Abstract
Polymorphic types in programming languages facilitate code reuse, increase reliability and reduce semantic errors in programs. Hindley-Milner type inference forms a strong basis for checking polymorphic types but is less well suited to explaining them, as it introduces intermediate constructs that relate poorly to a programmer's understanding of the program. We report an experiment into expert human type explanation and uncover a simple set of rules for human-like explanations. We present a type explanation system based on these rules rather than Hindley-Milner inference. The system uses a new H inference algorithm to annotate types with explanations and is designed to produce succinct, non-repetitive explanations with minimal reference to artefacts of mechanized type inference.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 436-452 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Computer Journal |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2002 |