Rewriting

rascal-0.34.0

Synopsis

Rewriting using pattern-directed invocation

Description

A rewrite rule is a recipe on how to simplify values. Remember: (a + b)^2^ = a^2^ + 2 ab + b^2^? A rewrite rule has a pattern as left-hand side -- here: (a + b)^2^ -- and a replacement as right-hand side -- here: a^2^ + 2 ab + b^2^. Given a value and a set of rewrite rules the patterns are tried on every subpart of the value and replacements are made if a match is successful. This is repeated as long as some pattern matches.

Rascal has ancestors, notably ASF+SDF, where rewriting was the most important computation mechanism. In Rascal, rewriting can be achieved using pattern-directed invocation, see Function Declaration, possibly combined with a Visit statement.

Examples

In a package for symbolic differentiation it is desirable to keep expressions in simplified form in order to avoid intermediate results like add(product(con(1), x), mul(con(0), y)) that can be simplified to x. The following definitions achieve this:

Exp simp(add(con(n), con(m))) = con(n + m);       ❶  
Exp simp(mul(con(n), con(m))) = con(n * m);

Exp simp(mul(con(1), Exp e))  = e;
Exp simp(mul(Exp e, con(1)))  = e;
Exp simp(mul(con(0), Exp e))  = con(0);
Exp simp(mul(Exp e, con(0)))  = con(0);

Exp simp(add(con(0), Exp e))  = e;
Exp simp(add(Exp e, con(0)))  = e;

default Exp simp(Exp e)       = e;                 ❷  

Exp simplify(Exp e){                               ❸  
  return bottom-up visit(e){
           case Exp e1 => simp(e1)
         }
}

• ❶ Definitions of the function simp are given with different patterns as formal arguments. Each definition is responsible for one particular simplification (here is where the similarity with rewrite rules surfaces).

• ❷ A default for simp is given: if no other definition applies, the default one is used.

• ❸ The actual simplify function: it performs a bottom up visit of the expression, replacing each subexpression by a simplified version.

See Derivative for a full explanation of this example.