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Enumerating Counter-Factual Type Error Messages with an Existing Type Checker

Tsushima, Kanae, Chitil, Olaf (2014) Enumerating Counter-Factual Type Error Messages with an Existing Type Checker. In: 16th Workshop on Programming and Programming Languages, PPL2014, 5-7 March 2014, Aso, Japan. (KAR id:49007)

Abstract

The type error message of a standard type checker for a functional language gives only a single location as potential cause of the type error. If that location is not the cause, which often is the case, then the type error message hardly helps in locating the real cause. Here we present a method that uses a standard type checker to enumerate locations that potentially cause the type error, each with an actual and a counter-factual type for the given location. Adding our method to existing compilers requires only limited effort but improves type error debugging substantially.

Item Type: Conference or workshop item (Paper)
Uncontrolled keywords: Hindley-Milner type system, type error debugging, OCaml
Subjects: Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science) > QA 76 Software, computer programming, > QA76.76 Computer software
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Computing
Depositing User: Olaf Chitil
Date Deposited: 11 Jun 2015 11:02 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2021 13:25 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/49007 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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