Having `lambda` makes the language turing-complete (in spirit)
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- Rust
- Stars
- 458
- Forks
- 22
- PR merge metrics
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Description
I can implement the Y-Combinator:
(define y (lambda (f) ((lambda (x) (f x x)) (lambda (x) (f x x)))))
(y (lambda (x y) (x y)))
$ shadowenv exec env
restriction error: max call stack exceeded
Traceback:
In main, function __shadowenv__foo.lisp
In main, lambda
In main, lambda
In main, lambda
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error while evaluating shadowlisp
Why does the language need lambda at all? Having a non-recursive let already allows for non-recursive variable declarations, and I don’t think much more is required to describe every sensible configuration one would want.
The error messages are rather non-descriptive, as one can see (no lines).
I’d go even further and argue that everything in “Functions and Macros” besides let should be removed.
Full lambda & application semantics makes implementation of the format non-trivial (goes from a data specification format to a full turing-complete language, which has to be tamed by having an arbitrary maximum stack).
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reading the “Functions and Macros” documentation and reproducing the provided Y-combinator command to inspect the current behavior. No source files or tests are named; completion would require a decided scope for lambda support and/or descriptive error messages, followed by verification of the resulting semantics and diagnostics.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- rust
- Domain
- compilers
- Issue type
- Refactor
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 20/100