An Operational Foundation for Delimited Continuations

Abstract

We derive an abstract machine that corresponds to a definitional interpreter for the control operators shift and reset. Based on this abstract machine, we construct a syntactic theory of delimited continuations.<br /> <br />Both the derivation and the construction scale to the family of control operators shift_n and reset_n. The definitional interpreter for shift_n and reset_n has n + 1 layers of continuations, the corresponding abstract machine has n + 1 layers of control stacks, and the corresponding syntactic theory has n + 1 layers of evaluation contexts.<br /><br />See also BRICS-RS-05-24.