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P r o g r a m C o m p o s i t i o n N o t a t i o n (PCN)
A T u t o r i a l
by Felix L. Winkelmann
I. Introduction
This document is an attempt to describe "PCN"[1], a concurrent logic
programming language developed at the Argonnne National Laboratory in
1990. PCN is a successor of a number of languages mixing concurrent
and logic programming that provides a familiar syntax based on C but
retains the essential features which make this particular style of
programming interesting.
The tutorial is based on "FLENG"[2], my implementation of a low-level
language with the same name[10], which provides front-ends for PCN,
"Flat Guarded Horn Clauses"[3] (FGHC) and "Strand"[4] and is available
for UNIX-compatible operating systems. The FLENG system provides
several extensions and a few minor differences to PCN as described in
the available technical reports [5,6] for the original version.
Concurrent logic programming is a fascinating paradigm, but,
unfortunately lost in history, partly as a result of the fallout from
the "AI winter". As modern computing systems struggle to find ways to
use parallelism and concurrency to the extent now necessary to ensure
high performance and to fully utilize available computing resources it
may be worthwhile to look at concepts that have existed now for quite
some time, yet have been forgotten, and which appear to promise a
refreshing and easy to use method of writing correct and robust
software systems in the presence of multiprocessing.
II. History
PCN is a member of a family of concurrent logic programming languages,
an attempt to allow for more concurrency in languages based on PROLOG.
One of the first was "Concurrent Prolog", followed by a plethora of
descendants like "Guarded Horn Clauses" (GHC), "PARLOG", "Janus" and
"Strand". The Japanese "Fifth Generation Computing Project"[7] was an
ambitious undertaking to create advanced knowledge representation and
research applications during the AI boom, where several experimental
systems used "KL1"[8], another concurrent logic language based on
(Flat) GHC.
In the process of the development of these languages a trend in
removing features of classic PROLOG can be noticed, with more emphasis
on efficiently implementing concurrency[9]. For example, backtracking
was removed and certain constraints were imposed to make the execution
more streamlined and reduce implementation complexities. Most of the
languages in this family are based on a number of common concepts:
- "Committed choice" clause selection: once a solution is found,
no backtracking is allowed.
- Logic single-assignment variables.
- "Flatness": clause-selection can only be constrained to a fixed set
of built-in predicates..
- Fine-grained "AND" parallelism.
With the exception of PCN, most languages retain the PROLOG syntax,
while significantly changing the semantics. PCN uses a more traditional
syntax based on C. Additionally, PCN can be considered a "composition
language" for orchestrating existing sequential code in a concurrent
environment, so the familiar syntax and ease of interfacing reduces the
friction naturally imposed by mixing languages with different
paradigms. PCN is still an imperative language but restricts side
effects by design and convention, a necessary step when working with
high levels of concurrency and parallelism.
In what follows, no prior knowledge of PROLOG or logic programming is
needed, the concepts originating in logic languages will be described
in the context of PCN as they come up. Where the syntax or semantics
of a particular feature differ from the original version, I describe
it as implemented in [2]. Where examples are given, they are
self-contained and can be directly executed by compiling and running
the given piece of code.
III. Basic Program Structure
PCN largely follows C in terms of lexical syntax and comment format
("//" for single line comments, "/* ... */" for non-nested block
comments). Programs are composed of procedures and functions,
containing statements. Statements are separated by comma (",") or
semicolon (";"). Execution starts in procedure "main":
main()
{
writeln("Hello, world!") // write textual representation of
} // some data object terminated by
// newline
If you have the FLENG system built and installed, you can compile and
execute the example code like this:
% cat hello.pcn
main()
{
writeln("Hello, world!")
}
% fleng hello.pcn
% ./a.out
The keywords "char", "int", "double", "byte", "default", "idle",
"over", "return", "foreign_call", "if", "else", "with", "let" and
"function" are reserved and may not be used as variable or procedure
names.
IV. Values
PCN handles values of data types usually found in dynamic programming
languages:
- Signed integers of machine-word size (31 or 63 bits, one bit used
for marking).
- Strings ("interned" text sequences also called atoms or symbols in
other languages), enclosed in double quotes: "this is a string"
- Characters, in the full UNICODE range, allowing the same escape
sequences as strings.
- Extended precision floating point numbers (64 bit IEEE doubles).
- Lists of values, optionally with an explicit tail value:
main()
{
writeln(["one", 2, 3.0]),
writeln(["one" | [2 | [3.0 | []]]]) // writes exactly the same
}
- Tuples, which are fixed-size arrays or arbitrary values:
main()
{
writeln({"one", 2, 3.0})
}
- Arrays, fixed size homogenous numeric sequences of arbitrary length,
with data types char (byte), short (16-bit integers), int (32-bit
integers), long (32- or 64-bit integers, depending on platform) and
floats (64-bit IEEE doubles).
- Sub-arrays or "Views" are arrays sharing storage with other arrays
or parts of existing arrays.
Strings may not be longer than 255 bytes, supported escape sequences
are: \t (tab), \n (newline), \", \xXX and \uXXXX for the UNICODE code
points given in 2 or 4 hex digits.
As string size is limited, larger text is usually handled in the form
of "character lists", i.e. linked lists of UNICODE code points. This
also has the advantage that normal list-processing operations
transparently handle text encoding in this way. Also, for reasons
explained later, working with text in this manner is less inefficient
than it appears and provides ample opportunities to process text
in parallel.
