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22<a href="./Home">MLton 20180207</a>\r
23</div>\r
24</div>\r
25<div id="header">\r
26<h1>Fold</h1>\r
27</div>\r
28<div id="content">\r
29<div id="preamble">\r
30<div class="sectionbody">\r
31<div class="paragraph"><p>This page describes a technique that enables convenient syntax for a\r
32number of language features that are not explicitly supported by\r
33<a href="StandardML">Standard ML</a>, including: variable number of arguments,\r
34<a href="OptionalArguments">optional arguments and labeled arguments</a>,\r
35<a href="ArrayLiteral">array and vector literals</a>,\r
36<a href="FunctionalRecordUpdate">functional record update</a>,\r
37and (seemingly) dependently typed functions like <a href="Printf">printf</a> and scanf.</p></div>\r
38<div class="paragraph"><p>The key idea to <em>fold</em> is to define functions <span class="monospaced">fold</span>, <span class="monospaced">step0</span>,\r
39and <span class="monospaced">$</span> such that the following equation holds.</p></div>\r
40<div class="listingblock">\r
41<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
42<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">))))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
43</pre></div></div></div>\r
44<div class="paragraph"><p>The name <span class="monospaced">fold</span> comes because this is like a traditional list fold,\r
45where <span class="monospaced">a</span> is the <em>base element</em>, and each <em>step function</em>,\r
46<span class="monospaced">step0 hi</span>, corresponds to one element of the list and does one\r
47step of the fold. The name <span class="monospaced">$</span> is chosen to mean "end of\r
48arguments" from its common use in regular-expression syntax.</p></div>\r
49<div class="paragraph"><p>Unlike the usual list fold in which the same function is used to step\r
50over each element in the list, this fold allows the step functions to\r
51be different from each other, and even to be of different types. Also\r
52unlike the usual list fold, this fold includes a "finishing\r
53function", <span class="monospaced">f</span>, that is applied to the result of the fold. The\r
54presence of the finishing function may seem odd because there is no\r
55analogy in list fold. However, the finishing function is essential;\r
56without it, there would be no way for the folder to perform an\r
57arbitrary computation after processing all the arguments. The\r
58examples below will make this clear.</p></div>\r
59<div class="paragraph"><p>The functions <span class="monospaced">fold</span>, <span class="monospaced">step0</span>, and <span class="monospaced">$</span> are easy to\r
60define.</p></div>\r
61<div class="listingblock">\r
62<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"></span>\r
63<span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">id</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">x</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">x</span><span class="w"></span>\r
64<span class="k">structure</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
65<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"></span>\r
66<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
67<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
68<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">end</span><span class="w"></span>\r
69</pre></div></div></div>\r
70<div class="paragraph"><p>We&#8217;ve placed <span class="monospaced">fold</span> and <span class="monospaced">step0</span> in the <span class="monospaced">Fold</span> structure\r
71but left <span class="monospaced">$</span> at the toplevel because it is convenient in code to\r
72always have <span class="monospaced">$</span> in scope. We&#8217;ve also defined the identity\r
73function, <span class="monospaced">id</span>, at the toplevel since we use it so frequently.</p></div>\r
74<div class="paragraph"><p>Plugging in the definitions, it is easy to verify the equation from\r
75above.</p></div>\r
76<div class="listingblock">\r
77<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
78<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
79<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
80<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
81<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
82<span class="p">...</span><span class="w"></span>\r
83<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">))),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
84<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">))),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
85<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">))))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
86</pre></div></div></div>\r
87</div>\r
88</div>\r
89<div class="sect1">\r
90<h2 id="_example_variable_number_of_arguments">Example: variable number of arguments</h2>\r
91<div class="sectionbody">\r
92<div class="paragraph"><p>The simplest example of fold is accepting a variable number of\r
93(curried) arguments. We&#8217;ll define a function <span class="monospaced">f</span> and argument\r
94<span class="monospaced">a</span> such that all of the following expressions are valid.</p></div>\r
95<div class="listingblock">\r
96<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
97<span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
98<span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
99<span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
100<span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="cm">(* as many a&#39;s as we want *)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
101</pre></div></div></div>\r
102<div class="paragraph"><p>Off-hand it may appear impossible that all of the above expressions\r
103are type correct SML&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;how can a function <span class="monospaced">f</span> accept a variable\r
104number of curried arguments? What could the type of <span class="monospaced">f</span> be?\r
105We&#8217;ll have more to say later on how type checking works. For now,\r
106once we have supplied the definitions below, you can check that the\r
107expressions are type correct by feeding them to your favorite SML\r
108implementation.</p></div>\r
109<div class="paragraph"><p>It is simple to define <span class="monospaced">f</span> and <span class="monospaced">a</span>. We define <span class="monospaced">f</span> as a\r
110folder whose base element is <span class="monospaced">()</span> and whose finish function does\r
111nothing. We define <span class="monospaced">a</span> as the step function that does nothing.\r
112The only trickiness is that we must <a href="EtaExpansion">eta expand</a> the\r
113definition of <span class="monospaced">f</span> and <span class="monospaced">a</span> to work around the ValueRestriction;\r
114we frequently use eta expansion for this purpose without mention.</p></div>\r
115<div class="listingblock">\r
116<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">base</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"></span>\r
117<span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">finish</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"></span>\r
118<span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"></span>\r
119<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">base</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">finish</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
120<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
121</pre></div></div></div>\r
122<div class="paragraph"><p>One can easily apply the fold equation to verify by hand that <span class="monospaced">f</span>\r
123applied to any number of <span class="monospaced">a</span>'s evaluates to <span class="monospaced">()</span>.</p></div>\r
124<div class="listingblock">\r
125<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
126<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">finish</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">base</span><span class="p">)))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
127<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">finish</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
128<span class="p">...</span><span class="w"></span>\r
129<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">finish</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"></span>\r
130<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"></span>\r
131</pre></div></div></div>\r
132</div>\r
133</div>\r
134<div class="sect1">\r
135<h2 id="_example_variable_argument_sum">Example: variable-argument sum</h2>\r
136<div class="sectionbody">\r
137<div class="paragraph"><p>Let&#8217;s look at an example that computes something: a variable-argument\r
138function <span class="monospaced">sum</span> and a stepper <span class="monospaced">a</span> such that</p></div>\r
139<div class="listingblock">\r
140<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">sum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i1</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">im</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">im</span><span class="w"></span>\r
