# 3. Language Reference

This reference seeks to describe every construct in the Futhark language. It is not presented in a tutorial fashion, but rather intended for quick lookup and documentation of subtleties. For this reason, it is not written in a bottom-up manner, and some concepts may be used before they are fully defined. It is a good idea to have a basic grasp of Futhark (or some other functional programming language) before reading this reference. An ambiguous grammar is given for the full language. The text describes how ambiguities are resolved in practice (for example by applying rules of operator precedence).

This reference describes only the language itself. Documentation for the built-in prelude is available elsewhere.

## 3.1. Comments

Line comments are indicated with `--` and continue until end of line. A contiguous block of line comments beginning with `-- |` is a documentation comment and has special meaning to documentation tools. Documentation comments are only allowed immediately before declarations.

## 3.2. Trailing commas

All syntactical elements that involve comma-separated sequencing permit an optional trailing comma.

## 3.3. Identifiers and Keywords

    name         ::= letter constituent* | "_" constituent*
    constituent  ::= letter | digit | "_" | "'"
    quals        ::= (name ".")+
    qualname     ::= name | quals name
    symbol       ::= symstartchar symchar*
    qualsymbol   ::= symbol | quals symbol | "`" qualname "`"
    fieldid      ::= decimal | name
    symstartchar ::= "+" | "-" | "*" | "/" | "%" | "=" | "!" | ">" | "<" | "|" | "&" | "^"
    symchar      ::= symstartchar | "."
    constructor  ::= "#" name

Many things in Futhark are named. When we are defining something, we give it an unqualified name (name). When referencing something inside a module, we use a qualified name (qualname). We can also use symbols (symbol, qualsymbol), which are treated as infix by the grammar.

The constructor names of a sum type are identifiers prefixed with `#`, with no space afterwards. The fields of a record are named with fieldid. Note that a fieldid can be a decimal number. Futhark has three distinct name spaces: terms, module types, and types. Modules (including parametric modules) and values both share the term namespace.

### 3.3.1. Reserved names and symbols

A reserved name or symbol may be used only when explicitly present in the grammar. In particular, they cannot be bound in definitions.

The following identifier are reserved: `true`, `false`, `if`, `then`, `else`, `def`, `let`, `loop`, `in`, `val`, `for`, `do`, `with`, `local`, `open`, `include`, `import`, `type`, `entry`, `module`, `while`, `assert`, `match`, `case`.

The following symbols are reserved: `=`.

## 3.4. Primitive Types and Values

    literal ::= intnumber | floatnumber | "true" | "false"

Boolean literals are written `true` and `false`. The primitive types in Futhark are the signed integer types `i8`, `i16`, `i32`, `i64`, the unsigned integer types `u8`, `u16`, `u32`, `u64`, the floating-point types `f16`, `f32`, `f64`, as well as `bool`.

    int_type   ::= "i8" | "i16" | "i32" | "i64" | "u8" | "u16" | "u32" | "u64"
    float_type ::= "f16" | "f32" | "f64"

Numeric literals can be suffixed with their intended type. For example `42i8` is of type `i8`, and `1337e2f64` is of type `f64`. If no suffix is given, the type of the literal will be inferred based on its use. If the use is not constrained, integral literals will be assigned type `i32`, and decimal literals type `f64`. Hexadecimal literals are supported by prefixing with `0x`, and binary literals by prefixing with `0b`.

Floats can also be written in hexadecimal format such as `0x1.fp3`, instead of the usual decimal notation. Here, `0x1.f` evaluates to `1 15/16` and the `p3` multiplies it by `2^3 = 8`.

    intnumber   ::= (decimal | hexadecimal | binary) [int_type]
    decimal     ::= decdigit (decdigit |"_")*
    hexadecimal ::= 0 ("x" | "X") hexdigit (hexdigit |"_")*
    binary      ::= 0 ("b" | "B") bindigit (bindigit | "_")*

    floatnumber      ::= (pointfloat | exponentfloat | hexadecimalfloat) [float_type]
    pointfloat       ::= [intpart] fraction
    exponentfloat    ::= (intpart | pointfloat) exponent
    hexadecimalfloat ::= 0 ("x" | "X") hexintpart hexfraction ("p"|"P") ["+" | "-"] decdigit+
    intpart          ::= decdigit (decdigit |"_")*
    fraction         ::= "." decdigit (decdigit |"_")*
    hexintpart       ::= hexdigit (hexdigit | "_")*
    hexfraction      ::= "." hexdigit (hexdigit |"_")*
    exponent         ::= ("e" | "E") ["+" | "-"] decdigit+

    decdigit ::= "0"..."9"
    hexdigit ::= decdigit | "a"..."f" | "A"..."F"
    bindigit ::= "0" | "1"

### 3.4.1. Compound Types and Values

    type ::= qualname
             | array_type
             | tuple_type
             | record_type
             | sum_type
             | function_type
             | type_application
             | existential_size

Compound types can be constructed based on the primitive types. The Futhark type system is entirely structural, and type abbreviations are merely shorthands. The only exception is abstract types whose definition has been hidden via the module system (see Modules).

    tuple_type ::= "(" ")" | "(" type ("," type)+ [","] ")"

A tuple value or type is written as a sequence of comma-separated values or types enclosed in parentheses. For example, `(0, 1)` is a tuple value of type `(i32,i32)`. The elements of a tuple need not have the same type – the value `(false, 1, 2.0)` is of type `(bool, i32, f64)`. A tuple element can also be another tuple, as in `((1,2),(3,4))`, which is of type `((i32,i32),(i32,i32))`. A tuple cannot have just one element, but empty tuples are permitted, although they are not very useful. Empty tuples are written `()` and are of type `()`.

    array_type ::= "[" [exp] "]" type

An array value is written as a sequence of zero or more comma-separated values enclosed in square brackets: `[1,2,3]`. An array type is written as `[d]t`, where `t` is the element type of the array, and `d` is an expression of type `i64` indicating the number of elements in the array. We can elide `d` and write just `[]` (an anonymous size), in which case the size will be inferred. An anonymous size is a syntactic shorthand, and is always replaced by an actual size by the type checker (either via inference or by inventing a new name, depending on context).

As an example, an array of three integers could be written as `[1,2,3]`, and has type `[3]i32`. An empty array is written as `[]`, and its type is inferred from its use. When writing Futhark values for such uses as `futhark test` (but not when writing programs), empty arrays are written `empty([0]t)` for an empty array of type `[0]t`. When using `empty`, all dimensions must be given a size, and at least one must be zero, e.g. `empty([2][0]i32)`.