Memory management in PCN automatic, unused data is garbage collected
once it is no longer used. PCN is dynamically typed, only mutable
variables and arrays have to be declared. Circular data structures are
not supported. This simplifies the exchange of structured data
between threads with separate heaps considerably.
V. Variables
Variables come in two flavors: "definitional" and "mutable". Mutable
variables are scalars or arrays of one of the numeric types char,
short, int, long and double. Mutable variables must be explicitly
declared and can be changed (hence "mutable") during their lifetime.
main()
int x; // declares a mutable variable
{
x := 123, // assigns a value
x := 456, // assigns another value
writeln(x) // writes "456"
}
Mutable variables are initially bound to an unspecified value.
Definitional variables on the other hand do not require a declaration
and can hold values of every type but can only be assigned once.
Unassigned definitional variables are first-class objects, they may be
assigned to other definitional variables and stored in data
structures. Unassigned (unbound) definitional variables can be
considered "holes", to be filled with a value later. Referencing a
definitional variable will automatically "dereference" any chain of
links between unbound variables and access the final value.
main()
{
y = x, // binds "y" to "x", even though "x" has no value, yet.
x = 123, // binds definitional variable "x"
// x = 456, <-- would be illegal (already bound)
writeln(y) // writes "123"
}
When the concrete value of a definitional variable is required, either
for some computation or comparison, then execution of the current
process "suspends" until the variable is bound.
main()
{
writeln(x), // results in "deadlock": x isn't bound yet
x = 123
}
The ability to work with unbound variables is a tremendous source of
power and fundamental to the concepts used in PCN (and other
concurrent logic languages) for communication with and the
synchronization of concurrent processes.
":=" is the assignment operator and must have a mutable variable or
array location at the left hand side. Definitions use the "=" operator
and are only allowed for definitional variables. Certain restrictions
apply about the use of mutable variables which will be described later.
The special variable "_" is called the "anonymous" variable - every
occurrence represents a fresh definitional unbound variable:
main()
{
lst = [_, _, _], // a list of 3 unbound variables
writeln(length(lst)) // writes "3" and does not suspend
// as the elements are not needed
}
VI. Processes and Compositions
The basic execution model of PCN programs can be described as a pool
of currently active processes, where processes are taken from in some
unspecified order and executed. Executing processes will start other
processes which are themselves added to the pool. Processes that need
access to definitional variables that are still unbound will be
suspended. Once the pool is empty, the program has terminated, or, if
processes are still suspended on unbound definitional variables, a
"deadlock" is occurs as execution can not continue without some active
process that may bind the variables processes are yet suspended on.
In PCN code for processes is defined in procedures and functions and
process-invocations are grouped inside "compositions". A procedure is
defined by giving its name followed by a possibly empty list of
parameter declarations and a composition, enclosed in "{...}", where
the components of the composition are separated by "," or ";"
(a final "," or ";" terminator is allowed but not required).
main()
{
proc()
}
proc()
{
writeln("proc called")
}
A procedure is identified by its name and "arity" (the number of
arguments it has declared) and multiple procedures of the same name
may be defined if they have different arities.
Compositions are statements and thus may be arbitrarily nested.
Variable scope is always the whole procedure: variables are shared
across all nested compositions inside a procedure definition.
Three types of compositions exist:
- Sequential composition: each statement in the composition
is executed one after the other, in textual order:
main()
{; // <- sequential composition
writeln(1),
writeln(2)
}
The ";" may be omitted in a sequential composition. In the code
examples here we will do so unless we want to emphasize the
sequential nature of some code.
- Parallel composition: each statement is executed in parallel:
main()
{||
write(x), // suspends until "x" is bound
write(2), // may print "12" or "21"
x = 1
}
The order is completely undefined, but all statements will execute
at some point, unless they are suspended.
- "Choice" composition: execute statements depending on conditional
guards:
main()
{
x = 2 + 2,
{?
x == 4 -> writeln("ok"),
default -> writeln("something's wrong")
}
}
A choice composition contains a list of rules, separated by "," or
";". A rule consists of one or more conditions (called "guards"),
separated by ",", an arrow ("->") and a statement to be executed when
the conditions all succeed. Should multiple rules succeed, one of them
will be arbitrarily picked and executed. The "default" condition
always succeeds if no other rule does. If no "default" rule is given
and no rule succeeds, execution continues normally and the composition
is equivalent to an empty statement.
If the body of a procedure consists of a choice composition that holds
only a single rule then the braces can be omitted:
main()
{
check(2, 2, 4)
}
check(a, b, c)
a + b == c -> writeln("everything still ok")
Functions are special procedures returning a value:
main()
{
writeln(square(3))
}
function square(x)
{
return(x * x)
}
Note that "return" does not change the control flow: it merely stores
the result to be returned on function exit:
main()
{
writeln(square(3))
}
function square(x)
{
return(x * x),
writeln("done") // still shown
}
This may seem unexpected but makes sense when the body of the function
contains parallel compositions, which always treats the statements in the
body as unordered.