141</pre></div></div></div>\r
142<div class="paragraph"><p>The idea is simple&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;the folder starts with a base accumulator of\r
143<span class="monospaced">0</span> and the stepper adds each element to the accumulator, <span class="monospaced">s</span>,\r
144which the folder simply returns at the end.</p></div>\r
145<div class="listingblock">\r
146<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
147<span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
148</pre></div></div></div>\r
149<div class="paragraph"><p>Using the fold equation, one can verify the following.</p></div>\r
150<div class="listingblock">\r
151<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">sum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">3</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">6</span><span class="w"></span>\r
152</pre></div></div></div>\r
153</div>\r
154</div>\r
155<div class="sect1">\r
156<h2 id="_step1">Step1</h2>\r
157<div class="sectionbody">\r
158<div class="paragraph"><p>It is sometimes syntactically convenient to omit the parentheses\r
159around the steps in a fold. This is easily done by defining a new\r
160function, <span class="monospaced">step1</span>, as follows.</p></div>\r
161<div class="listingblock">\r
162<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">structure</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
163<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"></span>\r
164<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">open</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="w"></span>\r
165<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
166<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">end</span><span class="w"></span>\r
167</pre></div></div></div>\r
168<div class="paragraph"><p>From the definition of <span class="monospaced">step1</span>, we have the following\r
169equivalence.</p></div>\r
170<div class="listingblock">\r
171<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">b</span><span class="w"></span>\r
172<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">b</span><span class="w"></span>\r
173<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
174</pre></div></div></div>\r
175<div class="paragraph"><p>Using the above equivalence, we can compute the following equation for\r
176<span class="monospaced">step1</span>.</p></div>\r
177<div class="listingblock">\r
178<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">b1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">b2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">bn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
179<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">b2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">bn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
180<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">bn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
181<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">bn</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)))),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
182<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">bn</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)))))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
183</pre></div></div></div>\r
184<div class="paragraph"><p>Here is an example using <span class="monospaced">step1</span> to define a variable-argument\r
185product function, <span class="monospaced">prod</span>, with a convenient syntax.</p></div>\r
186<div class="listingblock">\r
187<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">prod</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">p</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">p</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
188<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">p</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">p</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
189</pre></div></div></div>\r
190<div class="paragraph"><p>The functions <span class="monospaced">prod</span> and <span class="monospaced">&grave;</span> satisfy the following equation.</p></div>\r
191<div class="listingblock">\r
192<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">prod</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`i1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`i2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`im</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">im</span><span class="w"></span>\r
193</pre></div></div></div>\r
194<div class="paragraph"><p>Note that in SML, <span class="monospaced">&grave;i1</span> is two different tokens, <span class="monospaced">&grave;</span> and\r
195<span class="monospaced">i1</span>. We often use <span class="monospaced">&grave;</span> for an instance of a <span class="monospaced">step1</span> function\r
196because of its syntactic unobtrusiveness and because no space is\r
197required to separate it from an alphanumeric token.</p></div>\r
198<div class="paragraph"><p>Also note that there are no parenthesis around the steps. That is,\r
199the following expression is not the same as the above one (in fact, it\r
200is not type correct).</p></div>\r
201<div class="listingblock">\r
202<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">prod</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">`i1</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">`i2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">`im</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
203</pre></div></div></div>\r
204</div>\r
205</div>\r
206<div class="sect1">\r
207<h2 id="_example_list_literals">Example: list literals</h2>\r
208<div class="sectionbody">\r
209<div class="paragraph"><p>SML already has a syntax for list literals, e.g. <span class="monospaced">[w, x, y, z]</span>.\r
210However, using fold, we can define our own syntax.</p></div>\r
211<div class="listingblock">\r
212<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">([],</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">rev</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
213<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">op</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">::</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
214</pre></div></div></div>\r
215<div class="paragraph"><p>The idea is that the folder starts out with the empty list, the steps\r
216accumulate the elements into a list, and then the finishing function\r
217reverses the list at the end.</p></div>\r
218<div class="paragraph"><p>With these definitions one can write a list like:</p></div>\r
219<div class="listingblock">\r
220<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`w</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`x</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`y</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
221</pre></div></div></div>\r
222<div class="paragraph"><p>While the example is not practically useful, it does demonstrate the\r
223need for the finishing function to be incorporated in <span class="monospaced">fold</span>.\r
224Without a finishing function, every use of <span class="monospaced">list</span> would need to be\r
225wrapped in <span class="monospaced">rev</span>, as follows.</p></div>\r
226<div class="listingblock">\r
227<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">rev</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`w</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`x</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`y</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
228</pre></div></div></div>\r
229<div class="paragraph"><p>The finishing function allows us to incorporate the reversal into the\r
230definition of <span class="monospaced">list</span>, and to treat <span class="monospaced">list</span> as a truly variable\r
231argument function, performing an arbitrary computation after receiving\r
232all of its arguments.</p></div>\r
233<div class="paragraph"><p>See <a href="ArrayLiteral">ArrayLiteral</a> for a similar use of <span class="monospaced">fold</span> that provides a\r
234syntax for array and vector literals, which are not built in to SML.</p></div>\r
235</div>\r
236</div>\r
237<div class="sect1">\r
238<h2 id="_fold_right">Fold right</h2>\r
239<div class="sectionbody">\r
240<div class="paragraph"><p>Just as <span class="monospaced">fold</span> is analogous to a fold left, in which the functions\r
241are applied to the accumulator left-to-right, we can define a variant\r
242of <span class="monospaced">fold</span> that is analogous to a fold right, in which the\r
243functions are applied to the accumulator right-to-left. That is, we\r
244can define functions <span class="monospaced">foldr</span> and <span class="monospaced">step0</span> such that the\r
245following equation holds.</p></div>\r
246<div class="listingblock">\r
247<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">foldr</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