Multi-dimensional arrays are supported in Futhark, but they must be regular, meaning that all inner arrays must have the same shape. For example, `[[1,2], [3,4], [5,6]]` is a valid array of type `[3][2]i32`, but `[[1,2], [3,4,5], [6,7]]` is not, because there we cannot come up with integers `m` and `n` such that `[m][n]i32` describes the array. The restriction to regular arrays is rooted in low-level concerns about efficient compilation. However, we can understand it in language terms by the inability to write a type with consistent dimension sizes for an irregular array value. In a Futhark program, all array values, including intermediate (unnamed) arrays, must be typeable.

    sum_type ::= constructor type* ("|" constructor type*)*

Sum types are anonymous in Futhark, and are written as the constructors separated by vertical bars. Each constructor consists of a `#`-prefixed name, followed by zero or more types, called its payload. Note: The current implementation of sum types is fairly inefficient, in that all possible constructors of a sum-typed value will be resident in memory. Avoid using sum types where multiple constructors have large payloads.

    record_type ::= "{" "}" | "{" fieldid ":" type ("," fieldid ":" type)* [","] "}"

Records are mappings from field names to values, with the field names known statically. A tuple behaves in all respects like a record with numeric field names starting from zero, and vice versa. It is an error for a record type to name the same field twice. A trailing comma is permitted.

    type_application ::= type type_arg | "*" type
    type_arg         ::= "[" [dim] "]" | type

A parametric type abbreviation can be applied by juxtaposing its name and its arguments. The application must provide as many arguments as the type abbreviation has parameters - partial application is presently not allowed. See Type Abbreviations for further details.

    function_type ::= param_type "->" type
    param_type    ::= type | "(" name ":" type ")"

Functions are classified via function types, but they are not fully first class. See Higher-order functions for the details.

    stringlit  ::= '"' stringchar* '"'
    stringchar ::= <any source character except "\" or newline or double quotes>
    charlit    ::= "'" char "'"
    char       ::= <any source character except "\" or newline or single quotes>

String literals are supported, but only as syntactic sugar for UTF-8 encoded arrays of `u8` values. There is no character type in Futhark, but character literals are interpreted as integers of the corresponding Unicode code point.

    existential_size ::= "?" ("[" name "]")+ "." type

An existential size quantifier brings an unknown size into scope within a type. This can be used to encode constraints for statically unknown array sizes.

## 3.5. Declarations

A Futhark module consists of a sequence of declarations. Files are also modules. Each declaration is processed in order, and a declaration can only refer to names bound by preceding declarations.

    dec ::= val_bind | type_bind | mod_bind | mod_type_bind
            | "open" mod_exp
            | "import" stringlit
            | "local" dec
            | "#[" attr "]" dec

Any names defined by a declaration inside a module are by default visible to users of that module (see Modules).

- `open mod_exp` brings names bound in `mod_exp` into the current scope. These names will also be visible to users of the module.

- `local dec` has the meaning of `dec`, but any names bound by `dec` will not be visible outside the module.

- `import "foo"` is a shorthand for `local open import "foo"`, where the `import` is interpreted as a module expression (see Modules).

- `#[attr] dec` adds an attribute to a declaration (see Attributes).

### 3.5.1. Declaring Functions and Values

    val_bind ::= ("def" | "entry" | "let") (name | "(" symbol ")") type_param* pat* [":" type] "=" exp
                 | ("def" | "entry" | "let") pat symbol pat [":" type] "=" exp

Note: using `let` to define top-level bindings is deprecated.

Functions and constants must be defined before they are used. A function declaration must specify the name, parameters, and body of the function:

    def name params...: rettype = body

Hindley-Milner-style type inference is supported. A parameter may be given a type with the notation `(name: type)`. Functions may not be recursive. The sizes of the arguments can be constrained - see Size Types. A function can be polymorphic by using type parameters, in the same way as for Type Abbreviations:

    def reverse [n] 't (xs: [n]t): [n]t = xs[::-1]

Type parameters for a function do not need to cover the types of all parameters. The type checker will add more if necessary. For example, the following is well typed:

    def pair 'a (x: a) y = (x, y)

A new type variable will be invented for the parameter `y`.

Shape and type parameters are not passed explicitly when calling function, but are automatically derived. If an array value v is passed for a type parameter t, all other arguments passed of type t must have the same shape as v. For example, consider the following definition:

    def pair 't (x: t) (y: t) = (x, y)

The application `pair [1] [2,3]` is ill-typed.

To simplify the handling of in-place updates (see In-place Updates), the value returned by a function may not alias any global variables.

### 3.5.2. User-Defined Operators

Infix operators are defined much like functions:

    def (p1: t1) op (p2: t2): rt = ...

For example:

    def (a:i32,b:i32) +^ (c:i32,d:i32) = (a+c, b+d)

We can also define operators by enclosing the operator name in parentheses and suffixing the parameters, as an ordinary function:

    def (+^) (a:i32,b:i32) (c:i32,d:i32) = (a+c, b+d)

This is necessary when defining a polymorphic operator.

A valid operator name is a non-empty sequence of characters chosen from the string `"+-*/%=!><&^"`. The fixity of an operator is determined by its first characters, which must correspond to a built-in operator. Thus, `+^` binds like `+`, whilst `*^` binds like `*`. The longest such prefix is used to determine fixity, so `>>=` binds like `>>`, not like `>`.

It is not permitted to define operators with the names `&&` or `||` (although these as prefixes are accepted). This is because a user-defined version of these operators would not be short-circuiting. User-defined operators behave exactly like ordinary functions, except for being infix.

A built-in operator can be shadowed (i.e. a new `+` can be defined). This will result in the built-in polymorphic operator becoming inaccessible, except through the `intrinsics` module.

An infix operator can also be defined with prefix notation, like an ordinary function, by enclosing it in parentheses:

    def (+) (x: i32) (y: i32) = x - y

This is necessary when defining operators that take type or shape parameters.

### 3.5.3. Entry Points

Apart from declaring a function with the keyword `def`, it can also be declared with `entry`. When the Futhark program is compiled any top-level function declared with `entry` in the single file passed directly to the Futhark compiler will be exposed as an entry point. This means that any functions defined with `entry` in a file that is accessed via `import` are not considered entry points, but they are still usable as normal functions.

If the Futhark program has been compiled as a library, these entry points are the functions that will be exposed as the library interface. If compiled as an executable, you can use the `--entry-point` command line option of the generated executable to select the entry point you wish to run.

Any top-level function named `main` is treated as if it had been defined with `entry`.

The name of an entry point must not contain an apostrophe (`'`), even though that is normally permitted in Futhark identifiers.

### 3.5.4. Value Declarations

A named value/constant can be declared as follows:

    def name: type = definition

The definition can be an arbitrary expression, including function calls and other values, although they must be in scope before the value is defined. If the return type contains any anonymous sizes (see Size types), new existential sizes will be constructed for them.

### 3.5.5. Type Abbreviations

    type_bind  ::= ("type" | "type^" | "type~") name type_param* "=" type
    type_param ::= "[" name "]" | "'" name | "'~" name | "'^" name

Type abbreviations function as shorthands for the purpose of documentation or brevity. After a type binding `type t1 = t2`, the name `t1` can be used as a shorthand for the type `t2`. Type abbreviations do not create distinct types: the types `t1` and `t2` are entirely interchangeable.

