

I am a graduate student that is interested in logic and theoretical computer science. I have a pretty good background in modern algebra, as well as a beginning background in logic, category theory, and algebraic topology. I am looking to apply these things to problems in computing science for a master's thesis.

In short, I'm looking for open problems that would be amenable for the level of master's work. I've been studying these topics on my own, with the aid of excellent books, but it would be good to have something to focus on "getting to", I suppose.

It was with some shock that I read (via Slashdot) about Adobe's Open Source presentation engine (and layout system). In my experience, very few companies take much stock in writing generic systems that leverage the body of computer science.

So, I was quite pleased to read Sean Parent's comments:

The most ambitious library, Adam, stems from the intuition that the logic behind a simple human interface can be distilled to a function:

f(x) -> x'

The code providing this functionality accounts for a third of Adobe's code base and nearly half of the bugs found during development. Obviously these functions are not so simple, at least not as currently expressed. The apparent complexity is due to a high degree of interconnected variables. Event handling code alone does not have enough context for solving such systems.

The next jaw-dropping tidbit came a few lines later:

Still, I am convinced that writing correct, high performance, and feature rich systems can be orders of magnitude simpler than it currently is. By my estimate, 70% of Adobe's current code base could be better represented declaratively. The remaining imperative logic could be largely generic - reused both within and across Adobe's applications. Realizing even a fraction of this potential would open up a world of opportunities. I strongly suspect the proportions are similar throughout the industry.

The website provides an overview of exactly what has been released:

Adam is a modeling engine and declarative language for describing constraints and relationships on a collection of value, typically the parameters to an application command. When bound to a human interface (HI) Adam provides the logic that controls the HI behavior. Adam is similar in concept to a spreadsheet or a forms manager. Values are set and dependent values are recalculated. Adam provides facilities to resolve interrelated dependencies and to track those dependencies, beyond what a spreadsheet provides.

Eve consists of a declarative language and layout engine for constructing an HI. The layout engine in Eve takes into account a rich description of UI elements to achieve a high quality layout - rivaling what can be achieved with manual placement. A single HI description in Eve suffices for multiple OS platforms and languages. This document describes Eve2, the latest version of Eve. Eve2 was developed to work with Adam and to incorporate many improvements that have been requested since Eve1 was written.

It is important to note that Adam and Eve do not constitute a traditional application framework. They are component libraries which can be incorporated into a number of environments. They can be used together, or independently, but must be combined with other facilities to construct an application. Nearly all of the components which comprise Adam and Eve can also be used independently and are documented as part of ASL.

Sadly, my experience with Adobe's products extends only to their Acrobat Reader software, so I can't claim from personal experience that they have achieved their aim of writing stable software.

However, the fact that top-level architects at Adobe are cognizant of declarative paradigms and generic programming gives me new hope in the industry.