248<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">))))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
249</pre></div></div></div>\r
250<div class="paragraph"><p>The implementation of fold right is easy, using fold. The idea is for\r
251the fold to start with <span class="monospaced">f</span> and for each step to precompose the\r
252next <span class="monospaced">hi</span>. Then, the finisher applies the composed function to\r
253the base value, <span class="monospaced">a</span>. Here is the code.</p></div>\r
254<div class="listingblock">\r
255<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">structure</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
256<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"></span>\r
257<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foldr</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
258<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
259<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">end</span><span class="w"></span>\r
260</pre></div></div></div>\r
261<div class="paragraph"><p>Verifying the fold-right equation is straightforward, using the\r
262fold-left equation.</p></div>\r
263<div class="listingblock">\r
264<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">foldr</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
265<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
266<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
267<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
268<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"></span>\r
269<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
270<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
271<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">((</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">((</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">((</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">))))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
272<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
273<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">((</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">((</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="p">))))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
274<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">((</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="p">)))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
275<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
276<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"></span>\r
277<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">))))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
278</pre></div></div></div>\r
279<div class="paragraph"><p>One can also define the fold-right analogue of <span class="monospaced">step1</span>.</p></div>\r
280<div class="listingblock">\r
281<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">structure</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
282<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"></span>\r
283<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">open</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="w"></span>\r
284<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
285<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">end</span><span class="w"></span>\r
286</pre></div></div></div>\r
287</div>\r
288</div>\r
289<div class="sect1">\r
290<h2 id="_example_list_literals_via_fold_right">Example: list literals via fold right</h2>\r
291<div class="sectionbody">\r
292<div class="paragraph"><p>Revisiting the list literal example from earlier, we can use fold\r
293right to define a syntax for list literals that doesn&#8217;t do a reversal.</p></div>\r
294<div class="listingblock">\r
295<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">foldr</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">([],</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">l</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">l</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
296<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">op</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">::</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
297</pre></div></div></div>\r
298<div class="paragraph"><p>As before, with these definitions, one can write a list like:</p></div>\r
299<div class="listingblock">\r
300<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`w</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`x</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`y</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
301</pre></div></div></div>\r
302<div class="paragraph"><p>The difference between the fold-left and fold-right approaches is that\r
303the fold-right approach does not have to reverse the list at the end,\r
304since it accumulates the elements in the correct order. In practice,\r
305MLton will simplify away all of the intermediate function composition,\r
306so the the fold-right approach will be more efficient.</p></div>\r
307</div>\r
308</div>\r
309<div class="sect1">\r
310<h2 id="_mixing_steppers">Mixing steppers</h2>\r
311<div class="sectionbody">\r
312<div class="paragraph"><p>All of the examples so far have used the same step function throughout\r
313a fold. This need not be the case. For example, consider the\r
314following.</p></div>\r
315<div class="listingblock">\r
316<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
317<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
318<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">O</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
319</pre></div></div></div>\r
320<div class="paragraph"><p>Here we have one folder, <span class="monospaced">n</span>, that can be used with two different\r
321steppers, <span class="monospaced">I</span> and <span class="monospaced">O</span>. By using the fold equation, one can\r
322verify the following equations.</p></div>\r
323<div class="listingblock">\r
324<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">O</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="w"></span>\r
325<span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="w"></span>\r
326<span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">O</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">2</span><span class="w"></span>\r
327<span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">O</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">5</span><span class="w"></span>\r
328<span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">O</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">14</span><span class="w"></span>\r
329</pre></div></div></div>\r
330<div class="paragraph"><p>That is, we&#8217;ve defined a syntax for writing binary integer constants.</p></div>\r
331<div class="paragraph"><p>Not only can one use different instances of <span class="monospaced">step0</span> in the same\r
332fold, one can also intermix uses of <span class="monospaced">step0</span> and <span class="monospaced">step1</span>. For\r
333example, consider the following.</p></div>\r
334<div class="listingblock">\r
335<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
336<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">O</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">8</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
337<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">n</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">8</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
338</pre></div></div></div>\r
339<div class="paragraph"><p>Using the straightforward generalization of the fold equation to mixed\r
340steppers, one can verify the following equations.</p></div>\r
341<div class="listingblock">\r
342<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="w"></span>\r
343<span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`</span><span class="mi">3</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">O</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">24</span><span class="w"></span>\r
344<span class="n">n</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">O</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">`</span><span class="mi">7</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">71</span><span class="w"></span>\r
345</pre></div></div></div>\r
346<div class="paragraph"><p>That is, we&#8217;ve defined a syntax for writing octal integer constants,\r
347with a special syntax, <span class="monospaced">O</span>, for the zero digit (admittedly\r
348contrived, since one could just write <span class="monospaced">&grave;0</span> instead of <span class="monospaced">O</span>).</p></div>\r
349<div class="paragraph"><p>See <a href="NumericLiteral">NumericLiteral</a> for a practical extension of this approach that\r
350supports numeric constants in any base and of any type.</p></div>\r
351</div>\r
352</div>\r
353<div class="sect1">\r
354<h2 id="_seemingly_dependent_types">(Seemingly) dependent types</h2>\r
355<div class="sectionbody">\r