If the right-hand side of a type contains existential sizes, it must be declared “size-lifted” with `type~`. If it (potentially) contains a function, it must be declared “fully lifted” with `type^`. A lifted type can also contain existential sizes. Lifted types cannot be put in arrays. Fully lifted types cannot be returned from conditional or loop expressions.

A type abbreviation can have zero or more parameters. A type parameter enclosed with square brackets is a size parameter, and can be used in the definition as an array size, or as a size argument to other type abbreviations. When passing an argument for a shape parameter, it must be enclosed in square brackets. Example:

    type two_intvecs [n] = ([n]i32, [n]i32)

    def x: two_intvecs [2] = (iota 2, replicate 2 0)

When referencing a type abbreviation, size parameters work much like array sizes. Like sizes, they can be passed an anonymous size (`[]`). All size parameters must be used in the definition of the type abbreviation.

A type parameter prefixed with a single quote is a type parameter. It is in scope as a type in the definition of the type abbreviation. Whenever the type abbreviation is used in a type expression, a type argument must be passed for the parameter. Type arguments need not be prefixed with single quotes:

    type two_vecs [n] 't = ([n]t, [n]t)
    type two_intvecs [n] = two_vecs [n] i32
    def x: two_vecs [2] i32 = (iota 2, replicate 2 0)

A size-lifted type parameter is prefixed with `'~`, and a fully lifted type parameter with `'^`. These have the same rules and restrictions as lifted type abbreviations.

## 3.6. Expressions

Expressions are the basic construct of any Futhark program. An expression has a statically determined type, and produces a value at runtime. Futhark is an eager/strict language (“call by value”).

The basic elements of expressions are called atoms, for example literals and variables, but also more complicated forms.

    atom        ::= literal
                    | qualname ("." fieldid)*
                    | stringlit
                    | charlit
                    | "(" ")"
                    | "(" exp ")" ("." fieldid)*
                    | "(" exp ("," exp)+ [","] ")"
                    | "{" "}"
                    | "{" field ("," field)* [","] "}"
                    | qualname slice
                    | "(" exp ")" slice
                    | quals "." "(" exp ")"
                    | "[" exp ("," exp)* [","] "]"
                    | "(" qualsymbol ")"
                    | "(" exp qualsymbol ")"
                    | "(" qualsymbol exp ")"
                    | "(" ( "." field )+ ")"
                    | "(" "." slice ")"
                    | "???"
    exp         ::= atom
                    | exp qualsymbol exp
                    | exp exp
                    | "!" exp
                    | "-" exp
                    | constructor exp*
                    | exp ":" type
                    | exp ":>" type
                    | exp [ ".." exp ] "..." exp
                    | exp [ ".." exp ] "..<" exp
                    | exp [ ".." exp ] "..>" exp
                    | "if" exp "then" exp "else" exp
                    | "let" size* pat "=" exp "in" exp
                    | "let" name slice "=" exp "in" exp
                    | "let" name type_param* pat+ [":" type] "=" exp "in" exp
                    | "(" "\" pat+ [":" type] "->" exp ")"
                    | "loop" pat ["=" exp] loopform "do" exp
                    | "#[" attr "]" exp
                    | "unsafe" exp
                    | "assert" atom atom
                    | exp "with" slice "=" exp
                    | exp "with" fieldid ("." fieldid)* "=" exp
                    | "match" exp ("case" pat "->" exp)+
    slice       ::= "[" index ("," index)* [","] "]"
    field       ::= fieldid "=" exp
                    | name
    size        ::= "[" name "]"
    pat         ::= name
                    | pat_literal
                    | "_"
                    | "(" ")"
                    | "(" pat ")"
                    | "(" pat ("," pat)+ [","] ")"
                    | "{" "}"
                    | "{" fieldid ["=" pat] ("," fieldid ["=" pat])* [","] "}"
                    | constructor pat*
                    | pat ":" type
                    | "#[" attr "]" pat
    pat_literal ::= [ "-" ] intnumber
                    | [ "-" ] floatnumber
                    | charlit
                    | "true"
                    | "false"
    loopform    ::= "for" name "<" exp
                    | "for" pat "in" exp
                    | "while" exp
    index       ::= exp [":" [exp]] [":" [exp]]
                    | [exp] ":" exp [":" [exp]]
                    | [exp] [":" exp] ":" [exp]

Some of the built-in expression forms have parallel semantics, but it is not guaranteed that the the parallel constructs in Futhark are evaluated in parallel, especially if they are nested in complicated ways. Their purpose is to give the compiler as much freedom and information is possible, in order to enable it to maximise the efficiency of the generated code.

### 3.6.1. Resolving Ambiguities

The above grammar contains some ambiguities, which in the concrete implementation is resolved via a combination of lexer and grammar transformations. For ease of understanding, they are presented here in natural text.

- An expression `x.y` may either be a reference to the name `y` in the module `x`, or the field `y` in the record `x`. Modules and values occupy the same name space, so this is disambiguated by whether `x` is a value or module.

- A type ascription (`exp : type`) cannot appear as an array index, as it conflicts with the syntax for slicing.

- In `f [x]`, there is an ambiguity between indexing the array `f` at position `x`, or calling the function `f` with the singleton array `x`. We resolve this the following way:

  > - If there is a space between `f` and the opening bracket, it is treated as a function application.

  > - Otherwise, it is an array index operation.

- An expression `(-x)` is parsed as the variable `x` negated and enclosed in parentheses, rather than an operator section partially applying the infix operator `-`.

- Prefix operators bind more tighly than infix operators. Note that the only prefix operators are the builtin `!` and `-`, and more cannot be defined. In particular, a user-defined operator beginning with `!` binds as `!=`, as on the table below, not as the prefix operator `!`

- Function and type application binds more tightly than infix operators.

- `#foo #bar` is interpreted as a constructor with a `#bar` payload, not as applying `#foo` to `#bar` (the latter would be semantically invalid anyway).

- Attributes bind less tightly than any other syntactic construct.

- A type application `pt [n]t` is parsed as an application of the type constructor `pt` to the size argument `[n]` and the type `t`. To pass a single array-typed parameter, enclose it in parens.

- The bodies of `let`, `if`, and `loop` extend as far to the right as possible.

- The following table describes the precedence and associativity of infix operators in both expressions and type expressions. All operators in the same row have the same precedence. The rows are listed in increasing order of precedence. Note that not all operators listed here are used in expressions; nevertheless, they are still used for resolving ambiguities.

  Associativity | Operators
  --- | ---
  left | `,`
  left | `:`, `:>`
  left | ``symbol``
  left | `||`
  left | `&&`
  left | `<=` `>=` `>` `<` `==` `!=` `!` `=`
  left | `&` `^` `|`
  left | `<<` `>>`
  left | `+` `-`
  left | `*` `/` `%` `//` `%%`
  left | `|>`
  right | `<|`
  right | `->`
  left | `**`
  left | juxtaposition

### 3.6.2. Patterns

We say that a pattern is irrefutable if it can never fail to match a value of the appropriate type. Concretely, this means that it does not require any specific sum type constructor (unless the type in question has only a single constructor), or any specific numeric or boolean literal. Patterns used in function parameters and `let` bindings must be irrefutable. Patterns used in `case` need not be irrefutable.

