From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Original-To: caml-list@yquem.inria.fr Delivered-To: caml-list@yquem.inria.fr Received: from nez-perce.inria.fr (nez-perce.inria.fr [192.93.2.78]) by yquem.inria.fr (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7B06BBBBB for ; Thu, 30 Mar 2006 01:38:20 +0200 (CEST) Received: from ash25e.internode.on.net (ash25e.internode.on.net [203.16.214.182]) by nez-perce.inria.fr (8.13.0/8.13.0) with ESMTP id k2TNcI9c022913 for ; Thu, 30 Mar 2006 01:38:19 +0200 Received: from rosella (ppp36-94.lns2.syd6.internode.on.net [59.167.36.94]) by ash25e.internode.on.net (8.13.6/8.13.5) with ESMTP id k2TNcBbT063331; Thu, 30 Mar 2006 10:08:12 +1030 (CST) (envelope-from skaller@users.sourceforge.net) Subject: Re: [Caml-list] FP & Software Engineering From: skaller To: jtbryant@valdosta.edu Cc: caml-list@yquem.inria.fr In-Reply-To: <1143673272.14880.31.camel@localhost.localdomain> References: <1143673272.14880.31.camel@localhost.localdomain> Content-Type: text/plain Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 10:38:10 +1100 Message-Id: <1143675491.21285.22.camel@rosella.wigram> Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Evolution 2.4.1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Miltered: at nez-perce with ID 442B1A6A.000 by Joe's j-chkmail (http://j-chkmail.ensmp.fr)! X-Spam: no; 0.00; ocaml:01 hofs:01 functors:01 applicative:01 2006:98 ink:98 wrote:01 sourceforge:01 caml-list:01 partial:01 functions:01 int:01 hmm:02 variables:02 functional:02 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.3 (2005-04-27) on yquem.inria.fr X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=disabled version=3.0.3 On Wed, 2006-03-29 at 18:01 -0500, Jonathan Bryant wrote: > I've been fighting my professors to let me use OCaml for over a year now > and this professor is, at least, the first one who's halfway letting me > use it. Unfortunately, he is not completely convinced. Being a OO & > ASP/.NET junkie and never having seriously used a functional language, > he is lost as to HOFs, functors, partial application, etc. and isn't > really convinced that they are useful/necessary (I also believe he > hasn't more than glanced at the code). Sounds like you should be the professor, and he the student :) > He is also demanding UML > diagrams of my code with these notated in it. > If not, how are these things > usually notated in academic settings Category theory. It's full of pictures :) But doesn't fit well with applicative languages (CT is compositional). Hmm.. 'a list ----- filter ----> 'a list you can draw some pictures of functions and join up the domains and codomains, and, instantiate type variables: 'a list || || V int list I guess you'll eventually get enough ink on paper to make it look pretty. -- John Skaller Felix, successor to C++: http://felix.sf.net