356<div class="paragraph"><p>A normal list fold always returns the same type no matter what\r
357elements are in the list or how long the list is. Variable-argument\r
358fold is more powerful, because the result type can vary based both on\r
359the arguments that are passed and on their number. This can provide\r
360the illusion of dependent types.</p></div>\r
361<div class="paragraph"><p>For example, consider the following.</p></div>\r
362<div class="listingblock">\r
363<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">((),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">id</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
364<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="s">&quot;hello&quot;</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
365<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">13</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
366<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">c</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">2</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
367</pre></div></div></div>\r
368<div class="paragraph"><p>Using the fold equation, one can verify the following equations.</p></div>\r
369<div class="listingblock">\r
370<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="s">&quot;hello&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">string</span><span class="w"></span>\r
371<span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">13</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">int</span><span class="w"></span>\r
372<span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">c</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">2</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">int</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">int</span><span class="w"></span>\r
373</pre></div></div></div>\r
374<div class="paragraph"><p>That is, <span class="monospaced">f</span> returns a value of a different type depending on\r
375whether it is applied to argument <span class="monospaced">a</span>, argument <span class="monospaced">b</span>, or\r
376argument <span class="monospaced">c</span>.</p></div>\r
377<div class="paragraph"><p>The following example shows how the type of a fold can depend on the\r
378number of arguments.</p></div>\r
379<div class="listingblock">\r
380<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">grow</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">([],</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">l</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">l</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
381<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">x</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">x</span><span class="p">])</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
382</pre></div></div></div>\r
383<div class="paragraph"><p>Using the fold equation, one can verify the following equations.</p></div>\r
384<div class="listingblock">\r
385<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">grow</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">[]:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"></span>\r
386<span class="n">grow</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">[[]]:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"></span>\r
387<span class="n">grow</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">[[[]]]:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">list</span><span class="w"></span>\r
388</pre></div></div></div>\r
389<div class="paragraph"><p>Clearly, the result type of a call to the variable argument <span class="monospaced">grow</span>\r
390function depends on the number of arguments that are passed.</p></div>\r
391<div class="paragraph"><p>As a reminder, this is well-typed SML. You can check it out in any\r
392implementation.</p></div>\r
393</div>\r
394</div>\r
395<div class="sect1">\r
396<h2 id="_seemingly_dependently_typed_functional_results">(Seemingly) dependently-typed functional results</h2>\r
397<div class="sectionbody">\r
398<div class="paragraph"><p>Fold is especially useful when it returns a curried function whose\r
399arity depends on the number of arguments. For example, consider the\r
400following.</p></div>\r
401<div class="listingblock">\r
402<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">makeSum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">id</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
403<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">x</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">x</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
404</pre></div></div></div>\r
405<div class="paragraph"><p>The <span class="monospaced">makeSum</span> folder constructs a function whose arity depends on\r
406the number of <span class="monospaced">I</span> arguments and that adds together all of its\r
407arguments. For example,\r
408<span class="monospaced">makeSum I $</span> is of type <span class="monospaced">int -&gt; int</span> and\r
409<span class="monospaced">makeSum I I $</span> is of type <span class="monospaced">int -&gt; int -&gt; int</span>.</p></div>\r
410<div class="paragraph"><p>One can use the fold equation to verify that the <span class="monospaced">makeSum</span> works\r
411correctly. For example, one can easily check by hand the following\r
412equations.</p></div>\r
413<div class="listingblock">\r
414<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">makeSum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="w"></span>\r
415<span class="n">makeSum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">3</span><span class="w"></span>\r
416<span class="n">makeSum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">3</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">6</span><span class="w"></span>\r
417</pre></div></div></div>\r
418<div class="paragraph"><p>Returning a function becomes especially interesting when there are\r
419steppers of different types. For example, the following <span class="monospaced">makeSum</span>\r
420folder constructs functions that sum integers and reals.</p></div>\r
421<div class="listingblock">\r
422<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">makeSum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">foldr</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">id</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mf">0.0</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
423<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">x</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">x</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">real</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
424<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">R</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Foldr</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">x</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">real</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">r</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">x</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">r</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
425</pre></div></div></div>\r
426<div class="paragraph"><p>With these definitions, <span class="monospaced">makeSum I R $</span> is of type\r
427<span class="monospaced">int -&gt; real -&gt; real</span> and <span class="monospaced">makeSum R I I $</span> is of type\r
428<span class="monospaced">real -&gt; int -&gt; int -&gt; real</span>. One can use the foldr equation to\r
429check the following equations.</p></div>\r
430<div class="listingblock">\r
431<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">makeSum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mf">1.0</span><span class="w"></span>\r
432<span class="n">makeSum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">R</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mf">2.5</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mf">3.5</span><span class="w"></span>\r
433<span class="n">makeSum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">R</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mf">1.5</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">3</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mf">6.5</span><span class="w"></span>\r
434</pre></div></div></div>\r
435<div class="paragraph"><p>We used <span class="monospaced">foldr</span> instead of <span class="monospaced">fold</span> for this so that the order\r
436in which the specifiers <span class="monospaced">I</span> and <span class="monospaced">R</span> appear is the same as the\r
437order in which the arguments appear. Had we used <span class="monospaced">fold</span>, things\r
438would have been reversed.</p></div>\r
439<div class="paragraph"><p>An extension of this idea is sufficient to define <a href="Printf">Printf</a>-like\r
440functions in SML.</p></div>\r
441</div>\r
442</div>\r
443<div class="sect1">\r
444<h2 id="_an_idiom_for_combining_steps">An idiom for combining steps</h2>\r
445<div class="sectionbody">\r
