docs

Documentation for the R language compiler (Rlang-compiler/docs/).

This subdirectory of the Rlang-compiler repository contains the following documents pertaining to the R language compiler in its various iterations.

"The R Programming Language and Compiler" (M. Frank, July 1997) (MIT-RCP-MemoM8-RProgLang.pdf).

This research memo, which was produced as part of the MIT Reversible Computing Project, which ran from approximately 1996-1999 in the MIT AI Lab, was the original documentation for the R programming language and its compiler. This material (along with more details about the compiler internals) was later recycled into my doctoral dissertation (below).

Reversibility for Efficient Computing (M. Frank, Dec. 1999) (Frank-99-PhD-bookmarked.pdf).

This document is the unofficial (but unabridged) revised manuscript of my (M. Frank's) 1999 MIT doctoral dissertation. I published this extended version (which includes some material that was removed from the official version that was filed with the MIT Libraries) online in the Fall of 1999 at the University of Florida, after I started my faculty position there.

The sections of this document that pertain to the R language include:

• Section 9.4, "Reversible programming languages," pp. 236-239.

• Section 9.5.6, "Physical simulations," pp. 241-243. (Describes an example application.)

• Appendix C, "The R reversible programming language," pp. 295-310. A complete reference for the user-visible R language constructs.

• Appendix D, "The R language compiler," pp. 311-376. A complete reference for
  the compiler's intermediate language constructs; also includes complete source code for the compiler. (Also in the src/ subdirectory, parallel to this directory.)

• Appendix E, "Reversible Schroedinger wave simulation," pp. 377-406. Includes source code and complete compiled output in the PISA assembly language.

"Improving the reversible programming language R and its supporting tools" (C. Clark, Dec. 2001) (Clark_2001-12_SrPrj-report.pdf).

This document was the final report for a Senior Design project conducted by Christopher R. Clark at the University of Florida CISE department in 2001. In this project, Chris extended the R language to add new features such as support for else clauses and string literals. The modified code can be found in the src2/ subdirectory (parallel to this docs/ directory).