May 2022 - Haskell-Cafe

data/newtype examples
by Johannes Waldmann 06 May '22

06 May '22

Dear Cafe - I wanted a quick example (for teaching) that shows a difference between data and newtype. You'd think that `newtype` makes things more strict, so we'd see more exceptions. Then try the following, and try to guess the semantics beforehand: ghci> data D = D Bool ghci> case D undefined of D x -> () ghci> case undefined of D x -> () ghci> newtype N = N Bool ghci> case N undefined of N x -> () ghci> case undefined of N x -> () What examples do you use? I'm interested both in simple ones, and confusing/obfuscated ones. Yes I know I can ghci> seq (D undefined) () () ghci> seq (N undefined) () *** Exception: Prelude.undefined but that `seq` is extra magic that needs to be explained. Well, perhaps I should. To show that I've done some homework here: the primary source of truth is the Haskell Language Report (well hidden at the bottomest end of https://www.haskell.org/documentation/) and it uses (in 4.2.3 Datatype Renamings) the concept of "equivalent to bottom". Then 6.2 Strict Evaluation shows how to test that with `seq` (without mentioning newtype, and that's fine since the Report is not a tutorial). This suggests that `seq` is really the way to go here. There are examples for data/newtype/case combined in 3.17.2 Informal Semantics of Pattern Matching but they distinguish between newtype N = N Bool and data D = D !Bool (with a bang). - J.W.

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Deadline extension CfP: FMBC 2022 - 4th International Workshop on Formal Methods for Blockchains
by Zaynah Dargaye 04 May '22

04 May '22

FMBC 2022 Deadline Extension Call for Papers [ Please distribute, apologies for multiple postings. ] ======================================================================== 4rd International Workshop on Formal Methods for Blockchains (FMBC) - Deadline Extension Call https://fmbc.gitlab.io/2022 August 11, 2022, Haifa, Israel Co-located with The Federated Logic Conference 2022 (FLoC 22 -- https://www.floc2022.org/) as a satellite workshop of the 34th International Conference on Computer-Aided Verification (CAV 2022 -- http://i-cav.org/2022/) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Important dates --------------------- Abstract submission: May 3, 2022, *May 10, 2022* Full paper submission: May 10, 2022 *May 17, 2022* Notification: June 15, 2022 Camera-ready: July 13, 2022 Workshop: August 11, 2022 Deadlines are Anywhere on Earth -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anywhere_on_Earth. ---------------------- ---------------------- TOPICS OF INTEREST --------------------- Blockchains are decentralized transactional ledgers that rely on cryptographic hash functions for guaranteeing the integrity of the stored data. Participants on the network reach agreement on what valid transactions are through consensus algorithms. Blockchains may also provide support for Smart Contracts. Smart Contracts are scripts of an ad-hoc programming language that are stored in the Blockchain and that run on the network. They can interact with the ledger’s data and update its state. These scripts can express the logic of possibly complex contracts between users of the Blockchain. Thus, Smart Contracts can facilitate the economic activity of Blockchain participants. With the emergence and increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, it is now of utmost importance to have strong guarantees of the behavior of Blockchain software. These guarantees can be brought by using Formal Methods. Indeed, Blockchain software encompasses many topics of computer science where using Formal Methods techniques and tools are relevant: consensus algorithms to ensure the liveness and the security of the data on the chain, programming languages specifically designed to write Smart Contracts, cryptographic protocols, such as zero-knowledge proofs, used to ensure privacy, etc. This workshop is a forum to identify theoretical and practical approaches of formal methods for Blockchain technology. Topics include, but are not limited to: * Formal models of Blockchain applications or concepts * Formal methods for consensus protocols * Formal methods for Blockchain-specific cryptographic primitives or protocols * Design and implementation of Smart Contract languages * Verification of Smart Contracts ---------------------- ---------------------- SUBMISSION --------------------- Submit original manuscripts (not published or considered elsewhere) with a page limit of 12 pages for full papers and Systemization of Knowledge (SoK) papers, and 6 pages for short papers, and 2 pages for tool papers (excluding bibliography and short appendix of up to 5 additional pages). Alternatively you may also submit an extended abstract of up to 3 pages (including bibliography) summarizing your ongoing work in the area of formal methods and blockchain. Authors of selected extended abstracts are invited to give a short lightning talk. Submission link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=fmbc2022 Authors are encouraged to use LaTeX and prepare their submissions according to the instructions and styling guides for OASIcs provided by Dagstuhl. Instructions for authors: https://submission.dagstuhl.de/series/details/5#author At least one author of an accepted paper is expected to present the paper at the workshop as a registered participant. -------------------- -------------------- PROCEEDINGS ------------------- All submissions will be peer-reviewed by at least three members of the program committee for quality and relevance. Accepted regular papers (full and short papers) will be included in the workshop proceedings. ---------------------- ---------------------- INVITED SPEAKER --------------------- Massimo Bartoletti, Professor, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy ---------------------- ---------------------- PROGRAM COMMITTEE --------------------- PC CO-CHAIRS * Zaynah Dargaye (Nomadic Labs, France) (zaynah.dargaye(a)nomadic-labs.com) * Clara Schneidewind (MPI-SP, Germany) (clara.schneidewind(a)mpi-sp.org) PC MEMBERS Wolfgang Ahrendt (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden) Leonardo Alt (Ethereum Foundation, Germany) Lacramioara Astefanoaei (Nomadic Labs, France) Roberto Blanco (MPI-SP, Germany) Joachim Breitner (Germany) Achim Brucker (University of Exeter, UK) Ethan Cecchetti (University of Maryland, USA) Manuel Chakravarty (IOHK & Tweag, Netherlands) Jing Chen (Algorand Inc, USA) Jérémie Decouchant (TU Delft, Netherlands) Antonella Del Pozzo (Université Paris-Saclay & CEA & List, France) Dana Drachsler Cohen (Technion, Israel) Cezara Dragoi (INRIA & ENS & CNRS & PSL, France) Ansgar Fehnker (Twente, Netherlands) Dominik Harz (Interlay & Imperial College London, UK) Lars Hupel (INNOQ, Germany) Igor Konnov (Informal Systems, Austria) Paul Laforgue (Nomadic Labs, France) Julian Nagele (Bank of America, USA) Russel O’Connor (Blockstream) Maria Potop-Butucaru (LIP6, France) Albert Rubio (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain) César Sanchez (IMDEA, Spain) Sun Meng (Peking University, China) Simon Thompson (IO Global, UK) Josef Widder (Informal Systems, Austria)

