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Communicating Haskell processes

Brown, Neil Christopher Charles (2011) Communicating Haskell processes. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent. (doi:10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86452) (KAR id:86452)

Abstract

Concurrent programming supports multiple threads of concurrent execution. It is a suitable paradigm for interaction with the outside world, where many inputs (e.g. network packets, key-presses, mouse-clicks) may arrive at any time and need to be dealt with at the same time. Concurrent execution also potentially allows for parallel speed-up; multicore machines are now the standard for new PCs, but the quest to take full advantage of the available parallelism continues. One approach to concurrent programming is process-oriented programming, which uses message-passing and is based on Hoare and Roscoe's Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP). CSP is a process calculus centred on concurrent processes that communicate with each other via synchronous channels. This is used as a formal underpinning for process-oriented programming, either directly (proving behaviours of programs with a CSP model checker) or indirectly (providing sound design principles and patterns). Process-oriented programming has previously been provided in programming languages such as occam-π and libraries for other mainstream languages such as Java and C++. However, as yet process-oriented programming has failed to gain much traction via these implementations; occam-π is rooted in the much older language occam and thus lacks powerful data structures (among other features) which are standard in most modern languages - while languages such as Java and C++, where data is mutable and easily shared, can be an awkward fit to process-oriented programming. Haskell is a functional programming language that is notable for its purity, type-classes, monads and lazy evaluation: modern features that provide interesting and powerful ways to program, including good support for imperative programming. Like other functional languages, it eliminates mutable data - which immediately removes a whole class of problems in concurrent programming. This thesis contends that CSP and process-oriented programming fit well with Haskell. The thesis details the creation of a CSP library for Haskell (Communicating Haskell Processes: CHP) - which features powerful support for process composition - and its further augmentation with capabilities such as support for a new concurrency primitive (conjunction), tracing and the ability to generate formal models of CHP programs. This allows programmers to build concurrent message-passing systems with a strong formal underpinning in a modern programming language, with more features and less complications than process-oriented libraries for other languages.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD))
DOI/Identification number: 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86452
Additional information: This thesis has been digitised by EThOS, the British Library digitisation service, for purposes of preservation and dissemination. It was uploaded to KAR on 09 February 2021 in order to hold its content and record within University of Kent systems. It is available Open Access using a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivatives (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) licence so that the thesis and its author, can benefit from opportunities for increased readership and citation. This was done in line with University of Kent policies (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/strategy/docs/Kent%20Open%20Access%20policy.pdf). If you feel that your rights are compromised by open access to this thesis, or if you would like more information about its availability, please contact us at ResearchSupport@kent.ac.uk and we will seriously consider your claim under the terms of our Take-Down Policy (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/regulations/library/kar-take-down-policy.html).
Uncontrolled keywords: Software, computer programming
Subjects: Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science) > QA 75 Electronic computers. Computer science
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Computing
SWORD Depositor: SWORD Copy
Depositing User: SWORD Copy
Date Deposited: 30 Oct 2019 13:52 UTC
Last Modified: 05 Jan 2022 15:41 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/86452 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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