VII. Calls, Terms and Expressions
The right-hand side of definitions and assignments and arguments to
procedure calls can be expressions and are evaluated in the familiar
manner, as long as referenced definitional variables are bound. An
argument to a procedure or the right-hand side of a definition may
also be a "term", which designates a data structure like a list or
tuple. Nested elements of terms are _not_ evaluated themselves, but
may refer to other variables:
main()
{
x = 2 + 2,
y = [x, 3 * 3],
writeln(y) // writes the list "[4, *(3,3)]"
// (this shows an alternative notation
// for tuples, equivalent to {"'*", 3, 3})
}
Procedure and function arguments are evaluated when they are
expressions. As unbound variables are first-class values, passing such
a variable effectively is "by-reference":
main()
{
proc(2 + 2, x),
writeln(x) // writes "5"
}
proc(a, b)
{
b = a + 1
}
This also applies to mutable variables:
main()
int x;
{
proc(2 + 2, x),
writeln(x) // writes "5" as well
}
proc(a, b)
int b; // shares location of "x" in "main" above
{
b := a + 1
}
Mutable variables that are not directly passed to procedures as
arguments are always dereferenced, including arrays. An array passed
to a procedure but not declared as an array in the callee will be
"cloned" and an immutable copy being assigned to the parameter
representing the argument:
main()
int a[10];
{
a[ 0 ] := 123,
clone(a),
modify(a),
writeln(a[ 0 ]) // writes "456"
}
clone(a) {
// ... here "a" is immutable and does not share space with
// the "a" in main
}
modify(a)
int a[]; // declares parameter to be an array
{
a[ 0 ] := 456 // here "a" shares memory with "a" in
// main and can be modified
}
The reason for these restrictions is that mutable variables
(including arrays) must obey three rules to minimize time-dependent
bugs in parallel compositions:
Rule 1: A mutable variable can be shared by statements in a parallel
composition only if no statement modifies the variable (note that
these rules are only partially enforced by the compiler and
run-time system).
Rule 2: When a mutable variable occurs on the right-hand side of a
definition statement, a "snapshort" (copy) of the current value of the
mutable is taken, and the definition then proceeds as if a
definitional value were involved.
Rule 3: When a definitional variable occurs on the right-hand side of
an assignment to a mutable variable, the assignment suspends until the
variable has a value and then proceeds.
PCN supports tail-call optimization: if the last expression in a
sequential composition (that is not contained in another sequential
composition) is not a quantification, it is automatically compiled as
being in a parallel context and does not wait for the operation to
complete (and thus does not maintain additional state or data).
VIII. Guards and Control Structures
Choice compositions are the only primitive method of performing
conditional execution and the set of guards or conditions is fixed to
one of the following:
- Comparisons, binary relations as in C ("==", "!=", ">", "<", ">=", "=<"),
where "==" and "!=" handle arbitrary terms and the rest allow
numerical expressions.
- Type tests ("number(x)", "string(x)", etc.)
- Matching ("<variable> ?= <pattern>"), the variable must be
definitional and the pattern is a term.
Comparisons and tests evaluate their argument expressions and thus
suspend if any definitional variable inside the guard is unbound:
main()
{||
even_odd(x), // suspends inside the choice below
x = 2 // resumes suspended choice and writes "even"
}
even_odd(n)
{?
n & 1 == 0 -> writeln("even"),
default -> writeln("odd")
}
Matching allows the destructuring of data objects like lists and
tuples:
main()
{
x = ["one", 2],
{?
x ?= [a, b] -> y = [b, a]
},
writeln(y) // writes "[2, one]"
}
Matching suspends only when the pattern requires dereferencing an
unbound definitional variable, but when it does, the whole composition
is suspended.
User-defined or primitive functions may not be used directly in
guards, only if part of a comparison or test. Guard expressions must
be "atomic" in that only a fixed set of expressions is allowed, for
semantic reasons (using the jargon from concurrent logic languages,
PCN is "flat"). For convenience, calls to primitive or user-defined
functions are syntactically valid but are extracted from the actual
choice composition and evaluated before the set of choices is entered.
As any variables introduced by match guards are not yet bound during
the execution of an embedded function-call, its arguments may not refer
to those variables:
:
if(foo ?= {a, b}, some_function(a)) ... // <-- ILLEGAL
:
Any expression or term that is used as a guard that is not a type-test,
comparison or match is treated as a comparison with "false", so
if(some_test(...)) ...
is equivalent to
if(some_test(...) != "false") ...
Similarly
if(!some_test(...)) ...
equals
if(some_test(...) == "false") ...
Some convenience forms are available as syntactic sugar that allow one
to write choice compositions in a more traditional style. First,
"let", for a choice-composition that consists of a single rule and
which aborts with an error if the guard fails:
main()
{
x = ["one", 2],
let x ?= [a, b]; // note the use of ";" as "," would be ambiguous
y = [b, a], // equivalent to
// {? <guard> -> <statements>, default -> <error> }
writeln(y)
}
Second, the familiar "if":
main()
{
x = 2 + 2;
if(x == 4) writeln("ok") // equivalent to
else writeln("no!") // {? <guard> -> <if-statement>, default -> <else-statement> }
}
Iteration is performed with the "quantification" statement:
main()
{
i over 1..10 :: writeln(i) // write numbers 1 to 10
}
Whether the body statement is executed sequentially or in parallel
depends on the type of the enclosing composition. The quantification
variable ("i" in the example above) may be definitional (if
undeclared) or mutable. In the former case, it is rebound during
execution of the body and remains unbound in later statements
following the quantification and can be re-used. If it is mutable, it
is assigned the next value on every iteration and retains its value
after the iteration completes.