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Journal of Functional Programming - Call For PhD Abstracts
by Graham Hutton 03 May '22

03 May '22

Dear all, If you or one of your students recently completed a PhD in the area of functional programming, please submit the dissertation abstract for publication in JFP: simple process, no refereeing, open access, 200+ published to date, deadline 31st May 2022. Please share! Best wishes, Graham Hutton ============================================================ CALL FOR PHD ABSTRACTS Journal of Functional Programming Deadline: 31st May 2022 http://tinyurl.com/jfp-phd-abstracts ============================================================ PREAMBLE: Many students complete PhDs in functional programming each year. As a service to the community, twice per year the Journal of Functional Programming publishes the abstracts from PhD dissertations completed during the previous year. The abstracts are made freely available on the JFP website, i.e. not behind any paywall. They do not require any transfer of copyright, merely a license from the author. A dissertation is eligible for inclusion if parts of it have or could have appeared in JFP, that is, if it is in the general area of functional programming. The abstracts are not reviewed. Please submit dissertation abstracts according to the instructions below. We welcome submissions from both the PhD student and PhD advisor/supervisor although we encourage them to coordinate. ============================================================ SUBMISSION: Please submit the following information to Graham Hutton <graham.hutton(a)nottingham.ac.uk> by 31st May 2022. o Dissertation title: (including any subtitle) o Student: (full name) o Awarding institution: (full name and country) o Date of PhD award: (month and year; depending on the institution, this may be the date of the viva, corrections being approved, graduation ceremony, or otherwise) o Advisor/supervisor: (full names) o Dissertation URL: (please provide a permanently accessible link to the dissertation if you have one, such as to an institutional repository or other public archive; links to personal web pages should be considered a last resort) o Dissertation abstract: (plain text, maximum 350 words; you may use \emph{...} for emphasis, but we prefer no other markup or formatting; if your original abstract exceeds the word limit, please submit an abridged version within the limit) Please do not submit a copy of the dissertation itself, as this is not required. JFP reserves the right to decline to publish abstracts that are not deemed appropriate. ============================================================ PHD ABSTRACT EDITOR: Graham Hutton School of Computer Science University of Nottingham Nottingham NG8 1BB United Kingdom ============================================================ This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender and delete the email and attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored where permitted by law.

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GHC 9.4.1-alpha1 now available
by Ben Gamari 01 May '22

01 May '22

The GHC developers are happy to announce the availability of the first alpha release of the GHC 9.4 series. Binary distributions, source distributions, and documentation are available at downloads.haskell.org: https://downloads.haskell.org/ghc/9.4.1-alpha1 This major release will include: - A new profiling mode, `-fprof-late`, which adds automatic cost-center annotations to all top-level functions *after* Core optimisation has run. This incurs significantly less performance cost while still providing informative profiles. - A variety of plugin improvements including the introduction of a new plugin type, *defaulting plugins*, and the ability for typechecking plugins to rewrite type-families. - An improved constructed product result analysis, allowing unboxing of nested structures, and a new boxity analysis, leading to less reboxing. - Introduction of a tag-check elision optimisation, bringing significant performance improvements in strict programs. - Generalisation of a variety of primitive types to be levity polymorphic. Consequently, the `ArrayArray#` type can at long last be retired, replaced by standard `Array#`. - Introduction of the `\cases` syntax from [GHC proposal 0302] - A complete overhaul of GHC's Windows support. This includes a migration to a fully Clang-based C toolchain, a deep refactoring of the linker, and many fixes in WinIO. - Support for multiple home packages, significantly improving support in IDEs and other tools for multi-package projects. - A refactoring of GHC's error message infrastructure, allowing GHC to provide diagnostic information to downstream consumers as structured data, greatly easing IDE support. - Significant compile-time improvements to runtime and memory consumption. - ... and much more We would like to thank Microsoft Azure, GitHub, IOHK, the Zw3rk stake pool, Tweag I/O, Serokell, Equinix, SimSpace, and other anonymous contributors whose on-going financial and in-kind support has facilitated GHC maintenance and release management over the years. Finally, this release would not have been possible without the hundreds of open-source contributors whose work comprise this release. As always, do give this release a try and open a [ticket] if you see anything amiss. Happy testing, - Ben [GHC proposal 0302]: https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/blob/master/proposals/0302-c… [ticket]: https://gitlab.haskell.org/ghc/ghc/-/issues/new

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