Syntax and Semantics of Babel-17

TL;DR

Babel-17 is a pioneering purely functional programming language that integrates pattern matching, object-oriented features, concurrency, lazy evaluation, and memoization, advancing the practical implementation of PFSP.

Contribution

It introduces Babel-17, the first language to combine PFSP with modern programming features like pattern matching, concurrency, and object orientation.

Findings

Demonstrates how PFSP can be combined with pattern matching and object-oriented programming.

Shows support for concurrency, lazy evaluation, and memoization in a functional language.

Advances the practical realization of purely functional structured programming.

Abstract

We present Babel-17, the first programming language for purely functional structured programming (PFSP). Earlier work illustrated PFSP in the framework of a toy research language. Babel-17 takes this earlier work to a new level by showing how PFSP can be combined with pattern matching, object oriented programming, and features like concurrency, lazy evaluation, memoization and support for lenses.