Iteration over lists is also supported:
main()
{
x over [1, 2, 3] :: writeln(x) // write numbers 1 to 3
}
In list-iteration, the quantification variable must always be
definitional.
Since PCN is tail-recursive, more complex iteration patterns are best
expressed as recursive functions as the iteration runs in constant
space:
/* filter even numbers given as arguments on the command line */
main()
{
filter_even(command_line()) // obtain arguments
}
filter_even(args)
{?
args ?= [x|rest] -> { // destructure in head + tail
n = string_to_integer(x); // arguments are strings
if(n & 1 == 0) writeln(x);
filter_even(rest)
} // no match: do nothing, i.e. simply return
}
IX. Streams and Ports
Now that we have concurrently running processes and automatic
suspension when a definitional variable is unbound, we can easily
synchronize processes:
main()
{||
work(done); // start some long-running task
wait(done) // wait until it finished
}
work(done)
{
timer(1000, done, _) // primitive to set timer for 1000ms and assign
// the empty list ("[]") to "done" when finished
// the third argument (timer-ID) is not used
}
wait(done)
{?
data(done) -> writeln("ready") // data(): guard that succeeds when argument
// is bound (and waits, if needed)
}
Combined with lists, we already have everything to establish
communication channels between processes, by using a list with an
unbound tail and successively bind the tail to a new list with another
unbound tail and so on:
main()
{||
producer(10, stream);
consumer(stream)
}
producer(n, out)
{?
n > 0 -> {
out = [n|out2]; // create new stream element
producer(n - 1, out2)
},
default -> out = [] // close stream
}
consumer(in)
{?
in ?= [x|more] -> {
writeln(x); // writes 10, 9, 8, ..., 1
consumer(more)
}
}
Note how these two processes synchronize automatically: should the
producer outrun the consumer, the list merely becomes longer. If the
consumer executes faster than the producer it will suspend until the
stream contains a new value in its head.
We can make the consumer control the pace in which the producer
generates values by reversing the role of who provides objects to
consume - just use another stream to send unbound definitional
variables to be filled by the producer:
main()
{||
producer(10, stream, [_|fill]); // provide initial slot for first item
consumer(stream, fill)
}
producer(n, out, fill)
{?
fill ?= [place|more], n > 0 -> {
place = n; // take element from placeholder stream and define it
out = [place|out2]; // create new output-stream element
producer(n - 1, out2, more)
},
default -> out = []
}
consumer(in, fill)
{?
in ?= [x|more] -> {
writeln(x); // writes 10, 9, 8, ..., 1
fill = [_|fill2]; // create new slot and pass it to producer
consumer(more, fill2)
}
}
Streams of this sort are very useful not only as a communication
device, they also serve as abstraction boundaries: a process can
provide a "service", with requests sent to the process via a stream:
main()
{||
service(s, []); // start server
s = [{"set", "waldo", 42}|s2]; // request setting a DB entry
//...
s2 = [{"get", "waldo", x}|s3]; // request reading an entry
writeln(x); // writes "42"
s3 = [] // close stream to terminate service
}
service(in, db)
{?
in ?= [{"set", key, val}|in2] -> {
map:insert(key, val, db, db2); // call "insert" in the "map" library
service(in2, db2)
},
in ?= [{"get", key, val}|in2] -> {
map:lookup(key, db, val);
service(in2, db)
}
}
Notice how we pass values ("set") and placeholders ("get") in the
different requests. This is easy to extend and uses the built-in "map"
lihrary which provides a balanced tree data structure wiht functional
updates.
We can easily intercept messages by using an intermediate process,
here for logging:
main()
{||
service(s, []);
logger(s):
s = [{"set", "waldo", 42}|s2]; // request setting a DB entry
//...
s2 = [{"get", "waldo", n}|s3];
writeln(n);
s3 = [] // close stream to terminate service
}
logger(in)
{?
in ?= [{op, key, _}|in2] -> {
// use "fmt" library for formatted output
fmt:format("log: ~a ~a\n", [op, key]);
logger(in2)
}
}
service(in, db)
{?
in ?= [{"set", key, val}|in2] -> {
map:insert(key, val, db, db2);
service(in2, db2)
},
in ?= [{"get", key, val}|in2] -> {
map:lookup(key, db, val);
service(in2, db)
}
}
Or perhaps we want to restrict access to certain data by using an
intermediate stream:
main()
{||
service(s1, []); // [] represents an empty map
filter(["waldo"], s, s1);
s = [{"set", "waldo", 42}|s2]; // request setting a DB entry
//...
s2 = [{"get", "waldo", n}|s3];
writeln(n);
s3 = [] // close stream to terminate service
}
filter(blacklist, in, out)
{?
in ?= [{"get", key, result}|in2] -> {
list:member(key, blacklist, f); // check for list membership
if(f) {
result = "CONFIDENTIAL"; // request is not passed on
filter(blacklist, in2, out)
} else {
out = [{"get", key, result}|out2];
filter(blacklist, in2, out2)
}
},
in == [] -> out = [];
default ->
let in ?= [req|in2] -> {
out = [req|out2]; // pass on unchanged
filter(blacklist, in2, out2)
}
}
service(in, db)
{?
in ?= [{"set", key, val}|in2] -> {
map:insert(key, val, db, db2);
service(in2, db2)
},
in ?= [{"get", key, val}|in2] -> {
map:lookup(key, db, val);
service(in2, db)
}
}
Note how the original service process (stream consumer) never needs to
be changed - we can connect software components by streams through
which they communicate and add intermediate processes the perform
various pre- and post-processing.
