On Jun 21, 2006, at 3:30 PM, Brian Hulley wrote:
Joel Reymont wrote:
I think the issue wasn't using functional programming for large image
processing, it was using Haskell. OCaml is notoriously fast and
strict. Haskell/GHC is... lazy.
Everyone knows that laziness is supposed to be a virtue. In practice,
though, I'm one of the people who either can't wrap their heads
around it or just find themselves having to fight it from the start.
Perhaps laziness is more "foundational", in that you can write
if2 c x y = if c then x else y
[snip some conversation...]
For those who haven't seen this already, here is a presentation by
Simon PJ in which he discusses his views on laziness (among other
things).
http://research.microsoft.com/~simonpj/papers/haskell-retrospective/
HaskellRetrospective.pdf
Takeaway point about laziness: "Laziness keeps you honest" by not
allowing you to slip in side effects.
Bonus takeaway: read Wadler's papers :-)
Rob Dockins
Speak softly and drive a Sherman tank.
Laugh hard; it's a long way to the bank.
-- TMBG
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