A pattern `_` matches any value. A pattern consisting of a literal value (e.g. a numeric constant) matches exactly that value.

### 3.6.3. Semantics of Simple Expressions

#### 3.6.3.1. literal

Evaluates to itself.

#### 3.6.3.2. qualname

A variable name; evaluates to its value in the current environment.

#### 3.6.3.3. stringlit

Evaluates to an array of type `[]u8` that contains the characters encoded as UTF-8.

#### 3.6.3.4. `()`

Evaluates to an empty tuple.

#### 3.6.3.5. `( e )`

Evaluates to the result of `e`.

#### 3.6.3.6. `???`

A typed hole, usable as a placeholder expression. The type checker will infer any necessary type for this expression. This can sometimes result in an ambiguous type, which can be resolved using a type ascription. Evaluating a typed hole results in a run-time error.

#### 3.6.3.7. `(e1, e2, ..., eN)`

Evaluates to a tuple containing `N` values. Equivalent to the record literal `{0=e1, 1=e2, ..., N-1=eN}`.

#### 3.6.3.8. `{f1, f2, ..., fN}`

A record expression consists of a comma-separated sequence of field expressions. Each field expression defines the value of a field in the record. A field expression can take one of two forms:

> `f = e`: defines a field with the name `f` and the value resulting from evaluating `e`.

> `f`: defines a field with the name `f` and the value of the variable `f` in scope.

Each field may only be defined once.

#### 3.6.3.9. `a[i]`

Return the element at the given position in the array. The index may be a comma-separated list of indexes instead of just a single index. If the number of indices given is less than the rank of the array, an array is returned. The index may be of any unsigned integer type.

The array `a` must be a variable name or a parenthesised expression. Furthermore, there may not be a space between `a` and the opening bracket. This disambiguates the array indexing `a[i]`, from `a [i]`, which is a function call with a literal array.

#### 3.6.3.10. `a[i:j:s]`

Return a slice of the array `a` from index `i` to `j`, the former inclusive and the latter exclusive, taking every `s`-th element. The `s` parameter may not be zero. If `s` is negative, it means to start at `i` and descend by steps of size `s` to `j` (not inclusive). Slicing can be done only with expressions of type `i64`.

It is generally a bad idea for `s` to be non-constant. Slicing of multiple dimensions can be done by separating with commas, and may be intermixed freely with indexing.

If `s` is elided it defaults to `1`. If `i` or `j` is elided, their value depends on the sign of `s`. If `s` is positive, `i` become `0` and `j` become the length of the array. If `s` is negative, `i` becomes the length of the array minus one, and `j` becomes minus one. This means that `a[::-1]` is the reverse of the array `a`.

In the general case, the size of the array produced by a slice is unknown (see Size types). In a few cases, the size is known statically:

> - `a[0:n]` has size `n`

> - `a[:n]` has size `n`

> - `a[0:n:1]` has size `n`

> - `a[:n:1]` has size `n`

This holds only if `n` is a variable or constant.

#### 3.6.3.11. `[x, y, z]`

Create an array containing the indicated elements. Each element must have the same type and shape.

Large array optimisation: as a special case, large one-dimensional array literal consisting entirely of monomorphic constants (i.e., numbers must have a type suffix) are handled with specialised fast-path code by the compiler. To keep compile times manageable, make sure that all very large array literals (more than about ten thousand elements) are of this form. This is likely relevant only for generated code.

#### 3.6.3.12. `x..y...z`

Construct a signed integer array whose first element is `x` and which proceeds with a stride of `y-x` until reaching `z` (inclusive). The `..y` part can be elided in which case a stride of `1` is used. All components must be of the same unsigned integer type.

A run-time error occurs if `z` is less than `x` or `y`, or if `x` and `y` are the same value.

In the general case, the size of the array produced by a range is unknown (see Size types). In a few cases, the size is known statically:

> - `0..<n` has size `n`.

> - `0..1..<n` has size `n`.

> - `1..2...n` has size `n`

#### 3.6.3.13. `x..y..<z`

Construct a signed integer array whose first elements is `x`, and which proceeds upwards with a stride of `y-x` until reaching `z` (exclusive). The `..y` part can be elided in which case a stride of 1 is used. A run-time error occurs if `z` is less than `x` or `y`, or if `x` and `y` are the same value.

> - `0..1..<n` has size `n`

> - `0..<n` has size `n`

This holds only if `n` is a variable or constant.

#### 3.6.3.14. `x..y..>z`

Construct a signed integer array whose first elements is `x`, and which proceeds downwards with a stride of `y-x` until reaching `z` (exclusive). The `..y` part can be elided in which case a stride of -1 is used. A run-time error occurs if `z` is greater than `x` or `y`, or if `x` and `y` are the same value.

#### 3.6.3.15. `e.f`

Access field `f` of the expression `e`, which must be a record or tuple.

#### 3.6.3.16. `m.(e)`

Evaluate the expression `e` with the module `m` locally opened, as if by `open`. This can make some expressions easier to read and write, without polluting the global scope with a declaration-level `open`.

#### 3.6.3.17. `x` binop `y`

Apply an operator to `x` and `y`. Operators are functions like any other, and can be user-defined. Futhark pre-defines certain “magical” overloaded operators that work on several types. Overloaded operators cannot be defined by the user. Both operands must have the same type. The predefined operators and their semantics are:

> `**`

> > Power operator, defined for all numeric types.

> `//`, `%%`

> > Division and remainder on integers, with rounding towards zero.

> `*`, `/`, `%`, `+`, `-`

> > The usual arithmetic operators, defined for all numeric types. Note that `/` and `%` rounds towards negative infinity when used on integers - this is different from in C.

> `^`, `&`, `|`, `>>`, `<<`

> > Bitwise operators, respectively bitwise xor, and, or, arithmetic shift right and left, and logical shift right. Shifting is undefined if the right operand is negative, or greater than or equal to the length in bits of the left operand.

> > Note that, unlike in C, bitwise operators have higher priority than arithmetic operators. This means that `x & y == z` is understood as `(x & y) == z`, rather than `x & (y == z)` as it would in C. Note that the latter is a type error in Futhark anyhow.

> `==`, `!=`

> > Compare any two values of builtin or compound type for equality.

> `<`, `<=`. `>`, `>=`

> > Company any two values of numeric type for equality.

> ``qualname``

> > Use `qualname`, which may be any non-operator function name, as an infix operator.

#### 3.6.3.18. `x && y`

Short-circuiting logical conjunction; both operands must be of type `bool`.

#### 3.6.3.19. `x || y`

Short-circuiting logical disjunction; both operands must be of type `bool`.