446<div class="paragraph"><p>It is sometimes useful to combine a number of steps together and name\r
447them as a single step. As a simple example, suppose that one often\r
448sees an integer follower by a real in the <span class="monospaced">makeSum</span> example above.\r
449One can define a new <em>compound step</em> <span class="monospaced">IR</span> as follows.</p></div>\r
450<div class="listingblock">\r
451<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">IR</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">I</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">R</span><span class="w"></span>\r
452</pre></div></div></div>\r
453<div class="paragraph"><p>With this definition in place, one can verify the following.</p></div>\r
454<div class="listingblock">\r
455<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">makeSum</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">IR</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">IR</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mf">2.2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">3</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mf">4.4</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mf">10.6</span><span class="w"></span>\r
456</pre></div></div></div>\r
457<div class="paragraph"><p>In general, one can combine steps <span class="monospaced">s1</span>, <span class="monospaced">s2</span>, &#8230; <span class="monospaced">sn</span> as</p></div>\r
458<div class="listingblock">\r
459<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sn</span><span class="w"></span>\r
460</pre></div></div></div>\r
461<div class="paragraph"><p>The following calculation shows why a compound step behaves as the\r
462composition of its constituent steps.</p></div>\r
463<div class="listingblock">\r
464<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
465<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sn</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"></span>\r
466<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sn</span><span class="w"></span>\r
467</pre></div></div></div>\r
468</div>\r
469</div>\r
470<div class="sect1">\r
471<h2 id="_post_composition">Post composition</h2>\r
472<div class="sectionbody">\r
473<div class="paragraph"><p>Suppose we already have a function defined via fold,\r
474<span class="monospaced">w = fold (a, f)</span>, and we would like to construct a new fold\r
475function that is like <span class="monospaced">w</span>, but applies <span class="monospaced">g</span> to the result\r
476produced by <span class="monospaced">w</span>. This is similar to function composition, but we\r
477can&#8217;t just do <span class="monospaced">g o w</span>, because we don&#8217;t want to use <span class="monospaced">g</span> until\r
478<span class="monospaced">w</span> has been applied to all of its arguments and received the\r
479end-of-arguments terminator <span class="monospaced">$</span>.</p></div>\r
480<div class="paragraph"><p>More precisely, we want to define a post-composition function\r
481<span class="monospaced">post</span> that satisfies the following equation.</p></div>\r
482<div class="listingblock">\r
483<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">post</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">w</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">w</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
484</pre></div></div></div>\r
485<div class="paragraph"><p>Here is the definition of <span class="monospaced">post</span>.</p></div>\r
486<div class="listingblock">\r
487<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">structure</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
488<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"></span>\r
489<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">open</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="w"></span>\r
490<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">post</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">w</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">w</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
491<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">end</span><span class="w"></span>\r
492</pre></div></div></div>\r
493<div class="paragraph"><p>The following calculations show that <span class="monospaced">post</span> satisfies the desired\r
494equation, where <span class="monospaced">w = fold (a, f)</span>.</p></div>\r
495<div class="listingblock">\r
496<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">post</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">w</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"></span>\r
497<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">w</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
498<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
499<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
500<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
501<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"></span>\r
502</pre></div></div></div>\r
503<div class="paragraph"><p>Now, suppose <span class="monospaced">si = step0 hi</span> for <span class="monospaced">i</span> from <span class="monospaced">1</span> to <span class="monospaced">n</span>.</p></div>\r
504<div class="listingblock">\r
505<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">post</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">w</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
506<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
507<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
508<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">))))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
509<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
510<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">w</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">...</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">sn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
511</pre></div></div></div>\r
512<div class="paragraph"><p>For a practical example of post composition, see <a href="ArrayLiteral">ArrayLiteral</a>.</p></div>\r
513</div>\r
514</div>\r
515<div class="sect1">\r
516<h2 id="_lift">Lift</h2>\r
517<div class="sectionbody">\r
518<div class="paragraph"><p>We now define a peculiar-looking function, <span class="monospaced">lift0</span>, that is,\r
519equationally speaking, equivalent to the identity function on a step\r
520function.</p></div>\r
521<div class="listingblock">\r
522<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">lift0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">id</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
523</pre></div></div></div>\r
524<div class="paragraph"><p>Using the definitions, we can prove the following equation.</p></div>\r
525<div class="listingblock">\r
526<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">lift0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
527</pre></div></div></div>\r
528<div class="paragraph"><p>Here is the proof.</p></div>\r
529<div class="listingblock">\r
530<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">lift0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
531<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">lift0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
532<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">id</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
533<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">id</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
534<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">id</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
535<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">id</span><span class="p">),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
536<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">id</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
537<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
538<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
539<span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
540</pre></div></div></div>\r
541<div class="paragraph"><p>If <span class="monospaced">lift0</span> is the identity, then why even define it? The answer\r
542lies in the typing of fold expressions, which we have, until now, left\r
543unexplained.</p></div>\r
544</div>\r
545</div>\r
546<div class="sect1">\r
547<h2 id="_typing">Typing</h2>\r
548<div class="sectionbody">\r
549<div class="paragraph"><p>Perhaps the most surprising aspect of fold is that it can be checked\r
550by the SML type system. The types involved in fold expressions are\r
551complex; fortunately type inference is able to deduce them.\r
552Nevertheless, it is instructive to study the types of fold functions\r
553and steppers. More importantly, it is essential to understand the\r
554typing aspects of fold in order to write down signatures of functions\r
555defined using fold and step.</p></div>\r
556<div class="paragraph"><p>Here is the <span class="monospaced">FOLD</span> signature, and a recapitulation of the entire\r