Since lists and streams are structurally equivalent, using lists
containing character codes makes them natural subjects for stream
processing:
/* convert input to uppercase */
main()
{||
io:read_char_stream(0, in); // read characters from stdin
upcase(in)
}
upcase(in)
{?
in ?= [c|in2] -> {
if(c >= 'a', c <= 'z') c2 = c - 32
else c2 = c;
fmt:format("~c", [c2]);
upcase(in2)
}
}
Using the "merger" primitive we can join multiple streams into one.
"merger" takes an input-stream and copies its values into an output
stream, but merges streams given by messages of the form {"merge", S}
into the output. The values from different streams are arbitrarily
interleaved but retain their order:
/* count char-frequency of combined input files given on command line */
main()
{||
merger(in, out);
follow(command_line(), in);
stats(out, [])
}
follow(files, in)
{?
files ?= [fname|next] -> {
open_file(fname, "r", fd); // open file for reading
io:read_char_stream(fd, chars); // read characters from file
// as a stream
in = [{"merge", chars}|in2];
follow(next, in2)
},
files == [] -> in = [] // end input stream
}
stats(chars, map)
{?
chars ?= [c|chars2] -> {
// notice how we already replace the entry by "new", which
// is still unbound at this point
map:replace(c, new, old, map, map2);
if(old == []) new = 1 // indicates key in map doesn't exist
else new = old + 1;
stats(chars2, map2)
},
chars == [] -> {
map:map_to_list(map, lst); // converts map into sorted list of
dump(lst) // {"-", KEY, VALUE} tuples
}
}
dump(data)
{?
data ?= [{_, c, count}|more] -> {
fmt:format("~c\t~d\n", [c, count]);
dump(more)
}
}
Streams are identified by their tail, the next slot to be filled with
a new list cell holding a value and the new tail. This makes it
awkward to store streams in data structures or global variables as
they effectively have a new identity once extended with a fresh value.
For this FLENG supports "ports", which are objects representing a
stream:
main()
{||
open_port(p, s); // create port, associated with a stream
put_global("port", p); // store port in thread-global variable
consume(s); // process stream as usual
work()
}
consume(s)
{?
s ?= [x|s2] -> {
writeln(x);
consume(s2)
}
}
// we could of course just pass "p" as an argument, this code is
// only intended to demonstrate storing a port reference somewhere
work()
{
global("port", p); // suspends until variable is set
send(p, "message"); // add value to stream
put_global("port", []) // release, so it can be closed
}
Streams attached to ports are "closed" (terminated by the empty list),
once the port is not longer referenced anywhere and can be garbage
collected.
IX. Using Threads
PCN, like most implementations of concurrent logic languages is
intended to run on multiple "nodes" or hardware processors, often on
widely different platforms. The FLENG system utilizes operating system
threads by allowing to spawn processes on another thread, running
fully in parallel to the main thread. So far we have used concurrent
processes running in a single OS thread. Each thread in the FLENG
system has its own heap and process pool and doesn't share memory
(with the exception of arrays, if desired) with any other thread.
Values can be exchanged between processes running on different
OS-level threads by passing definitional variables and binding them,
which is transparently converted into messages following an internal
value-exchange protocol.
To launch a process on another thread, use the "at" ("@") notation:
main()
{||
spawn(x)@fwd; // invoke "spawn" on next thread in ring
writeln(x) // suspends until "x" is bound by the other thread
}
spawn(x)
{
id = self(); // "self" gives thread ID
fmt:format_chars("Hello, I'm #~d", [id], x) // formats into a char-list
}
When you compile this program, you can set the number of threads you
require:
% fleng hello2.pcn
% ./a.out +THREADS 2
The right-hand side of the "@" operator may be an expression
evaluating to an integer thread-ID or a string. The special
identifiers "fwd", "bwd", "north", "south", "west" or "east" are
also allowed and equivalent to their string form.
Threads are addressed by a positive integer, the main thread has the
ID "1". Threads can be addressed directly, via their ID or relatively,
according to a topology in which all available threads are grouped.
Currently "ring" and "torus" topologies are available, so "fwd" and
"bwd" address the next or previous thread in a ring and "north",
"east", "south", "west" address the four neighbours in a torus
topology. The actual number of threads does not need to be reflected
in the source code - the program above would still work on a single
thread, since the next item in the ring would be the very same thread
and invoking the current thread using the "@" notation is the same
as calling the procedure without any annotation.
Synchronization and communication between processes running on
different threads is handled transparently, but note that data sent
from one thread must be copied and re-created on the receiving side
and so involves allocation and should be of limited size. Mutable
variables are passed by value when given in a call decorated with "@",
there locations can not be shared between threads.
X. Modules and Separate Compilation
PCN code can be structured into separately compiled modules, which are
then linked together like normal C or C++ code. Say we have two files
a.pcn: the main program
main()
{
b:wave()
}
and b.pcn, a library module
-module("b") // a "declaration" that names this compilation unit
wave()
{
writeln("o/")
}
The files can be compiled and linked into a single executable:
% fleng -c b.pcn # produces b.o
% fleng a.pcn b.o
% ./a.out
Calls to procedures and functions in other modules need to be
"qualified" with the module name and colon: "<name>:<procedure>(...)".
