School of Computing

The semantics of Extended ML: A gentle introduction

Stefan Kahrs, Don Sannella, and Andrzej Tarlecki

Theoretical Computer Science, 173(2):182-196, February 1997.

Abstract

Extended ML (EML) is a framework for the formal development of modular Standard ML (SML) software systems. Development commences with a specification of the behaviour required and proceeds via a sequence of partial solutions until a complete solution, an executable SML program, is obtained. All stages in this development process are expressed in the EML language, an extension of SML with axioms for describing properties of module components. This is an overview of the formal definition of the EML language. To complement the full technical details presented elsewhere, it provides an informal explanation of the main ideas, gives the rationale for certain design decisions, and outlines some of the technical issues involved. EML is unusual in being built around a ``real'' programming language having a formally-defined syntax and semantics. Interesting and complex problems arise both from the nature of this relationship and from interactions between the features of the language.

Download publication 108 kbytes

Bibtex Record

@article{560,
author = {Stefan Kahrs and Don Sannella and Andrzej Tarlecki},
title = {The semantics of {E}xtended {ML}: {A} gentle introduction},
month = {February},
year = {1997},
pages = {182-196},
keywords = {determinacy analysis, Craig interpolants},
note = {},
doi = {},
url = {http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/pubs/1997/560},
    journal = {Theoretical Computer Science},
    number = {2},
    publisher = {Elsevier},
    volume = {173},
}

School of Computing, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NF

Enquiries: +44 (0)1227 824180 or contact us.

Last Updated: 21/03/2014