Andrei V. Klimov. Specifying Monogenetic Specializers by Means of a Relation Between Source and Residual Programs. In Irina Virbitskaite, Andrei Voronkov, editors, Perspectives of Systems Informatics, 6th International Andrei Ershov Memorial Conference, PSI 2006, Novosibirsk, Russia, June 27-30, 2006. Revised Papers. Volume 4378 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 248-259, Springer, 2006. [doi]
A specification of a class of specializers for a tiny functional language in form of natural semantics inference rules is presented. The specification defines a relation between source and residual programs with respect to an initial configuration (a set of input data). The specification expresses the idea of what is to be a specialized program, avoiding where possible the details of how a specializer builds it. In particular, it abstracts from the difference between on-line and off-line specialization. The class of specializers specified here is limited to monogenetic specializers, which includes specializers based upon partial evaluation as well as restricted supercompilation. The specification captures such supercompilation notions as configuration, driving, generalization of a configuration, and a simple case of splitting a configuration. The proposed specification is an intensional definition of equivalence between source and residual programs. It provides a shorter cut for proving the correctness and other properties of specializers than usual reduction to the extensional equivalence of programs does.