557<span class="monospaced">Fold</span> structure, with additional type annotations.</p></div>\r
558<div class="listingblock">\r
559<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">signature</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">FOLD</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
560<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">sig</span><span class="w"></span>\r
561<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"></span>\r
562<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"></span>\r
563<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
564<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
565<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
566<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
567\r
568<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"></span>\r
569<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">lift0</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"></span>\r
570<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"></span>\r
571<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">post</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;c1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
572<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"></span>\r
573<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"></span>\r
574<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
575<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"></span>\r
576<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">end</span><span class="w"></span>\r
577\r
578<span class="k">structure</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">:&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">FOLD</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
579<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"></span>\r
580<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"></span>\r
581\r
582<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"></span>\r
583\r
584<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
585<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
586\r
587<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
588<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
589\r
590<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
591<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">g</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
592<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
593\r
594<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
595<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a1</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
596<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
597\r
598<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
599<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a12</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
600<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a11</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
601<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a11</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a12</span><span class="p">),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
602\r
603<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">lift0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">s</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
604<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
605<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">id</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
606\r
607<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">post</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">w</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>\r
608<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
609<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">s</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
610<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">w</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
611<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">end</span><span class="w"></span>\r
612</pre></div></div></div>\r
613<div class="paragraph"><p>That&#8217;s a lot to swallow, so let&#8217;s walk through it one step at a time.\r
614First, we have the definition of type <span class="monospaced">Fold.step</span>.</p></div>\r
615<div class="listingblock">\r
616<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"></span>\r
617</pre></div></div></div>\r
618<div class="paragraph"><p>As a fold proceeds over its arguments, it maintains two things: the\r
619accumulator, of type <span class="monospaced">'a</span>, and the finishing function, of type\r
620<span class="monospaced">'b -&gt; 'c</span>. Each step in the fold is a function that takes those\r
621two pieces (i.e. <span class="monospaced">'a * ('b -&gt; 'c)</span> and does something to them\r
622(i.e. produces <span class="monospaced">'d</span>). The result type of the step is completely\r
623left open to be filled in by type inference, as it is an arrow type\r
624that is capable of consuming the rest of the arguments to the fold.</p></div>\r
625<div class="paragraph"><p>A folder, of type <span class="monospaced">Fold.t</span>, is a function that consumes a single\r
626step.</p></div>\r
627<div class="listingblock">\r
628<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"></span>\r
629</pre></div></div></div>\r
630<div class="paragraph"><p>Expanding out the type, we have:</p></div>\r
631<div class="listingblock">\r
632<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"></span>\r
633</pre></div></div></div>\r
634<div class="paragraph"><p>This shows that the only thing a folder does is to hand its\r
635accumulator (<span class="monospaced">'a</span>) and finisher (<span class="monospaced">'b -&gt; 'c</span>) to the next step\r
636(<span class="monospaced">'a * ('b -&gt; 'c) -&gt; 'd</span>). If SML had <a href="FirstClassPolymorphism">first-class polymorphism</a>,\r
637we would write the fold type as follows.</p></div>\r
638<div class="listingblock">\r
639<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Forall</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="err">. (&#39;a, &#39;b, &#39;c, &#39;d) step -&gt; &#39;d</span>\r
640</pre></div></div></div>\r
641<div class="paragraph"><p>This type definition shows that a folder had nothing to do with\r
642the rest of the fold, it only deals with the next step.</p></div>\r
643<div class="paragraph"><p>We now can understand the type of <span class="monospaced">fold</span>, which takes the initial\r
644value of the accumulator and the finishing function, and constructs a\r
645folder, i.e. a function awaiting the next step.</p></div>\r
646<div class="listingblock">\r
647<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"></span>\r
648<span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
649<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">g</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
650<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
651</pre></div></div></div>\r
652<div class="paragraph"><p>Continuing on, we have the type of step functions.</p></div>\r
653<div class="listingblock">\r
654<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
655<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
656</pre></div></div></div>\r
657<div class="paragraph"><p>Expanding out the type a bit gives:</p></div>\r
658<div class="listingblock">\r
659<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
660<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"></span>\r
661</pre></div></div></div>\r
662<div class="paragraph"><p>So, a step function takes the accumulator (<span class="monospaced">'a1</span>) and finishing\r
663function (<span class="monospaced">'b -&gt; 'c</span>), which will be passed to it by the previous\r
664folder, and transforms them to a new folder. This new folder has a\r
665new accumulator (<span class="monospaced">'a2</span>) and the same finishing function.</p></div>\r
666<div class="paragraph"><p>Again, imagining that SML had <a href="FirstClassPolymorphism">first-class polymorphism</a> makes the type\r
667clearer.</p></div>\r
668<div class="listingblock">\r
669<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
670<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Forall</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="err">. (&#39;a1, &#39;b, &#39;c, (&#39;a2, &#39;b, &#39;c) t) step</span>\r
671</pre></div></div></div>\r
672<div class="paragraph"><p>Thus, in essence, a <span class="monospaced">step0</span> function is a wrapper around a\r
673function of type <span class="monospaced">'a1 -&gt; 'a2</span>, which is exactly what the\r
674definition of <span class="monospaced">step0</span> does.</p></div>\r
675<div class="listingblock">\r
676<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"></span>\r
677<span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
678<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a1</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
