Compiling Non­strict Functional Languages for the .NET Platform

Monique Monteiro (Center of Informatics, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil)

Mauro Araújo (Center of Informatics, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil)

Rafael Borges (Center of Informatics, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil)

André Santos (Center of Informatics, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil)

Abstract: In this work, we propose a compilation strategy for non­strict functional languages targeting the Microsoft .NET Platform, a multilanguage platform which provides a large number of services to aid current software development. This strategy is based on the push/enter execution model, enables fast function calling mechanisms whenever possible and males use of new features present in .NET Framework, such as delegates and tail calls. Our case study was the compilation of the Haskell language, a standardized and well known non­strict functional language. Our main contribution is the construction of an environment for the testing of different compilation techniques for functional languages targeting .NET.

Keywords: .NET, Haskell, compilers, functional programming, languages interoperability, virtual machines

Categories: D.3.3