Modules are resolved at the time of the first call, so mutually
referencing modules are no problem. There can only be a single main
module (internally named "", i.e. the empty string). A module can be
declared by using the "module" declaration, as in the example above,
or by giving the command line option ("-m") and a module name when
compiling the file.
A module always represents a single source file and there can not be
more than one module in a file, nor can a module span more than one
source file. Compiled modules can be combined into libraries just as
in C or C++.
There are no facilities for "importing" bindings from other modules,
entities in modules other than the current one always require a
qualificiation. There is also no mechanism to restrict what definitions are
accessible from outside of the current module. All procedure and
function definitions are exported and accessible from other modules
that refer to them.
A module is loaded when some other module declares it as "used". Usage
in explicit calls to procedures of a module is an indicator for this
and thus inferred automatically. But if a module is called indirectly
(explained below) a "uses" declaration has to be added. One situation
where this may occur is when the used module is intended to
automatically start with some background task, which is done using the
"initialization" declaration: it marks a zero-argument procedure to be
called on thread startup.
a.pcn:
/* note: never stops, as the clock runs continuously */
-uses("b")
main()
{
// ...
}
b.pcn:
-module("b")
-initialization("start")
start()
{||
clock(1000, clk, _); // produces a stream of integers
spin(clk, 1) // in 1-second intervals
}
spin(clk, secs)
let clk ?= [_|clk2] -> {
fmt:format("seconds elapsed: ~d\n", [secs]);
spin(clk2, secs + 1)
}
XI. Indirect Calls and Higher-Order Procedures
Sometimes it is useful to be able to determine the target of a procedure
call dynamically. PCN has "meta" calls for this purpose, where the
module, procedure name (or both) is dynamically computed:
/* convert input to uppercase or lowercase, depending on program-name
so compile like this:
% fleng a.pcn -o upcase
% ln -s upcase downcase
*/
main(_, argv, _) // alternative signature: (argc, argv, status)
{||
prg = argv[ 0 ]; // get first element of argv list (program name)
path:basename(prg, name); // drop directory part + extension
mode = list_to_string(name); // basename returns a character list
io:read_char_stream(0, in); // read characters from stdin
convert(in, mode)
}
convert(in, conv)
{?
in ?= [c|in2] -> {
`conv`(c, c2); // call procedure with name given by "conv"
fmt:format("~c", [c2]);
convert(in2)
}
}
upcase(c, result)
{
if(c >= 'a', c <= 'z') result = c - 32
else result = c
}
downcase(c, result)
{
if(c >= 'A', c <= 'Z') result = c + 32
else result = c
}
The part inside the `...` must be a definitional variable containing a
string when in the module part. The procedure part of the call may be a
string or a tuple holding the name (a string) and any number of
default arguments preceding the arguments given in the call.
If the meta-call is not qualified, the procedure part may also be
a tuple of the form {":", MODULE, PROCEDURE}, where PROCEDURE
may again be a string or tuple.
main()
{
m = ""; // this module
p = "foo";
p1 = {"foo", 123};
p2 = {"foo", 123, 456};
pm = {":", m, p1};
f = `(x) -> foo(123, x);
`p`(123, 456); // all of these write "[123, 456]"
`p1`(456);
`p2`;
`pm`(456);
`f`(456)
}
foo(a, b)
{
writeln([a, b])
}
The example above demonstrates "lambda" expressions, anonymous
functions of the form `(<argument list>) -> <statement>. As `...` adds
given default arguments in the call value, we effectively have
"closures", that is, we can combine a piece of code with state, here
also using the ``...`` notation to construct tuple representing calls
conveniently:
main()
{
adder = make_adder(123);
writeln(`adder`(1))
}
function make_adder(x)
{
return(``plus(x)``) // same as {":", "", {"plus", x}}
}
plus(x, y, z)
{
z = x + y
}
This allows the use of higher order procedures, procedures that call
other procedures:
/* write list of file given on command line that are directories */
main()
{
filter(``isdir``, command_line(), lst);
writeln(lst)
}
isdir(x, r)
{
file_type(x, t);
if(t == "directory") r = true
else r = false
}
filter(func, lst, result)
{?
lst ?= [x|lst2] -> {||
`func`(x, r);
if(r) result = [x|result2]
else result = result2;
filter(func, lst2, result2)
},
default -> result = []
}
If no module qualification is given, then the procedure to be called is
assumed by built-in calling primitives like "call" and "apply" to be
in the module that issues the call. Call targets defined using the
``...`` notation implicitly include this information, so it is preferrable
to use this instead of constructing tuples by hand.
XII. Interfacing with C/C++ Code
To do anything useful, it must be possible to talk to external code
like operating system APIs and third party libraries. This is relatively
straightforward in PCN and allows it to be used as a language to
"orchestrate" sequential native code using a higher level notation
that is particularly well suited to coordinate concurrency and
parallelism.
Calls to undefined procedures which have no module-prefix are assumed
to invoke a separately linked C function. Arguments are converted as
necessary and are call by reference:
main()
{
printf("hello, world.\n") // this is C's "printf" provided by libc
}
(This example may fail to link on some platforms, due to dynamic linking
and calls via dynamic call stubs. An easy workaround is to use an
intermediate function.)
