Lambda the Ultimate

Edward A. Lee, Computing Needs Time, Communications of the ACM, Volume 52, Issue 5 (May 2009).

The foundations of computing, rooted in Turing, Church, and von Neumann, are about the transformation of data, not about physical dynamics. This paper argues that we need to rethink the core abstractions if we really want to integrate computing with physical processes. In particular, I focus on a key aspect of physical processes that is almost entirely absent in computing, the passage of time. This is not just about “real-time systems,” which accept the foundations and retrofit them with temporal properties. Although that technology has much to contribute, I will argue that it cannot solve the problem alone because it is built on flawed foundations.

The section of most direct relevance to LtU is probably section 5.2 on programming languages, which opens by saying:

Programming languages provide an abstraction layer above the ISA. If the ISA is to expose selected temporal properties, and programmers wish to exploit this, then one approach would be to reflect these in the languages.

Also potentially of interest to the LtU readership is section 5.4 on formal methods, which closes by asserting that

...type systems are formal methods that have had enormous impact. What is needed is time systems with the power of type systems.

Note: The "Tagged Signal" meta-model of computation mentioned in section 3 of the paper was previously discussed on LtU here.

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