On the Revival of Dynamic Languages

On the Revival of Dynamic Languages by Nierstrasz O, Bergel A, Denker M, Ducasse S, Gälli M, Wuyts R.

This paper reads a little like propaganda for dynamic languages. The discussion on Lambda the Ultimate (linked below) raises some interesting points and points out some of the inconsistencies in their argument (static languages can't prove everything, so let's use dynamic languages which prove nothing).

That aside, the authors do discuss some interesting language features. First-class namespaces can be used, as they describe, to implement horizontal sub-classing (a compelling use case has been discussed on LtU). Similarly, their desire for pluggable type systems seems a little reminiscent of the approach that the PyPy project has taken with object spaces. On the other hand, I don't really like their suggestion that image-based languages are the way to go (I much prefer to write code in my favourite editor, manage it using my favourite version control system, etc.). All up, it's an interesting read (if only for the descriptions of the various language features the authors like).

DOI | CiteULike | Del.icio.us | LtU

Maria-sama ga Miteru Novel English Translation Project

Some of my favourite anime and manga are based on Japanese novels which can be quite frustrating: anime and manga are accessible by dint of fan translation efforts, but translations of novels is pretty rare. That is why Geoff Zichterman's Maria-sama ga Miteru Novel English Translation Project is so awesome: he has managed (with assistance) to translate the entirety of the first volume of KONNO Oyuki's Maria-sama ga Miteru.

This has inspired me to make a somewhat belated new-years resolution: by the end of 2006 I hope to be able to read this book in Japanese.

Del.icio.us

Podcasts

Playing with Del.icio.us in the sidebar made me realise that I really ought to list the podcasts that I subscribe to. Here then is a list of my listening habits:

• All in the Mind from ABC Radio National
  Delving into all things mental: the latest research and expert commentary on our brains and behaviour.
• Books and Writing from ABC Radio National
  Books and Writing is the foremost national literary program broadcast throughout Australia. It features in-depth discussions focusing on books, ideas and writing.
• By Design from ABC Radio National
  Alan Saunders looks at how we shape our world, from the ground up.
• Craphound.com: The Literary Works of Cory Doctorow by Cory Doctorow
  Short-stories in progress by an award-winning science fiction writer, read aloud in small regular chunks.
• The Nature Podcast
  The Nature Podcast provides insight and context to groundbreaking research, and allows the scientists to explain the significance of their work in their own words.
• Ockham's Razor from ABC Radio National
  Thoughtful people have their say, without interruption, on important science-related topics.
• The Science Show from ABC Radio National
  RN's science flagship: your essential source of what's making news in the complex world of scientific research, scandal and discovery.
• Sunday Night Safran from Triple J
  John Safran and his guests (including regular Father Bob) talk an amusing mix of religion and politics. We've taken the program, and edited the music out to a 60-70min program.
• Raw Comedy from Triple J
  We bring you selected highlights from the Raw Comedy Festival heats and finals from around the country. These range in length (and quality) but are usually no longer than ten minutes.

Designing Effective Step-By-Step Assembly Instructions

Designing Effective Step-By-Step Assembly Instructions by Agrawala M, Phan D, Heiser J, Haymaker J, Klingner J, Hanrahan P, Tversky B. In ACM Transactions on Graphics, 2003.

My first CAD class today reminded me of this paper; I can't remember how I came across it, but it was quite interesting. It's in my stack to re-read and I'll post more about it when it pops off the top.

DOI | ACM | Google | Del.icio.us | CiteULike

Posting Splurge

This is the last in a posting splurge I've had this afternoon: six paper posts have been added and one has been updated. I intend this to be the first in a series of weekly or biweekly session in which I post the papers I've been reading. Perhaps now that I'm studying education rather than computer science, I'll be able to get some more reading done.

Suggestions of papers to read are most welcome and can be sent by email.

Putting Curry-Howard to Work

Putting Curry-Howard to Work by Tim Sheard.

This paper describes some type system feature suggested by the Curry-Howard isomorphism (which states that types are propositions and that programs are their proofs). The language Ωmega is a descendant of Haskell in which the author has implemented all of the features described in the paper.

I still haven't finished reading it, but it's at the top of my pile.

DOI | Del.icio.us | CiteULike | LtU

Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies

Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies

An interesting look at the claim frequently made by theists that religion promotes, or is even the source of, morality.

Google | Del.icio.us | CiteULike

Finger Trees: A Simple General-purpose Data Structure

Finger Trees: A Simple General-purpose Data Structure by Ralf Hinze and Ross Paterson.

This paper presents 2-3 finger trees, a purely functional representation of persistent sequences. The ends of each sequence can be accessed in amortised constant time and they can be concatenated and split in logarithmic time. Best of all, the paper develops them in Haskell.

I've started working through the code myself, but have not yet managed to get it finished.

DOI | LtU | CiteULike | Del.icio.us

Matching Power by Cirstea H, Kirchner C and Liquori L.

Matching Power by Cirstea H, Kirchner C and Liquori L.

This is the first paper I've read about rewriting calculi and, if nothing else, it's made me want to read more. In it, the authors provide an introduction to pattern matching, introduce the syntax and semantics of the ρ-calculus, and present a number of compelling examples of its power. Section four is the most interesting part of the paper (the rest being primarily and introduction to the calculus): in it the authors present encodings of the Lambda Calculus of Objects (Fisher, Honsell, and Mitchell) and the Object Calculus (Abadi and Cardelli) into the ρ-calculus.

ACM | Google | CiteULike | Del.icio.us | LtU

Interpreting the Data: Parallel Analysis with Sawzall (Draft)

Interpreting the Data: Parallel Analysis with Sawzall (Draft)

While MapReduce and GFS allow Google to use their massive computer clusters effectively, the use of C++ can make programming for such a systems more difficult than it needs to be. Cue Sawzall, a new language that Google use to write distributed, parallel data-processing programs for use on their clusters. While the language isn't particularly attractive (I've never liked C-style syntax's), the approach is very interesting and the implementation issues they describe are enlightening.

LtU | CiteULike | Del.icio.us