Functional Threading "Macros"

(aartaka.me)

65 points | by GarethX 2 days ago

3 comments

  • adityaathalye 18 hours ago
    If the language allows passing lists of functions, then `comp` can be implemented by hand: https://clojuredocs.org/clojure.core/comp

    And re-implementing `comp` by hand can teach us more than we bargained for (all the way to compiler technology)... I blogged about it here: https://www.evalapply.org/posts/lessons-from-reimplementing-...

      ;; Clojure source code for `comp` (since Clojure v1.0)
      (defn comp
        "Takes a set of functions and returns a fn that is the composition
        of those fns.  The returned fn takes a variable number of args,
        applies the rightmost of fns to the args, the next
        fn (right-to-left) to the result, etc."
        {:added "1.0"
         :static true}
        ([] identity)
        ([f] f)
        ([f g] 
           (fn 
             ([] (f (g)))
             ([x] (f (g x)))
             ([x y] (f (g x y)))
             ([x y z] (f (g x y z)))
             ([x y z & args] (f (apply g x y z args)))))
        ([f g & fs]
           (reduce1 comp (list* f g fs))))
  • nesarkvechnep 8 hours ago
    Starts with saying they like Common Lisp but use Clojure daily, then proceeds with some language called "lamber". What?
    • shawn_w 7 hours ago
      From the post:

      >The language I’m using in this post is Lamber, my Lambda Calculus compiling language. It features a minimalist syntax with only functions, values, if-s, and operators like Wisp’s colon nesting operator and terminating period (similar to Lua’s end.)

  • kazinator 20 hours ago
    The main problem that threading macros solve is the lack of implicit partial application. If you farm that problem to partial-applicative combinators, you can do it:

      This is the TXR Lisp interactive listener of TXR 302.
      Quit with :quit or Ctrl-D on an empty line. Ctrl-X ? for cheatsheet.
      1> (defun bind1 (fn a1) (lambda (a2) [fn a1 a2]))
      bind1
      2> (defun bind2 (fn a2) (lambda (a1) [fn a1 a2]))
      bind2
    
    We define bind1 and bind2 for binding the left or right argument of a binary function producing a unary function, then:

      3> [chain [bind1 * 2] succ]
      #<intrinsic fun: 0 param + variadic>
      4> [*3 10]
      21
    
    The only wart is you have that explicit bind1.

    You can write functions that notice they have fewer arguments than ostensibly required and partially apply themselves. Obviously the standard * can't do that because it's usefully variadic already.

    Anyway, in the implementation of TXR, I've done this kind of thing in C, just with function calls: no macros. E.g. in eval.c, certain functions are prepared that the quasiquote expander uses:

    static val consp_f, second_f, list_form_p_f, quote_form_p_f; static val xform_listed_quote_f;

      static void qquote_init(void)
      {
        val eq_to_list_f = pa_12_1(eq_f, list_s);
        val eq_to_quote_f = pa_12_1(eq_f, quote_s);
        val cons_f = func_n2(cons);
    
        protect(&consp_f, &second_f, &list_form_p_f,
                &quote_form_p_f, &xform_listed_quote_f, convert(val *, 0));
    
        eq_to_list_f = pa_12_1(eq_f, list_s);
        consp_f = func_n1(consp);
        second_f = func_n1(second);
        list_form_p_f = andf(consp_f,
                             chain(car_f, eq_to_list_f, nao),
                             nao);
        quote_form_p_f = andf(consp_f,
                              chain(cdr_f, consp_f, nao),
                              chain(cdr_f, cdr_f, null_f, nao),
                              chain(car_f, eq_to_quote_f, nao),
                              nao);
        xform_listed_quote_f = iffi(andf(consp_f,
                                         chain(car_f, eq_to_list_f, nao),
                                         chain(cdr_f, consp_f, nao),
                                         chain(cdr_f, cdr_f, null_f, nao),
                                         chain(cdr_f, car_f, consp_f, nao),
                                         chain(cdr_f, car_f, car_f, eq_to_quote_f, nao),
                                         nao),
                                    chain(cdr_f, car_f, cdr_f,
                                          pa_12_1(cons_f, nil),
                                          pa_12_2(cons_f, quote_s),
                                          nao),
                                    nil);
      }
    
    "nao" means "not an object": it's a sentinel value used internally in the runt-time for various purposes, the most common of them being the termination of variadic argument lists.

    andf is an and combinator: it returns a function which passes its argument(s) to each function in turn; if anything returns nil, it stops calling functions and returns nil. Otherwise it returns the value of the last function.

    The pa_this_that functions are partial applicator combinators, generalizations of bind1 and bind2. E.g. pa_12_1 means take a fucntion with arguments 1 2, returning a function which just takes 1 (so 2 is bound: this is like bind2). A bunch of these exist, and more coud be added if needed: pa_1234_1, pa_1234_34 pa_123_1, pa_123_2, pa_123_3, pa_12_1 and pa_12_2.