 Cyclone - a next generation systems language
started 9/6/2001; 11:06:39 AM - last post 9/7/2001; 1:54:51 PM
|
|
Bryn Keller - Cyclone - a next generation systems language 
9/6/2001; 11:06:39 AM (reads: 1053, responses: 2)
|
|
| Cyclone - a next generation systems language |
|
(from the ghc-users list)
Cyclone is a programming language that is as C-like as possible while providing many advanced language features and ensuring memory safety via
strong typing.
We achieve a safe C-like language by:
- Enforcing type safety (e.g., a cast from t1 to t2 is allowed only if it is safe to view a t1 as a t2)
- Maintaining easy inter-operability with C by not changing data representation or calling conventions
- Providing region-based memory management
- Using a combination of type information and run-time checks to prevent array-bound violations
- Wrapping the C standard library with appropriate run-time checks as necessary (e.g., has a FILE already been closed)
Modern features for convenient programming include:
- Tagged unions
- Parametric polymorphism
- Pattern-matching
- Exceptions
- Anonymous structs equivalent by structure
- Parameterized typedefs
- An extensive library for container types and other common utilities
- A lexer generator and parser generator
- Function-level debugging with gdb and profiling with gprof
Interesting to me because they've not only made C safe (there are other systems which do this too), but also added many features from modern programming languages.
Posted to general by Bryn Keller on 9/6/01; 11:10:40 AM
|
|
|
|
Albert Y. C. Lai - Re: Cyclone - a next generation systems language
9/7/2001; 11:10:58 AM (reads: 942, responses: 0)
|
|
|
Ha, first post.
Seriously, modern high-level programming constructs such as parametric polymorphism, safe (tagged) unions, and pattern matching reduce chore and therefore mistakes in programming. It is nice to see that they are appearing in forms that appeal to most programmers. Because of its close connection to C, Cyclone will become as popular as Python, another language that also brings high-level constructs to most programmers.
|
|
Ehud Lamm - Re: Cyclone - a next generation systems language
9/7/2001; 1:54:51 PM (reads: 932, responses: 0)
|
|
|
Aside from pattern-matching, anonymous structs equivalent by structure, an extensive library for container types and other common utilities and a lexer generator and parser generator, you can find all of the other features in standard Ada. The missing features are either unwelcome (structural equivalence) or available through libraries.
|
|
|
|