README.md

DynamicStatic

Work in progress type inference prototype. Supports subtypes, type unions, function overloads, and recursive types.

The following Scheme program for filtering a list:

(define filter 
  (lambda (l) (lambda (p)
    (if (empty? l)
        empty
        (let ([x (first l)]
              [r (filter (rest l))])
          (if (p x) (cons x r) r))))

is inferred to have the following type:

;; filter :: Listof({'a|'b}) -> (('a -> True)+('b -> False)) -> Listof('a)

given the following built-in function type information:

;; Bool = {True|False}

;; empty? :: Listof(Any) -> Bool
;; empty :: Listof('a)
;; first :: Listof('a) -> 'a
;; rest :: Listof('a) -> Listof('a)
;; cons :: 'a -> Listof('b) -> Listof({'a|'b})

The main idea is that Hindley-Milner type inference correctly represents how we reason about types, but can be expanded to include more concepts. By introducing function overloads, union types, and recursive types, the Hindley-Milner algorithm can resolve types for many programs that previously required explicit type annotations.

In the filter example, by inferring the type of parameter p to be an overloaded function, the type of x can be inferred in two separate branches. References to x outside the conditional branches see the type of x as {'a|'b}, but in the branches the type is seen as 'a or 'b (depending on the branch).

All of the following uses of filter correctly resolve:

;; filter :: Listof(Listof(Integer)) -> (Listof(Integer) -> {True|False}) -> Listof(Integer)
(filter '(() (1) (2) ()) (lambda (x) (not (empty? x))))

;; filter :: Listof({String|Integer}) -> ((String -> True)+(Integer->False)) -> Listof(String)
(filter '("foo" 0 "bar" 1) string?) ; string? :: (String -> True)+(~String -> False)

Let-bound polymorphism

Traditional Hindley-Milner cannot resolve f without annotations, despite this being a valid program.

((lambda (f) (f "string!") (f 1)) (lambda (x) x))

DynamicStatic can resolve the type using an overload:

;; ((String -> Any)+(Integer -> 'b)) -> 'b
(lambda (f) (f "string!") (f 1))

Future Plans

Recursive Types

Flattening a list:

;; flatten :: (R -> List<Atom>)
;;    where R = {Atom|List<R>}
(define flatten
  (lambda (x)
    (if (list? x)
        (if (empty? x)
            empty
            (append (flatten (first x))
                    (flatten (rest x))))
        (list x))))