Fixpoints
=========

This page discusses a framework that makes it possible to compute
fixpoints over arbitrary products of abstract types.  The code is from
an Extended Basis library
(<!ViewGitFile(mltonlib,master,com/ssh/extended-basis/unstable/README)>).

First the signature of the framework
(<!ViewGitFile(mltonlib,master,com/ssh/extended-basis/unstable/public/generic/tie.sig)>):
[source,sml]
----
sys::[./bin/InclGitFile.py mltonlib master com/ssh/extended-basis/unstable/public/generic/tie.sig 6:]
----

`fix` is a <:TypeIndexedValues:type-indexed> function.  The type-index
parameter to `fix` is called a "witness".  To compute fixpoints over
products, one uses the +*&grave;+ operator to combine witnesses.  To provide
a fixpoint combinator for an abstract type, one implements a witness
providing a thunk whose instantiation allocates a fresh, mutable proxy
and a procedure for updating the proxy with the solution.  Naturally
this means that not all possible ways of computing a fixpoint of a
particular type are possible under the framework.  The `pure`
combinator is a generalization of `tier`.  The `iso` combinator is
provided for reusing existing witnesses.

Note that instead of using an infix operator, we could alternatively
employ an interface using <:Fold:>.  Also, witnesses are eta-expanded
to work around the <:ValueRestriction:value restriction>, while
maintaining abstraction.

Here is the implementation
(<!ViewGitFile(mltonlib,master,com/ssh/extended-basis/unstable/detail/generic/tie.sml)>):
[source,sml]
----
sys::[./bin/InclGitFile.py mltonlib master com/ssh/extended-basis/unstable/detail/generic/tie.sml 6:]
----

Let's then take a look at a couple of additional examples.

Here is a naive implementation of lazy promises:
[source,sml]
----
structure Promise :> sig
   type 'a t
   val lazy : 'a Thunk.t -> 'a t
   val force : 'a t -> 'a
   val Y : 'a t Tie.t
end = struct
   datatype 'a t' =
      EXN of exn
    | THUNK of 'a Thunk.t
    | VALUE of 'a
   type 'a t = 'a t' Ref.t
   fun lazy f = ref (THUNK f)
   fun force t =
      case !t
       of EXN e   => raise e
        | THUNK f => (t := VALUE (f ()) handle e => t := EXN e ; force t)
        | VALUE v => v
   fun Y ? = Tie.tier (fn () => let
                             val r = lazy (raising Fix.Fix)
                          in
                             (r, r <\ op := o !)
                          end) ?
end
----

An example use of our naive lazy promises is to implement equally naive
lazy streams:
[source,sml]
----
structure Stream :> sig
   type 'a t
   val cons : 'a * 'a t -> 'a t
   val get : 'a t -> ('a * 'a t) Option.t
   val Y : 'a t Tie.t
end = struct
   datatype 'a t = IN of ('a * 'a t) Option.t Promise.t
   fun cons (x, xs) = IN (Promise.lazy (fn () => SOME (x, xs)))
   fun get (IN p) = Promise.force p
   fun Y ? = Tie.iso Promise.Y (fn IN p => p, IN) ?
end
----

Note that above we make use of the `iso` combinator.  Here is a finite
representation of an infinite stream of ones:

[source,sml]
----
val ones = let
   open Tie Stream
in
   fix Y (fn ones => cons (1, ones))
end
----