cur/scribblings/cur.scrbl
2015-09-23 17:58:54 -04:00

49 lines
2.3 KiB
Racket

#lang scribble/manual
@(require
"defs.rkt"
racket/function)
@title[#:style '(toc)]{Cur}
@author[@author+email["William J. Bowman" "wjb@williamjbowman.com"]]
@defmodule[cur #:lang]
The language @racketmodname[cur] is a dependently-typed language that arbitrary Racket meta-programs
can manipulate.
The core language of @racketmodname[cur] is essentially TT.
The trusted core provides nothing beyond this language.
However, untrusted code provides, via Racket meta-programming, features such as modules, top-level
definitions, multi-arity functions, implicit partial application, syntax notations, a tactic DSL,
interactive tactics, and a programming language meta-theory DSL.
These features run at compile time and generate @tech{curnel forms}, forms in the core language,
which are type-checked before they are run.
Arbitrary @racketmodname[racket] code can run at @gtech{phases} higher than 0, but
@racketmodname[racket] code at @gtech{phase} 0 is unsupported and should result in a syntax error.
The language @racketmodname[cur] exports everything in @racketmodname[racket],
@racketmodname[racket/syntax], and @racketmodname[syntax/parse] at @gtech{phase} 1.
The language @racketmodname[cur] provides reflection features to equip users with the tools necessary
to write advanced meta-programs.
These features in includes compile-time functions for type-checking, performing naïve type inference,
deciding equivalence between @racketmodname[cur] terms, expanding macros in @racketmodname[cur] forms,
and evaluating @racketmodname[cur] forms at compile-time.
Programmers can use these reflection feature with little fear, as the resulting @tech{curnel forms}
will always be type-checked prior to running.
The @tech{curnel forms} are provided by the trusted core of the language.
The reflection forms and procedures are provided by mostly untrusted, but privileged, code.
These features require knowledge of and manipulation of the language implementation and could not be
implemented by a user via a library.
Everything else in @racketmodname[cur] is provided by untrusted user-land code---code that any user
(with sufficient meta-programming expertise) could write and ship as a library.
@todo{Some repetition}
@local-table-of-contents[]
@include-section{curnel.scrbl}
@include-section{reflection.scrbl}
@include-section{stdlib.scrbl}
@include-section{oll.scrbl}