Lambda the Ultimate

inactiveTopic 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection
started 9/13/2002; 7:39:16 AM - last post 10/14/2002; 11:10:09 AM

Ehud Lamm - 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
9/13/2002; 7:39:16 AM (reads: 2765, responses: 13)

20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection

We began by soliciting nominations from the committee and community at large. At least three committee members carefully reviewed all the papers in each year. We received 351 nominations from the community and the committee, resulting in the nomination of 174 distinct papers. Each committee member then voted for 60 of these 174. Excluding the top 29 papers, we voted again with 15 votes among the additional 45 papers that had garnered at least one vote in the previous round.

An interesting multifarious collection of papers.

Too bad only a few of the papers I nominated were selected.

Posted to history by Ehud Lamm on 9/13/02; 7:40:24 AM

Noel Welsh - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
9/13/2002; 8:51:57 AM (reads: 1679, responses: 2)

Very implementation orientated. I was expecting more focus on the design aspects and less on the implementation. That said, the papers I'd rank as the most important ones pertaining to functional language implementation (Shiver's 0CFA and Felleisen et al Compiling with Continuation) are in there.

Ehud Lamm - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
9/15/2002; 2:54:40 PM (reads: 2316, responses: 1)

I was expecting more focus on the design aspects and less on the implementation.

I agree, and for this reason I here by announce a LtU exclusive event: Best Language Design Papers survey.

The rules are simple: Only published papers, talks or book chapters may be entered. Any LtU reader can nominate as many papers as he wants. Papers with the full text online are preferred.

Relevant topics include, but are not restricted to:

General discussion of language design.
Analysis or rationale of the design of a specific programming language.
The design of specific language features (e.g., module systems).
Domain specific language design.

Ehud Lamm - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
9/15/2002; 3:28:24 PM (reads: 2362, responses: 0)

Growing a Language. Guy Steele. OOPSLA '98, Invited Talk, 10/22/98.
Little Languages. Jon Bentley. In More Programming Pearls, AW, 1988. (More details about some of the languages discussed in this essay can be found in Bell Labs technical reports: GRAP, PIC, CHEM)

James Hague - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
9/17/2002; 10:20:04 AM (reads: 1259, responses: 1)

I second the "Growing a Language" nomination, and I'll add:

Notation as a Tool of Thought. Ken Iverson, Turing Award Lecture, 1979.

Ehud Lamm - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
9/17/2002; 10:35:10 AM (reads: 1313, responses: 0)

I second that! How could I forget this one...

Paul McJones - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
9/19/2002; 4:07:11 PM (reads: 1212, responses: 1)

"How the Language Got its Spots" in Systems Programming with Modula-3, edited by Greg Nelson (1991, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-590464-1).

Ehud Lamm - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
9/20/2002; 3:38:16 PM (reads: 1235, responses: 0)

Author?

Is this available online?

Paul McJones - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
9/22/2002; 10:46:17 AM (reads: 1163, responses: 0)

I believe Greg Nelson was the author of that chapter. And I don't believe it's available online. It's possible that since the book is out of print Greg would be willing to put it online.

Paul McJones - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
10/13/2002; 4:22:35 PM (reads: 1099, responses: 1)

Hints On Programming Language Design by C.A.R. Hoare. This report is based on a keynote address presented at the first SIGACT/SIGPLAN Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages, Boston, October 1-3, 1973.

Ehud Lamm - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
10/14/2002; 5:27:35 AM (reads: 1133, responses: 0)

This report does make a good read (in fact I had a copy lying on my desk, since I like to recommend it to people).

Notice, however, that this was written a long time ago - and it shows. Small example: "Since in principle programs should be read by others, or reread by their authors, before being submitted to the computer..." Before? Why is that, one wonders.

Indeed, the report talks too much about efficiency for my tastes. Sounds like it was written when computers were slooow.

Paul McJones - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
10/14/2002; 10:57:16 AM (reads: 1080, responses: 2)

Computers were slow, tiny, and EXPENSIVE. There were no personal computers, and time-sharing systems were still rare. Lots of programmers were still using punched cards. It was a very common experience to realize you'd made a mistake while you were still waiting for the output from a previous "job" to come back.

Although many of the points Hoare made about language implementation may seem dated, I think his advice regarding simplicity, security etc., plus his related work on record types, Algol W, monitors and condition variables, etc., make him well worth reading and recommending to others. (Hint: look at how much of Java is anticipated in work Hoare and others did 30 years ago.)

Call it history if you want, but I think it's very valuable to stay in touch with how we got to where we are now.

Ehud Lamm - Re: 20 Years of PLDI (1979 - 1999): A Selection blueArrow
10/14/2002; 11:03:49 AM (reads: 1126, responses: 0)

Like I said in fact I had a copy lying on my desk, since I like to recommend it to people...