#### 3.6.3.20. `f x`

Apply the function `f` to the argument `x`.

#### 3.6.3.21. `#c x y z`

Apply the sum type constructor `#c` to the payload `x`, `y`, and `z`. A constructor application is always assumed to be saturated, i.e. its entire payload provided. This means that constructors may not be partially applied.

#### 3.6.3.22. `e : t`

Annotate that `e` is expected to be of type `t`, failing with a type error if it is not. If `t` is an array with shape declarations, the correctness of the shape declarations is checked at run-time.

Due to ambiguities, this syntactic form cannot appear as an array index expression unless it is first enclosed in parentheses. However, as an array index must always be of type `i64`, there is never a reason to put an explicit type ascription there.

#### 3.6.3.23. `e :> t`

Coerce the size of `e` to `t`. The type of `t` must match the type of `e`, except that the sizes may be statically different. At run-time, it will be verified that the sizes are the same.

#### 3.6.3.24. `! x`

Logical negation if `x` is of type `bool`. Bitwise negation if `x` is of integral type.

#### 3.6.3.25. `- x`

Numerical negation of `x`, which must be of numeric type.

#### 3.6.3.26. `#[attr] e`

Apply the given attribute to the expression. Attributes are an ad-hoc and optional mechanism for providing extra information, directives, or hints to the compiler. See Attributes for more information.

#### 3.6.3.27. `unsafe e`

Elide safety checks and assertions (such as bounds checking) that occur during execution of `e`. This is useful if the compiler is otherwise unable to avoid bounds checks (e.g. when using indirect indexes), but you really do not want them there. Make very sure that the code is correct; eliding such checks can lead to memory corruption.

This construct is deprecated. Use the `#[unsafe]` attribute instead.

#### 3.6.3.28. `assert cond e`

Terminate execution with an error if `cond` evaluates to false, otherwise produce the result of evaluating `e`. Unless `e` produces a value that is used subsequently (it can just be a variable), dead code elimination may remove the assertion.

#### 3.6.3.29. `a with [i] = e`

Return `a`, but with the element at position `i` changed to contain the result of evaluating `e`. Consumes `a`.

#### 3.6.3.30. `r with f = e`

Return the record `r`, but with field `f` changed to have value `e`. The type of the field must remain unchanged. Type inference is limited: `r` must have a completely known type up to `f`. This sometimes requires extra type annotations to make the type of `r` known.

#### 3.6.3.31. `if c then a else b`

If `c` evaluates to `true`, evaluate `a`, else evaluate `b`.

### 3.6.4. Binding Expressions

#### 3.6.4.1. `let pat = e in body`

Evaluate `e` and bind the result to the irrefutable pattern `pat` (see Patterns) while evaluating `body`. The `in` keyword is optional if `body` is a `let` expression. The binding is not let-generalised, meaning it has a monomorphic type. This can be significant if `e` is of functional type.

If `e` is of type `i64` and `pat` binds only a single name `v`, then the type of the overall expression is the type of `body`, but with any occurence of `v` replaced by `e`.

#### 3.6.4.2. `let [n] pat = e in body`

As above, but bind sizes (here `n`) used in the pattern (here to the size of the array being bound). All sizes must be used in the pattern. Roughly Equivalent to `let f [n] pat = body in f e`.

#### 3.6.4.3. `let a[i] = v in body`

Write `v` to `a[i]` and evaluate `body`. The given index need not be complete and can also be a slice, but in these cases, the value of `v` must be an array of the proper size. This notation is Syntactic sugar for `let a = a with [i] = v in a`.

#### 3.6.4.4. `let f params... = e in body`

Bind `f` to a function with the given parameters and definition (`e`) and evaluate `body`. The function will be treated as aliasing any free variables in `e`. The function is not in scope of itself, and hence cannot be recursive.

#### 3.6.4.5. `loop pat = initial for x in a do loopbody`

1. Bind `pat` to the initial values given in `initial`.

2. For each element `x` in `a`, evaluate `loopbody` and rebind `pat` to the result of the evaluation.

3. Return the final value of `pat`.

The `= initial` can be left out, in which case initial values for the pattern are taken from equivalently named variables in the environment. I.e., `loop (x) = ...` is equivalent to `loop (x = x) = ...`.

#### 3.6.4.6. `loop pat = initial for x < n do loopbody`

Equivalent to `loop (pat = initial) for x in [0..1..<n] do loopbody`.

#### 3.6.4.7. `loop pat = initial while cond do loopbody`

1. Bind `pat` to the initial values given in `initial`.

2. If `cond` evaluates to true, bind `pat` to the result of evaluating `loopbody`, and repeat the step.

3. Return the final value of `pat`.

#### 3.6.4.8. `match x case p1 -> e1 case p2 -> e2`

Match the value produced by `x` to each of the patterns in turn, picking the first one that succeeds. The result of the corresponding expression is the value of the entire `match` expression. All the expressions associated with a `case` must have the same type (but not necessarily match the type of `x`). It is a type error if there is not a `case` for every possible value of `x` - inexhaustive pattern matching is not allowed.

### 3.6.5. Function Expressions

#### 3.6.5.1. `\x y z: t -> e`

Produces an anonymous function taking parameters `x`, `y`, and `z`, returns type `t`, and whose body is `e`. Lambdas do not permit type parameters; use a named function if you want a polymorphic function.

#### 3.6.5.2. `(binop)`

An operator section that is equivalent to `\x y -> x *binop* y`.

#### 3.6.5.3. `(x binop)`

An operator section that is equivalent to `\y -> x *binop* y`.

#### 3.6.5.4. `(binop y)`

An operator section that is equivalent to `\x -> x *binop* y`.

#### 3.6.5.5. `(.a.b.c)`

An operator section that is equivalent to `\x -> x.a.b.c`.

#### 3.6.5.6. `(.[i,j])`

An operator section that is equivalent to `\x -> x[i,j]`.

## 3.7. Higher-order functions

At a high level, Futhark functions are values, and can be used as any other value. However, to ensure that the compiler is able to compile the higher-order functions efficiently via defunctionalisation, certain type-driven restrictions exist on how functions can be used. These also apply to any record or tuple containing a function (a functional type):

- Arrays of functions are not permitted.

- A function cannot be returned from an `if` expression.

- A `loop` parameter cannot be a function.

Further, type parameters are divided into non-lifted (bound with an apostrophe, e.g. `'t`), size-lifted (`'~t`), and fully lifted (`'^t`). Only fully lifted type parameters may be instantiated with a functional type. Within a function, a lifted type parameter is treated as a functional type.

See also In-place updates for details on how consumption interacts with higher-order functions.

## 3.8. Type Inference

Futhark supports Hindley-Milner-style type inference, so in many cases explicit type annotations can be left off. Record field projection cannot in isolation be fully inferred, and may need type annotations where their inputs are bound. The same goes when constructing sum types, as Futhark cannot assume that a given constructor only belongs to a single type. Further, consumed parameters (see In-place updates) must be explicitly annotated.

