The theory and practice of first-class prompts

Abstract

An analysis of the λugr;-C-calculus and its problematic relationship to operational equivalence leads to a new control facility: the prompt-application. With the introduction of prompt-applications, the control calculus becomes a traditional calculus all of whose equations imply operational equivalence. In addition, prompt-applications enhance the expressiveness and efficiency of the language. We illustrate the latter claim with examples from such distinct areas as systems programming and tree processing.