10 Jul
2007
10 Jul
'07
7:26 p.m.
On Tue, Jul 10, 2007 at 08:08:52PM +0100, Andrew Coppin wrote:
Erm... Wait a sec... coroutines, comonads, coprograms, codata... what in the name of goodness does "co" actually *mean* anyway??
Nothing. When mathematicians find a new thing completely unlike an OldThing, but related by some symmetry, they often call the new thing a CoOldThing. Data can only be constructed using constructors, but can be deconstructed using recursive folds; Codata can only be deconstructed using case analysis, but can be constructed using recursive unfolds. Monads keep things inside. Comonads keep things outside. Homology theory studies the boundaries of shapes. Cohomology theory studies the insides of curves. ... Stefan