Type inference processes top-level declared in top-down order, and the type of a top-level function must be completely inferred at its definition site. Specifically, if a top-level function uses overloaded arithmetic operators, the resolution of those overloads cannot be influenced by later uses of the function.

Local bindings made with `let` are not made polymorphic through let-generalisation unless they are syntactically functions, meaning they have at least one named parameter.

## 3.9. Size Types

Futhark supports a system of size-dependent types that statically checks that the sizes of arrays passed to a function are compatible.

Whenever a pattern occurs (in `let`, `loop`, and function parameters), as well as in return types, the types of the bindings express invariants about the shapes of arrays that are accepted or produced by the function. For example:

    def f [n] (a: [n]i32) (b: [n]i32): [n]i32 =
      map2 (+) a b

We use a size parameter, `[n]`, to explicitly quantify a size. The `[n]` parameter is not explicitly passed when calling `f`. Rather, its value is implicitly deduced from the arguments passed for the value parameters. An array type can contain anonymous sizes, e.g. `[]i32`, for which the type checker will invent fresh size parameters, which ensures that all arrays have a size. On the right-hand side of a function arrow (“return types”), this results in an existential size that is not known until the function is fully applied, e.g:

    val filter [n] 'a : (p: a -> bool) -> (as: [n]a) -> ?[k].[k]a

Sizes can be any expression of type `i64` that does not consume any free variables. Size parameters can be used as ordinary variables of type `i64` within the scope of the parameters. The type checker verifies that the program obeys any constraints imposed by size annotations.

Size-dependent types are supported, as the names of parameters can be used in the return type of a function:

    def replicate 't (n: i64) (x: t): [n]t = ...

An application `replicate 10 0` will have type `[10]i32`.

Whenever we write a type `[e]t`, `e` must be a well-typed expression of type `i64` in scope (possibly by referencing names bound as a size parameter).

### 3.9.1. Unknown sizes

There are cases where the type checker cannot assign a precise size to the result of some operation. For example, the type of `filter` is:

    val filter [n] 'a : (a -> bool) -> [n]t -> ?[m].[m]t

The function returns of an array of some existential size `m`, but it cannot be known in advance.

When an application `filter p xs` is found, the result will be of type `[k]t`, where `k` is a fresh unknown size that is considered distinct from every other size in the program. It is sometimes necessary to perform a size coercion (see Size coercion) to convert an unknown size to a known size.

Generally, unknown sizes are constructed whenever the true size cannot be expressed. The following lists all possible sources of unknown sizes.

#### 3.9.1.1. Size going out of scope

An unknown size is created in some cases when the a type references a name that has gone out of scope:

    match ...
    case #some c -> replicate c 0

The type of `replicate c 0` is `[c]i32`, but since `c` is locally bound, the type of the entire expression is `[k]i32` for some fresh `k`.

#### 3.9.1.2. Consuming expression passed as function argument

The type of `replicate e 0` should be `[e]i32`, but if `e` is an expression that is not valid as a size, this is not expressible. Therefore an unknown size `k` is created and the size of the expression becomes `[k]i32`.

#### 3.9.1.3. Compound expression used as range bound

While a simple range expression such as `0..<n` can be assigned type `[n]i32`, a range expression `0..<(n+1)` will give produce an unknown size.

#### 3.9.1.4. Complex slicing

Most complex array slicing, such as `xs[a:b]`, will have an unknown size. Exceptions are listed in the reference for slice expressions.

#### 3.9.1.5. Complex ranges

Most complex ranges, such as `a..<b`, will have an unknown size. Exceptions exist for general ranges and “upto” ranges.

#### 3.9.1.6. Existential size in function return type

Whenever the result of a function application has an existential size, that size is replaced with a fresh unknown size variable.

For example, `filter` has the following type:

    val filter [n] 'a : (p: a -> bool) -> (as: [n]a) -> ?[k].[k]a

For an application `filter f xs`, the type checker invents a fresh unknown size `k'`, and the actual type for this specific application will be `[k']a`.

#### 3.9.1.7. Branches of `if` return arrays of different sizes

When an `if` (or `match`) expression has branches that returns array of different sizes, the differing sizes will be replaced with fresh unknown sizes. For example:

    if b then [[1,2], [3,4]]
         else [[5,6]]

This expression will have type `[k][2]i32`, for some fresh `k`.

Important: The check whether the sizes differ is done when first encountering the `if` or `match` during type checking. At this point, the type checker may not realise that the two sizes are actually equal, even though constraints later in the function force them to be. This can always be resolved by adding type annotations.

#### 3.9.1.8. An array produced by a loop does not have a known size

If the size of some loop parameter is not maintained across a loop iteration, the final result of the loop will contain unknown sizes. For example:

    loop xs = [1] for i < n do xs ++ xs

Similar to conditionals, the type checker may sometimes be too cautious in assuming that some size may change during the loop. Adding type annotations to the loop parameter can be used to resolve this.

### 3.9.2. Size coercion

Size coercion, written with `:>`, can be used to perform a runtime-checked coercion of one size to another. This can be useful as an escape hatch in the size type system:

    def concat_to 'a (m: i32) (a: []a) (b: []a) : [m]a =
      a ++ b :> [m]a

### 3.9.3. Causality restriction

Conceptually, size parameters are assigned their value by reading the sizes of concrete values passed along as parameters. This means that any size parameter must be used as the size of some parameter. This is an error:

    def f [n] (x: i32) = n

The following is not an error:

    def f [n] (g: [n]i32 -> [n]i32) = ...

However, using this function comes with a constraint: whenever an application `f x` occurs, the value of the size parameter must be inferable. Specifically, this value must have been used as the size of an array before the `f x` application is encountered. The notion of “before” is subtle, as there is no evaluation ordering of a Futhark expression, except that a `let`-binding is always evaluated before its body, the argument to a function is always evaluated before the function itself, and the left operand to an operator is evaluated before the right.

The causality restriction only occurs when a function has size parameters whose first use is not as a concrete array size. For example, it does not apply to uses of the following function:

    def f [n] (arr: [n]i32) (g: [n]i32 -> [n]i32) = ...

This is because the proper value of `n` can be read directly from the actual size of the array.

### 3.9.4. Empty array literals

Just as with size-polymorphic functions, when constructing an empty array, we must know the exact size of the (missing) elements. For example, in the following program we are forcing the elements of `a` to be the same as the elements of `b`, but the size of the elements of `b` are not known at the time `a` is constructed:

    def main (b: bool) (xs: []i32) =
      let a = [] : [][]i32
      let b = [filter (>0) xs]
      in a[0] == b[0]

The result is a type error.

### 3.9.5. Sum types

When constructing a value of a sum type, the compiler must still be able to determine the size of the constructors that are not used. This is illegal:

    type sum = #foo ([]i32) | #bar ([]i32)

    def main (xs: *[]i32) =
      let v : sum = #foo xs
      in xs

### 3.9.6. Modules

When matching a module with a module type (see Modules), a non-lifted abstract type (i.e. one that is declared with `type` rather than `type^`) may not be implemented by a type abbreviation that contains any existential sizes. This is to ensure that if we have the following:

    module m : { type t } = ...