PCN passes the source code through the C preprocessor, so conditional
compilation, inclusion, platform enquiries and macro definitions
as in C are supported. During preprocessing a PCN source file, the
macro "PCN" is defined. This allows expanding included files
conditionally on whether they are currently processed by the PCN
compiler or in a C program, which is handy when interfacing with
foreign code that shares certain macro definitions. External calls
are only allowed for procedures, not for functions inside expression.
Arguments to C functions are converted depending on the type of the
argument. All arguments are passed by reference, so mutable variables
can be modified by the external code. Strings are passed as "char"
pointers and are internally terminated by a zero byte, so that they
match C's representation of strings. Arrays are passed as a pointers
to the first element. Integers and floats that are passed as literals
or as results of expressions are by reference but may not be modified
as they refer to internal storage. Lists, tuples, ports and other data
is passed as an undefined pointer and not usable on the C side.
References to unbound definitional variables will suspend until all
arguments are bound.
Here we embed C code directly into the PCN source file. The code
could also be stored in a separate file and compiled into object
code, which would then have to be linked to the final program:
/* format current time sing strftime(3) */
main()
char buf[ 32 ]; // storage for buffer
int len;
{
tm = current_seconds();
fmt_time(tm, "%F %R", buf, length(buf), len);
array:get(0, len, buf, str);
fmt:format("~s\n", [str])
}
"C":
#include <time.h>
void fmt_time(long *t, char *fmt, char *buf, long *maxlen, int *len)
{
time_t t0 = *t;
struct tm *ts = localtime(&t0);
*len = strftime(buf, *maxlen, fmt, ts);
}
The "C" marks a section of C code and must be at the start of the
source code line. "C++" is also a valid foreign code section marker.
You can switch back to PCN code by using a "PCN" section marker.
The "fleng" compiler driver will extract C/C++ code section
and compile and link them automatically.
As a further example, let's integrate Paul Heckbert's "Business Card
Raytracer"[11] to take advantage of multiple threads:
file "card.pcn":
main()
char buf[ 512 * 512 * 3 ];
{
n = threads() - 1; // number of threads
if(n == 0) error("invoke with +THREADS 2 or more");
{||
i over 2 .. threads() :: spawn(n, buf)@i
};
write("P6 512 512 255 ");
array:write(0, length(buf), buf, 1) // write out array to stdout
}
spawn(parts, buf)
char buf[];
{
step = 512 / parts;
part = self() - 2; // "self" returns own thread-ID
ts(buf, part, step)
}
file "card.cpp":
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
typedef int i;typedef float f;struct v{f x,y,z;v operator+(v r){return v(x+r.x
,y+r.y,z+r.z);}v operator*(f r){ return v(x*r,y*r,z*r);}f operator%(v r){return
x*r.x+y*r.y+z*r.z;}v(){}v operator^(v r){return v(y*r.z-z*r.y,z*r.x-x*r.z,x*r.
y-y*r.x);}v(f a,f b,f c){x=a;y=b;z=c;}v operator!(){return*this*(1/sqrt(*this%*
this));}};i G[]={247570,280596,280600,249748,18578,18577,231184,16,16
};f R(){return(f)rand()/RAND_MAX;}i T(v o,v d,f&t,v&n){t=1e9;i m=0;f p=
-o.z/d.z; if(.01<p)t=p, n=v(0,0,1),m=1;for(i k=19;k--;)for(i j=9;j--;)if(G[j]&
1<<k){v p=o+v(-k,0,-j-4);f b=p%d,c=p%p-1,q=b*b-c;if(q>0){f s=-b-sqrt(q);if(s<t
&&s>.01)t=s,n=!(p+d*t),m=2;}}return m;}v S(v o,v d){f t;v n;i m=T(o,d,t,n);if(
!m)return v(.7,.6,1)*pow(1-d.z,4);v h=o+d*t,l=!(v(9+R(),9+R(),16)+h*-1),r=d+n*
(n%d*-2);f b=l%n;if(b<0||T(h,l,t,n))b=0;f p=pow(l%r*(b>0),99);if(m&1){h=h*.2;
return((i)(ceil(h.x)+ceil(h.y))&1?v(3,1,1):v(3,3,3))*(b*.2+.1);}return v(p,p,p
)+S(h,r)*.5;}extern "C" void ts(char *buf,long *pt,long *st){
i sl=*pt * *st, off=512-sl;char *ptr=buf+sl*512*3;v g=!v(-6,-16,0),a=!(v(0,0,
1)^g)*.002,b=!(g^a)*.002,c=(a+b)*-256+g;for(i y=0;y<*st;++y)for(i x=512;x--;){v p
(9,9,9);for(i r=64;r--;){v t=a*(R()-.5)*99+b*(R()-.5)*99;p=S(v(17,16,8)+t,!(t*
-1+(a*(R()+x)+b*(off-y+R())+c)*16))*3.5+p;}*(ptr++)=(i)p.x;*(ptr++)=(i)p.y;
*(ptr++)=(i)p.z;}}
Compile and run like this:
% fleng -O3 card.pcn card.cpp
% ./a.out +THREADS 9 > aek.ppm # runs with 8 rendering threads
XIII. Miscellaneous Features
Due to the mostly side-effect free nature of code written in PCN,
state is often updated in a functionally manner, by passing it along
creating a new state from the old and so "threading" updated values
through a chain of variables. Also, values are often accumulated, as
for example when streams are built. To ease handling of paired
accumulation arguments, this implementation of PCN provides a
"variable pair" notation, similar to the argument pair notation used
in KL1[8].