679<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
680</pre></div></div></div>\r
681<div class="paragraph"><p>It is not much beyond <span class="monospaced">step0</span> to understand <span class="monospaced">step1</span>.</p></div>\r
682<div class="listingblock">\r
683<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
684<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
685</pre></div></div></div>\r
686<div class="paragraph"><p>A <span class="monospaced">step1</span> function takes the accumulator (<span class="monospaced">'a12</span>) and finisher\r
687(<span class="monospaced">'b -&gt; 'c</span>) passed to it by the previous folder and transforms\r
688them into a function that consumes the next argument (<span class="monospaced">'a11</span>) and\r
689produces a folder that will continue the fold with a new accumulator\r
690(<span class="monospaced">'a2</span>) and the same finisher.</p></div>\r
691<div class="listingblock">\r
692<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
693<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a12</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
694<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a11</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
695<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">h</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a11</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a12</span><span class="p">),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
696</pre></div></div></div>\r
697<div class="paragraph"><p>With <a href="FirstClassPolymorphism">first-class polymorphism</a>, a <span class="monospaced">step1</span> function is more clearly\r
698seen as a wrapper around a binary function of type\r
699<span class="monospaced">'a11 * 'a12 -&gt; 'a2</span>.</p></div>\r
700<div class="listingblock">\r
701<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a11</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a12</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
702<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Forall</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="err">. (&#39;a12, &#39;b, &#39;c, &#39;a11 -&gt; (&#39;a2, &#39;b, &#39;c) t) step</span>\r
703</pre></div></div></div>\r
704<div class="paragraph"><p>The type of <span class="monospaced">post</span> is clear: it takes a folder with a finishing\r
705function that produces type <span class="monospaced">'c1</span>, and a function of type\r
706<span class="monospaced">'c1 -&gt; 'c2</span> to postcompose onto the folder. It returns a new\r
707folder with a finishing function that produces type <span class="monospaced">'c2</span>.</p></div>\r
708<div class="listingblock">\r
709<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">post</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;c1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
710<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"></span>\r
711<span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">post</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">w</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>\r
712<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
713<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">s</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
714<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">w</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">g</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">o</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">h</span><span class="p">))</span><span class="w"></span>\r
715</pre></div></div></div>\r
716<div class="paragraph"><p>We will return to <span class="monospaced">lift0</span> after an example.</p></div>\r
717</div>\r
718</div>\r
719<div class="sect1">\r
720<h2 id="_an_example_typing">An example typing</h2>\r
721<div class="sectionbody">\r
722<div class="paragraph"><p>Let&#8217;s type check our simplest example, a variable-argument fold.\r
723Recall that we have a folder <span class="monospaced">f</span> and a stepper <span class="monospaced">a</span> defined as\r
724follows.</p></div>\r
725<div class="listingblock">\r
726<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">((),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">())</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
727<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">())</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
728</pre></div></div></div>\r
729<div class="paragraph"><p>Since the accumulator and finisher are uninteresting, we&#8217;ll use some\r
730abbreviations to simplify things.</p></div>\r
731<div class="listingblock">\r
732<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
733<span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"></span>\r
734</pre></div></div></div>\r
735<div class="paragraph"><p>With these abbreviations, <span class="monospaced">f</span> and <span class="monospaced">a</span> have the following polymorphic\r
736types.</p></div>\r
737<div class="listingblock">\r
738<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"></span>\r
739<span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
740</pre></div></div></div>\r
741<div class="paragraph"><p>Suppose we want to type check</p></div>\r
742<div class="listingblock">\r
743<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"></span>\r
744</pre></div></div></div>\r
745<div class="paragraph"><p>As a reminder, the fully parenthesized expression is</p></div>\r
746<div class="listingblock">\r
747<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="p">((((</span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
748</pre></div></div></div>\r
749<div class="paragraph"><p>The observation that we will use repeatedly is that for any type\r
750<span class="monospaced">z</span>, if <span class="monospaced">f: z fold</span> and <span class="monospaced">s: z step</span>, then <span class="monospaced">f s: z</span>.\r
751So, if we want</p></div>\r
752<div class="listingblock">\r
753<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"></span>\r
754</pre></div></div></div>\r
755<div class="paragraph"><p>then we must have</p></div>\r
756<div class="listingblock">\r
757<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"></span>\r
758<span class="n">$:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
759</pre></div></div></div>\r
760<div class="paragraph"><p>Applying the observation again, we must have</p></div>\r
761<div class="listingblock">\r
762<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"></span>\r
763<span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
764</pre></div></div></div>\r
765<div class="paragraph"><p>Applying the observation two more times leads to the following type\r
766derivation.</p></div>\r
767<div class="listingblock">\r
768<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
769<span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
770<span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
771<span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
772<span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"></span>\r
773</pre></div></div></div>\r
774<div class="paragraph"><p>So, each application is a fold that consumes the next step, producing\r
775a fold of one smaller type.</p></div>\r
776<div class="paragraph"><p>One can expand some of the type definitions in <span class="monospaced">f</span> to see that it is\r
777indeed a function that takes four curried arguments, each one a step\r
778function.</p></div>\r
779<div class="listingblock">\r
780<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
781<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
782<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
783<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step</span><span class="w"></span>\r
784<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"></span>\r
785</pre></div></div></div>\r
786<div class="paragraph"><p>This example shows why we must eta expand uses of <span class="monospaced">fold</span> and <span class="monospaced">step0</span>\r
787to work around the value restriction and make folders and steppers\r
788polymorphic. The type of a fold function like <span class="monospaced">f</span> depends on the\r
789number of arguments, and so will vary from use to use. Similarly,\r
790each occurrence of an argument like <span class="monospaced">a</span> has a different type,\r
791depending on the number of remaining arguments.</p></div>\r
792<div class="paragraph"><p>This example also shows that the type of a folder, when fully\r
793expanded, is exponential in the number of arguments: there are as many\r
794nested occurrences of the <span class="monospaced">fold</span> type constructor as there are\r
795arguments, and each occurrence duplicates its type argument. One can\r
796observe this exponential behavior in a type checker that doesn&#8217;t share\r
797enough of the representation of types (e.g. one that represents types\r
798as trees rather than directed acyclic graphs).</p></div>\r
799<div class="paragraph"><p>Generalizing this type derivation to uses of fold where the\r
