Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Abstract: Existing minimal Object-Oriented models (OO), like Featherweight Java (FJ), are valuable for modelling programs and designing new programming languages and tools. However, their utility in developing real-world programs is limited. We introduce the 'Fearless Heart', a novel object calculus preserving FJ's minimal and extensible nature while being more suited for constructing complex, real-world applications. To illustrate the extensibility of the Fearless Heart, we extend it with Reference Capabilities (RC), creating R-Fearless. It supports mutability and other side effects while retaining the reasoning advantages of functional programming and gaining support for features that are well-known to be enabled by RC, like automatic parallelism, caching and invariants. R-Fearless is still minimal enough to allow further extensions. It is an ideal foundation for constructing both practical systems and formal models.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Webster, Nick, Servetto, Marco, Homer, Michael
Institution: Victoria University of Wellington
Language: English
Subfield: Artificial Intelligence
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4396940745