If the parameter list of a procedure definition contains a parameter
prefixed by a colon (":abc"), then the parameter represents a pair of
arguments, an input and an output argument that is practical for
creating streams or passing on state. A colon-prefixed reference to
such an argument pair in the argument list of a procedure call on the
other hand will also be rewritten to a pair of arguments:
/* average numbers given on command line */
main()
{
writeln(average(command_line()))
}
function average(lst)
{
average2(lst, 0, a1);
return(a1 / length(lst))
}
average2(lst, :a)
lst ?= [n|lst2] -> {
a = a + string_to_integer(n); // or: a += string_to_integer(n)
average2(lst2, :a)
}
(This could of course be done using mutable variables, but once we
want to parallelize code functional updates are the safer and often
more correct method)
The ":a" in "average2" in both occurences represents two arguments,
the old (first) and the new (second) part of the argument pair. A
definition of a paired variable stands for the new value, so the "a"
in "a = a + n" is equivalent to "a_new = a_old + n". All other
unqualified references to a paired variable refer to the old (current)
value.
PCN provides the "<op>=" operators known from C as syntactic
sugar for updating pair variables. They are in all respects identical
to the longer form "<identifier> = <identifier> <op> <expression>"
and are only usable for definitional variables.
There is no "default" clause in "average2" in the example above - in
this case the new value defaults to the old, passing on the state
unchanged, which is the default action, if a pair is not referenced at
all, so:
main()
{
foo(1, x);
writeln(x) // simply writes "1"
}
foo(:_) {}
Another example:
main()
{||
build(10, s, []);
follow(s) // writes numbers "10" to "1"
}
follow(s)
s ?= [x|s2] -> {
writeln(x);
follow(s2)
}
build(n, :s)
{?
n > 0 -> {
s ++ n;
build(n - 1, :s)
}
}
Here we build a stream of integers. The use of the "++" operator is
equivalent to "s_old = [n|s_new]": it constructs the stream value by
value. This is the only operation that assigns of the first/input
variable in a variable pair. Once "n" equals zero, the use of an
unchanged argument pair will simply unify the input part of the pair
with the output part, which is the empty list. "build" effectively
injects values into a stream between the head (the first occurrence of
"s") and the tail (the empty list) and once we are done we connect our
current end of the stream with the tail, the stream ends and "follow"
terminates.
Lists and tuples can be used to hold structured data but a more
convenient way is to use "structs", which are named tuples where
fields can be accessed by name:
-struct(point(x, y))
main()
{
// using the structure name as a function constructs a
// new instance:
p1 = point(100, 200);
p2 = move(p1, 50, -10);
writeln(p2) // writes "point(150, 190)"
}
function move(p, x, y)
{
return(point(p.x + x, p.y + y))
}
Functional update is done with the "<instance>(.<field> = ...)"
syntax:
-struct(vector(x, y, len))
main()
{
p1 = vector(10, 20, 0);
p2 = p1(.len = sqrt(p1.x * p1.x + p1.y * p1.y));
writeln(p2.len) / writes "22.360679774997"
}
Finally, the "<--" operator can be used to update a fields in
structured data:
-struct(point(x, y))
main()
{
p1 = point(100, 200); // create a {"point", 100, 200} tuple
move(10, -20, p1, p2)
}
move(x, y, :p)
{
p.y <-- p.y - n
}
The "<--" operator also accepts lists and normal tuples by taking an
index instead of a field name.
XIV. Further Reading
This completes this little tutorial on PCN. I hope I could interest you
in the language and concepts used. Concurrent logic programming
is a fascinating subject and addresses many common programming problems
in a refreshing manner. I recommend reading the "Strand" Book[4] to learn
more about various interesting techniques, which the book explains in
an easy and often delightful manner.
More information about the "FLENG" system can be found at my
website[2], including reference documentation for the languages
it supports and many libraries that provide extended functionality.
If you have questions, suggestions or want to report errors, please
go to the FLENG website where you will find contact information.
XV. References
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program_Composition_Notation
[2] http://www.call-with-current-continuation.org/fleng/fleng.html
[3] "Guarded Horn Clauses"
PhD Thesis, Kazunori Ueda
[4] "Strand: New Concepts for Parallel Programming",
Ian Foster and Stephen Taylor, Prentice Hall, 1990
Also available online:
http://www.call-with-current-continuation.org/files/strand-book.pdf
[5] "Parallel programming with PCN"
Ian Foster and Steven Tuecke
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1310344/
[6] "A Primer for Program Composition Notation."
Chandy, K. Mani and Taylor, Stephen (1990),
http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechCSTR:1990.cs-tr-90-10
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_generation_computer
[8] "Design of the Kernel Language for the Parallel Inference Machine",
U. Kazunori et al., 1990
[9] "The Deevolution of Concurrent Logic Programming Languages"
Evan Tick
[10] "FLENG Prolog - The Language which turns Supercomputers into
Parallel Prolog Machines"
Martin Nilsson and Hidehiko Tanaka
[11] https://fabiensanglard.net/rayTracing_back_of_business_card/