Then we can construct an array of values of type `m.t` without worrying about constructing an irregular array.

### 3.9.7. Higher-order functions

When a higher-order function takes a functional argument whose return type is a non-lifted type parameter, any instantiation of that type parameter must have a non-existential size. If the return type is a lifted type parameter, then the instantiation may contain existential sizes. This is why the type of `map` guarantees regular arrays:

    val map [n] 'a 'b : (a -> b) -> [n]a -> [n]b

The type parameter `b` can only be replaced with a type that has non-existential sizes, which means they must be the same for every application of the function. In contrast, this is the type of the pipeline operator:

    val (|>) '^a -> '^b : a -> (a -> b) -> b

The provided function can return something with an existential size (such as `filter`).

#### 3.9.7.1. A function whose return type has an unknown size

If a function (named or anonymous) is inferred to have a return type that contains an unknown size variable created within the function body, that size variable will be replaced with an existential size. In most cases this is not important, but it means that an expression like the following is ill-typed:

    map (\xs -> iota (length xs)) (xss : [n][m]i32)

This is because the `(length xs)` expression gives rise to some fresh size `k`. The lambda is then assigned the type `[n]t -> [k]i32`, which is immediately turned into `[n]t -> ?[k].[k]i32` because `k` was generated inside its body. A function of this type cannot be passed to `map`, as explained before. The solution is to bind `length` to a name before the lambda.

## 3.10. In-place Updates

In-place updates do not provide observable side effects, but they do provide a way to efficiently update an array in-place, with the guarantee that the cost is proportional to the size of the value(s) being written, not the size of the full array.

The `a with [i] = v` language construct, and derived forms, performs an in-place update. The compiler verifies that the original array (`a`) is not used on any execution path following the in-place update. This involves also checking that no alias of `a` is used. Generally, most language constructs produce new arrays, but some (slicing) create arrays that alias their input arrays.

When defining a function parameter we can mark it as consuming by prefixing it with an asterisk. For a return type, we can mark it as alias-free by prefixing it with an asterisk. For example:

    def modify (a: *[]i32) (i: i32) (x: i32): *[]i32 =
      a with [i] = a[i] + x

A parameter that is not consuming is called observing. In the parameter declaration `a: *[i32]`, the asterisk means that the function `modify` has been given “ownership” of the array `a`, meaning that any caller of `modify` will never reference array `a` after the call again. This allows the `with` expression to perform an in-place update. After a call `modify a i x`, neither `a` or any variable that aliases `a` may be used on any following execution path.

If an asterisk is present at any point inside a tuple parameter type, the parameter as a whole is considered consuming. For example:

    def consumes_both ((a,b): (*[]i32,[]i32)) = ...

This is usually not desirable behaviour. Use multiple parameters instead:

    def consumes_first_arg (a: *[]i32) (b: []i32) = ...

For bulk in-place updates with multiple values, use the `scatter` function from the prelude.

### 3.10.1. Alias Analysis

The rules used by the Futhark compiler to determine aliasing are intuitive in the intra-procedural case. Aliases are associated with entire arrays. Aliases of a record are tuple are tracked for each element, not for the record or tuple itself. Most constructs produce fresh arrays, with no aliases. The main exceptions are `if`, `loop`, function calls, and variable literals.

- After a binding `let a = b`, that simply assigns a new name to an existing variable, the variable `a` aliases `b`. Similarly for record projections and patterns.

- The result of an `if` aliases the union of the aliases of the components.

- The result of a `loop` aliases the initial values, as well as any aliases that the merge parameters may assume at the end of an iteration, computed to a fixed point.

- The aliases of a value returned from a function is the most interesting case, and depends on whether the return value is declared alias-free (with an asterisk `*`) or not. If it is declared alias-free, then it has no aliases. Otherwise, it aliases all arguments passed for non-consumed parameters.

### 3.10.2. In-place Updates and Higher-Order Functions

Consumption generally interacts inflexibly with higher-order functions. The issue is that we cannot control how many times a function argument is applied, or to what, so it is not safe to pass a function that consumes its argument. The following two conservative rules govern the interaction between consumption and higher-order functions:

1. In the expression `let p = e1 in ...`, if any in-place update takes place in the expression `e1`, the value bound by `p` must not be or contain a function.

2. A function that consumes one of its arguments may not be passed as a higher-order argument to another function.

## 3.11. Modules

    mod_bind      ::= "module" name mod_param* "=" [":" mod_type_exp] "=" mod_exp
    mod_param     ::= "(" name ":" mod_type_exp ")"
    mod_type_bind ::= "module" "type" name "=" mod_type_exp

Futhark supports an ML-style higher-order module system. Modules can contain types, functions, and other modules and module types. Module types are used to classify the contents of modules, and parametric modules are used to abstract over modules (essentially module-level functions). In Standard ML, modules, module types and parametric modules are called structs, signatures, and functors, respectively. Module names exist in the same name space as values, but module types are their own name space.

### 3.11.1. Module bindings

#### 3.11.1.1. `module m = mod_exp`

Binds m to the module produced by the module expression `mod_exp`. Any name x in the module produced by `mod_exp` can then be accessed with `m.x`.

#### 3.11.1.2. `module m : mod_type_exp = mod_exp`

Shorthand for `module m = mod_exp : mod_type_exp`.

#### 3.11.1.3. `module m mod_params... = mod_exp`

Shorthand for `module m = \mod_params... -> mod_exp`. This produces a parametric module.

#### 3.11.1.4. `module type mt = mod_type_exp`

Binds mt to the module type produced by the module type expression `mod_type_exp`.

### 3.11.2. Module Expressions

    mod_exp ::= qualname
                | mod_exp ":" mod_type_exp
                | "\" "(" mod_param* ")" [":" mod_type_exp] "->" mod_exp
                | mod_exp mod_exp
                | "(" mod_exp ")"
                | "{" dec* "}"
                | "import" stringlit

A module expression produces a module. Modules are collections of bindings produced by declarations (dec). In particular, a module may contain other modules or module types.

#### 3.11.2.1. `qualname`

Evaluates to the module of the given name.

#### 3.11.2.2. `(mod_exp)`

Evaluates to `mod_exp`.

#### 3.11.2.3. `mod_exp : mod_type_exp`

Module ascription evaluates the module expression and the module type expression, verifies that the module implements the module type, then returns a module that exposes only the functionality described by the module type. This is how internal details of a module can be hidden.

As a slightly ad-hoc limitation, ascription is forbidden when a type substitution of size-lifted types occurs in a size appearing at the top level.

#### 3.11.2.4. `\(p: mt1): mt2 -> e`

Constructs a parametric module (a function at the module level) that accepts a parameter of module type `mt1` and returns a module of type `mt2`. The latter is optional, but the parameter type is not.

