Revisiting the Futamura Projections: A Diagrammatic Approach
This work addresses the accessibility of theoretical compiler concepts for researchers and practitioners in language implementation, though it is incremental as it revisits existing projections with a new presentation method.
The authors tackled the complexity and abstract nature of the Futamura Projections by introducing a novel diagrammatic approach to improve accessibility and foster analysis of modern language implementation tools like PyPy and Truffle/Graal through the lens of partial evaluation.
The advent of language implementation tools such as PyPy and Truffle/Graal have reinvigorated and broadened interest in topics related to automatic compiler generation and optimization. Given this broader interest, we revisit the Futamura Projections using a novel diagram scheme. Through these diagrams we emphasize the recurring patterns in the Futamura Projections while addressing their complexity and abstract nature. We anticipate that this approach will improve the accessibility of the Futamura Projections and help foster analysis of those new tools through the lens of partial evaluation.