800accumulator and finisher are more interesting is straightforward. One\r
801simply includes the type of the accumulator, which may change, for\r
802each step, and the type of the finisher, which doesn&#8217;t change from\r
803step to step.</p></div>\r
804</div>\r
805</div>\r
806<div class="sect1">\r
807<h2 id="_typing_lift">Typing lift</h2>\r
808<div class="sectionbody">\r
809<div class="paragraph"><p>The lack of <a href="FirstClassPolymorphism">first-class polymorphism</a> in SML\r
810causes problems if one wants to use a step in a first-class way.\r
811Consider the following <span class="monospaced">double</span> function, which takes a step, <span class="monospaced">s</span>, and\r
812produces a composite step that does <span class="monospaced">s</span> twice.</p></div>\r
813<div class="listingblock">\r
814<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">double</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"></span>\r
815</pre></div></div></div>\r
816<div class="paragraph"><p>The definition of <span class="monospaced">double</span> is not type correct. The problem is that\r
817the type of a step depends on the number of remaining arguments but\r
818that the parameter <span class="monospaced">s</span> is not polymorphic, and so can not be used in\r
819two different positions.</p></div>\r
820<div class="paragraph"><p>Fortunately, we can define a function, <span class="monospaced">lift0</span>, that takes a monotyped\r
821step function and <em>lifts</em> it into a polymorphic step function. This\r
822is apparent in the type of <span class="monospaced">lift0</span>.</p></div>\r
823<div class="listingblock">\r
824<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">lift0</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"></span>\r
825<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"></span>\r
826<span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">lift0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">s</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
827<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;a1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">-&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">):</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">&#39;a2</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
828<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">a</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">id</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>\r
829</pre></div></div></div>\r
830<div class="paragraph"><p>The following definition of <span class="monospaced">double</span> uses <span class="monospaced">lift0</span>, appropriately eta\r
831wrapped, to fix the problem.</p></div>\r
832<div class="listingblock">\r
833<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">fun</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">double</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
834<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">let</span><span class="w"></span>\r
835<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">lift0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
836<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">in</span><span class="w"></span>\r
837<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">u</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"></span>\r
838<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">end</span><span class="w"></span>\r
839</pre></div></div></div>\r
840<div class="paragraph"><p>With that definition of <span class="monospaced">double</span> in place, we can use it as in the\r
841following example.</p></div>\r
842<div class="listingblock">\r
843<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">((),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">())</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
844<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">())</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
845<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">double</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
846<span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">$</span><span class="w"></span>\r
847</pre></div></div></div>\r
848<div class="paragraph"><p>Of course, we must eta wrap the call <span class="monospaced">double</span> in order to use its\r
849result, which is a step function, polymorphically.</p></div>\r
850</div>\r
851</div>\r
852<div class="sect1">\r
853<h2 id="_hiding_the_type_of_the_accumulator">Hiding the type of the accumulator</h2>\r
854<div class="sectionbody">\r
855<div class="paragraph"><p>For clarity and to avoid mistakes, it can be useful to hide the type\r
856of the accumulator in a fold. Reworking the simple variable-argument\r
857example to do this leads to the following.</p></div>\r
858<div class="listingblock">\r
859<div class="content"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="k">structure</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">S</span><span class="p">:&gt;</span><span class="w"></span>\r
860<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">sig</span><span class="w"></span>\r
861<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">ac</span><span class="w"></span>\r
862<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">ac</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">ac</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">t</span><span class="w"></span>\r
863<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">ac</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">ac</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;b</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;c</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">&#39;d</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"></span>\r
864<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">end</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"></span>\r
865<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"></span>\r
866<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">ac</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">unit</span><span class="w"></span>\r
867<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">f</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">fold</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">((),</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">())</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
868<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">val</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">s</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">Fold</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">step0</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">fn</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">()</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">=&gt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">())</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">z</span><span class="w"></span>\r
869<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">end</span><span class="w"></span>\r
870</pre></div></div></div>\r
871<div class="paragraph"><p>The idea is to name the accumulator type and use opaque signature\r
872matching to make it abstract. This can prevent improper manipulation\r
873of the accumulator by client code and ensure invariants that the\r
874folder and stepper would like to maintain.</p></div>\r
875<div class="paragraph"><p>For a practical example of this technique, see <a href="ArrayLiteral">ArrayLiteral</a>.</p></div>\r
876</div>\r
877</div>\r
878<div class="sect1">\r
879<h2 id="_also_see">Also see</h2>\r
880<div class="sectionbody">\r
881<div class="paragraph"><p>Fold has a number of practical applications. Here are some of them.</p></div>\r
882<div class="ulist"><ul>\r
883<li>\r
884<p>\r
885<a href="ArrayLiteral">ArrayLiteral</a>\r
886</p>\r
887</li>\r
888<li>\r
889<p>\r
890<a href="Fold01N">Fold01N</a>\r
891</p>\r
892</li>\r
893<li>\r
894<p>\r
895<a href="FunctionalRecordUpdate">FunctionalRecordUpdate</a>\r
896</p>\r
897</li>\r
898<li>\r
899<p>\r
900<a href="NumericLiteral">NumericLiteral</a>\r
901</p>\r
902</li>\r
903<li>\r
904<p>\r
905<a href="OptionalArguments">OptionalArguments</a>\r
906</p>\r
907</li>\r
908<li>\r
909<p>\r
910<a href="Printf">Printf</a>\r
911</p>\r
912</li>\r
913<li>\r
914<p>\r
915<a href="VariableArityPolymorphism">VariableArityPolymorphism</a>\r
916</p>\r
917</li>\r
918</ul></div>\r
919<div class="paragraph"><p>There are a number of related techniques. Here are some of them.</p></div>\r
920<div class="ulist"><ul>\r
921<li>\r
922<p>\r
923<a href="StaticSum">StaticSum</a>\r
924</p>\r
925</li>\r
926<li>\r
927<p>\r
928<a href="TypeIndexedValues">TypeIndexedValues</a>\r
929</p>\r
930</li>\r
931</ul></div>\r
932</div>\r
933</div>\r
934</div>\r
935<div id="footnotes"><hr></div>\r
936<div id="footer">\r
937<div id="footer-text">\r
938</div>\r
939<div id="footer-badges">\r
940</div>\r
941</div>\r
942</body>\r
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