remove bad, incorrct, outdated docs
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@@ -63,52 +63,13 @@ an assembly target. The goal of our new G-Machine is to compile a *linear
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sequence of instructions* which, **when executed**, build up a graph
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representing the code.
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**************************
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Trees and Vines, in Theory
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**************************
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Rather than instantiating an expression at runtime -- traversing the AST and
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building a graph -- we want to compile all expressions at compile-time,
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generating a linear sequence of instructions which may be executed to build the
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graph.
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**************************
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Evaluation: Slurping Vines
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**************************
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WIP.
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Laziness
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--------
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WIP.
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* Instead of :code:`Slide (n+1); Unwind`, do :code:`Update n; Pop n; Unwind`
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****************************
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Compilation: Squashing Trees
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****************************
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WIP.
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Notice that we do not keep a (local) environment at run-time. The environment
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only exists at compile-time to map local names to stack indices. When compiling
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a supercombinator, the arguments are enumerated from zero (the top of the
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stack), and passed to :code:`compileR` as an environment.
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*************
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The G-Machine
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*************
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.. literalinclude:: /../../src/GM.hs
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:dedent:
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:start-after: -- >> [ref/compileSc]
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:end-before: -- << [ref/compileSc]
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:caption: src/GM.hs
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Of course, variables being indexed relative to the top of the stack means that
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they will become inaccurate the moment we push or pop the stack a single time.
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The way around this is quite simple: simply offset the stack when w
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.. literalinclude:: /../../src/GM.hs
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:dedent:
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:start-after: -- >> [ref/compileC]
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:end-before: -- << [ref/compileC]
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:start-after: -- >> [ref/Instr]
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:end-before: -- << [ref/Instr]
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:caption: src/GM.hs
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@@ -62,159 +62,6 @@ braces and semicolons. In developing our *layout* rules, we will follow in the
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pattern of translating the whitespace-sensitive source language to an explicitly
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sectioned language.
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But What About Haskell?
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***********************
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Parsing Haskell -- and thus rl' -- is only slightly more complex than Python,
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but the design is certainly more sensitive.
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.. code-block:: haskell
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-- line folds
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something = this is a
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single expression
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-- an extremely common style found in haskell
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data Some = Data
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{ is :: Presented
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, in :: This
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, silly :: Style
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}
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-- another style oddity
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-- note that this is not a single
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-- continued line! `look at`,
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-- `this odd`, and `alignment` are all
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-- discrete items!
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anotherThing = do look at
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this odd
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alignment
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But enough fear, lets actually think about implementation. Firstly, some
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formality: what do we mean when we say layout? We will define layout as the
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rules we apply to an implicitly-sectioned language in order to yield one that is
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explicitly-sectioned. We will also define indentation of a lexeme as the column
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number of its first character.
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Thankfully for us, our entry point is quite clear; layouts only appear after a
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select few keywords, (with a minor exception; TODO: elaborate) being :code:`let`
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(followed by supercombinators), :code:`where` (followed by supercombinators),
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:code:`do` (followed by expressions), and :code:`of` (followed by alternatives)
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(TODO: all of these terms need linked glossary entries). In order to manage the
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cascade of layout contexts, our lexer will record a stack for which each element
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is either :math:`\varnothing`, denoting an explicit layout written with braces
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and semicolons, or a :math:`\langle n \rangle`, denoting an implicitly laid-out
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layout where the start of each item belonging to the layout is indented
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:math:`n` columns.
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.. code-block:: haskell
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-- layout stack: []
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module M where -- layout stack: [∅]
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f x = let -- layout keyword; remember indentation of next token
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y = w * w -- layout stack: [∅, <10>]
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w = x + x
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-- layout ends here
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in do -- layout keyword; next token is a brace!
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{ -- layout stack: [∅]
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print y;
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print x;
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}
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Finally, we also need the concept of "virtual" brace tokens, which as far as
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we're concerned at this moment are exactly like normal brace tokens, except
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implicitly inserted by the compiler. With the presented ideas in mind, we may
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begin to introduce a small set of informal rules describing the lexer's handling
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of layouts, the first being:
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1. If a layout keyword is followed by the token '{', push :math:`\varnothing`
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onto the layout context stack. Otherwise, push :math:`\langle n \rangle` onto
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the layout context stack where :math:`n` is the indentation of the token
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following the layout keyword. Additionally, the lexer is to insert a virtual
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opening brace after the token representing the layout keyword.