#### 3.11.2.5. `e1 e2`

Apply the parametric module `m1` to the module `m2`.

#### 3.11.2.6. `{ decs }`

Returns a module that contains the given definitions. The resulting module defines any name defined by any declaration that is not `local`, in particular including names made available via `open`.

#### 3.11.2.7. `import "foo"`

Returns a module that contains the definitions of the file `"foo"` relative to the current file.

### 3.11.3. Module Type Expressions

    mod_type_exp ::= qualname
                     | "{" spec* "}"
                     | mod_type_exp "with" qualname type_param* "=" type
                     | "(" mod_type_exp ")"
                     | "(" name ":" mod_type_exp ")" "->" mod_type_exp
                     | mod_type_exp "->" mod_type_exp

    spec ::= "val" name type_param* ":" type
             | "val" "(" symbol ")" ":" type
             | "val" symbol type_param* ":" type
             | ("type" | "type^" | "type~") name type_param* "=" type
             | ("type" | "type^" | "type~") name type_param*
             | "module" name ":" mod_type_exp
             | "include" mod_type_exp
             | "#[" attr "]" spec

Module types classify modules, with the only (unimportant) difference in expressivity being that modules can contain module types, but module types cannot specify that a module must contain a specific module type. They can specify of course that a module contains a submodule of a specific module type.

A module type expression can be the name of another module type, or a sequence of specifications, or specs, enclosed in curly braces. A spec can be a value spec, indicating the presence of a function or value, an abstract type spec, or a type abbreviation spec.

In a value spec, sizes in types on the left-hand side of a function arrow must not be anonymous. For example, this is forbidden:

    val sum: []t -> t

Instead write:

    val sum [n]: [n]t -> t

But this is allowed, because the empty size is not to the left of a function arrow:

    val evens [n]: [n]i32 -> []i32

## 3.12. Referencing Other Files

You can refer to external files in a Futhark file like this:

    import "file"

The above will include all non-`local` top-level definitions from `file.fut` is and make them available in the current file (but will not export them). The `.fut` extension is implied.

You can also include files from subdirectories:

    import "path/to/a/file"

The above will include the file `path/to/a/file.fut` relative to the including file.

Qualified imports are also possible, where a module is created for the file:

    module M = import "file"

In fact, a plain `import "file"` is equivalent to:

    local open import "file"

To re-export names from another file in the current module, use:

    open import "file"

## 3.13. Attributes

    attr ::= name
             | decimal
             | name "(" [attr ("," attr)* [","]] ")"

An expression, declaration, pattern, or module type spec can be prefixed with an attribute, written as `#[attr]`. This may affect how it is treated by the compiler or other tools. In no case will attributes affect or change the semantics of a program, but it may affect how well it compiles and runs (or in some cases, whether it compiles or runs at all). Unknown attributes are silently ignored. Most have no effect in the interpreter. An attribute can be either an atom, written as an identifier or number, or compound, consisting of an identifier and a comma-separated sequence of attributes. The latter is used for grouping and encoding of more complex information.

### 3.13.1. Expression attributes

Many expression attributes affect second-order array combinators (SOACS). These must be applied to a fully saturated function application or they will have no effect. If two SOACs with contradictory attributes are combined through fusion, it is unspecified which attributes take precedence.

The following expression attributes are supported.

#### 3.13.1.1. `blank`

Indicates that the value computed by the expression does not matter, and that the expression can be replaced with an arbitrary other expression of the same type. This is useful for constructing arrays that will eventually be filled with `scatter` or similar operations. Note that this can subvert type-based invariants safety if the blank value is used, but it cannot subvert memory safety.

#### 3.13.1.2. `trace`

Print the value produced by the attributed expression. Used for debugging. Somewhat unreliable outside of the interpreter, and in particular does not work for GPU device code.

#### 3.13.1.3. `trace(tag)`

Like `trace`, but prefix output with tag, which must lexically be an identifier.

#### 3.13.1.4. `break`

In the interpreter, pause execution before evaluating the expression. No effect for compiled code.

#### 3.13.1.5. `opaque`

The compiler will treat the attributed expression as a black box. This is used to work around optimisation deficiencies (or bugs), although it should hopefully rarely be necessary.

#### 3.13.1.6. `incremental_flattening(no_outer)`

When using incremental flattening, do not generate the “only outer parallelism” version for the attributed SOACs.

#### 3.13.1.7. `incremental_flattening(no_intra)`

When using incremental flattening, do not generate the “intra-block parallelism” version for the attributed SOACs.

#### 3.13.1.8. `incremental_flattening(only_intra)`

When using incremental flattening, only generate the “intra-block parallelism” version of the attributed SOACs. Beware: the resulting program will fail to run if the inner parallelism does not fit on the device.

#### 3.13.1.9. `incremental_flattening(only_inner)`

When using incremental flattening, do not generate multiple versions for this SOAC, but do exploit inner parallelism (which may give rise to multiple versions at deeper levels).

#### 3.13.1.10. `noinline`

Do not inline the attributed function application. If used within a parallel construct (e.g. `map`), this will likely prevent the GPU backends from generating working code.

#### 3.13.1.11. `scratch`

Like `blank`, but the resulting values (if arrays) will comprise initialised memory. Reading from such arrays is potentially dangerous, as the elements are completely undefined until they are updated with a `scatter` or similar.

#### 3.13.1.12. `sequential`

Fully sequentialise the attributed SOAC.

#### 3.13.1.13. `sequential_outer`

Turn the outer parallelism in the attributed SOAC sequential, but preserve any inner parallelism.

#### 3.13.1.14. `sequential_inner`

Exploit only outer parallelism in the attributed SOAC.

#### 3.13.1.15. `unroll`

Fully unroll the attributed `loop`. If the compiler cannot determine the exact number of iterations (possibly after other optimisations and simplifications have taken place), then this attribute has no code generation effect, but instead results in a warning. Be very careful with this attribute: it can massively increase program size (possibly crashing the compiler) if the loop has a huge number of iterations.

#### 3.13.1.16. `unsafe`

Do not perform any dynamic safety checks (such as bound checks) during execution of the attributed expression.

#### 3.13.1.17. `warn(safety_checks)`

Make the compiler issue a warning if the attributed expression (or its subexpressions) requires safety checks (such as bounds checking) at run-time. This is used for performance-critical code where you want to be told when the compiler is unable to statically verify the safety of all operations.

### 3.13.2. Declaration attributes

The following declaration attributes are supported.

#### 3.13.2.1. `noinline`

Do not inline any calls to this function. If the function is then used within a parallel construct (e.g. `map`), this will likely prevent the GPU backends from generating working code.

#### 3.13.2.2. `inline`

Always inline calls to this function.

### 3.13.3. Pattern attributes

No pattern attributes are currently supported by the compiler itself, although they are syntactically permitted and may be used by other tools.

### 3.13.4. Spec attributes

No spec attributes are currently supported by the compiler itself, although they are syntactically permitted and may be used by other tools.