Expressions as processes

Abstract

We argue that the 'equal civil rights' principle inherent in the lambda calculus base of applicative languages may be extended to encompass parallelism. In our model, all applicative expressions are viewed as processes, whether they represent primitives such as integers, or complex higher order functions. We present an early CCS-based notation which supports an active interpretation of applicative expressions, and illustrate its generality by presenting translations of the Schonfinkel combinators to processes. In general, we may combine applicative expressions using function application. A variety of process interpretations of application are possible, reflecting a range of evaluation strategies.