
Polynomial functors (in categorical datatypes)
Article 1960 of comp.lang.functional:
> I'm pretty sure that polynomial functors are not what's
> really needed to make Malcolm-style datatype constructions
> in BMF work. There's a paper from the group at Calgary
> (Cockett et al.) from which I gather that strength is
> the real property of importance.
At least it seems to be an important starting point if we are to take
categorical programming within the Hagino style seriously.
The "et al." group includes Tom Fukushima who has actually implemented
such a CDT programming language (CHARITY) with initial and final datatypes,
and myself, whose thesis - "Categorical Programming with Functorial
Strength" that expounds on much of the categorical underpinnings of this
language - will be completed within the next month or so. The parallels
with Malcolm's syntactic calculus are very strong (not a pun) and the
variety of datatypes available to the programmer is quite reasonable
for much practical programming (e.g. database applications).
- Dwight Spencer
Oregon Graduate Institute --> Trinity College, Hartford, CT