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Consider the following observations from that previous code sample:
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* Function definitions should belong to a layout, each of which may start at
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column 1.
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* A layout can enclose multiple bodies, as seen in the :code:`let`-bindings and
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the :code:`do`-expression.
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* Semicolons should *terminate* items, rather than *separate* them.
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Our current focus is the semicolons. In an implicit layout, items are on
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separate lines each aligned with the previous. A naïve implementation would be
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to insert the semicolon token when the EOL is reached, but this proves unideal
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when you consider the alignment requirement. In our implementation, our lexer
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will wait until the first token on a new line is reached, then compare
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indentation and insert a semicolon if appropriate. This comparison -- the
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nondescript measurement of "more, less, or equal indentation" rather than a
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numeric value -- is referred to as *offside* by myself internally and the
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Haskell report describing layouts. We informally formalise this rule as follows:
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2. When the first token on a line is preceeded only by whitespace, if the
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token's first grapheme resides on a column number :math:`m` equal to the
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indentation level of the enclosing context -- i.e. the :math:`\langle n
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\rangle` on top of the layout stack. Should no such context exist on the
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stack, assume :math:`m > n`.
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We have an idea of how to begin layouts, delimit the enclosed items, and last
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we'll need to end layouts. This is where the distinction between virtual and
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non-virtual brace tokens comes into play. The lexer needs only partial concern
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towards closing layouts; the complete responsibility is shared with the parser.
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This will be elaborated on in the next section. For now, we will be content with
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naïvely inserting a virtual closing brace when a token is indented right of the
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layout.
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3. Under the same conditions as rule 2., when :math:`m < n` the lexer shall
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insert a virtual closing brace and pop the layout stack.
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This rule covers some cases including the top-level, however, consider
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tokenising the :code:`in` in a :code:`let`-expression. If our lexical analysis
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framework only allows for lexing a single token at a time, we cannot return both
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a virtual right-brace and a :code:`in`. Under this model, the lexer may simply
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pop the layout stack and return the :code:`in` token. As we'll see in the next
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section, as long as the lexer keeps track of its own context (i.e. the stack),
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the parser will cope just fine without the virtual end-brace.
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Parsing Lonely Braces
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*********************
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When viewed in the abstract, parsing and tokenising are near-identical tasks yet
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the two are very often decomposed into discrete systems with very different
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implementations. Lexers operate on streams of text and tokens, while parsers
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are typically far less linear, using a parse stack or recursing top-down. A
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big reason for this separation is state management: the parser aims to be as
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context-free as possible, while the lexer tends to burden the necessary
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statefulness. Still, the nature of a stream-oriented lexer makes backtracking
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difficult and quite inelegant.
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However, simply declaring a parse error to be not an error at all
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counterintuitively proves to be an elegant solution our layout problem which
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minimises backtracking and state in both the lexer and the parser. Consider the
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following definitions found in rlp's BNF:
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.. productionlist:: rlp
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VOpen : `vopen`
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VClose : `vclose` | `error`
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A parse error is recovered and treated as a closing brace. Another point of note
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in the BNF is the difference between virtual and non-virtual braces (TODO: i
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don't like that the BNF is formatted without newlines :/):
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.. productionlist:: rlp
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LetExpr : `let` VOpen Bindings VClose `in` Expr | `let` `{` Bindings `}` `in` Expr
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This ensures that non-virtual braces are closed explicitly.
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This set of rules is adequete enough to satisfy our basic concerns about line
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continations and layout lists. For a more pedantic description of the layout
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system, see `chapter 10
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<https://www.haskell.org/onlinereport/haskell2010/haskellch10.html>`_ of the
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2010 Haskell Report, which I heavily referenced here.
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References
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----------
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@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ data Key = NameKey Name
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| ConstrKey Tag Int
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deriving (Show, Eq)
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-- >> [ref/Instr]
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data Instr = Unwind
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| PushGlobal Name
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| PushConstr Tag Int
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@@ -114,6 +115,7 @@ data Instr = Unwind
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| Print
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| Halt
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deriving (Show, Eq)
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-- << [ref/Instr]
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data Node = NNum Int
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| NAp Addr Addr
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