Preprocessing eden with template Haskell

Abstract

Extending a programming language by new language constructs often implies extending its compiler by additional machinery. To reduce the complex interweaving of compiler and extension implementations we present a simple and modular concept of lifting the often needed additional preprocessing out of the base compiler implementation. Avoiding the introduction of standalone tools, this preprocessor framework for extensions of Haskell is designed as a separate portable library of monadic preprocessing functions based on Template Haskell. Additional preprocessing passes expressed in this framework can then much easier be carried along the series of ever advancing base compiler versions. Taking Eden, a parallel programming extension of Haskell, as an example we show that besides achieving improved portability and reusability pass code sizes can be reduced considerably. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.