Functional Action Notation

• All primitive functional actions:
  
  
  • Do not commit.
    
    
  • Produce no bindings.
    
    
  • Make no changes to storage.
    
    
  • Do not communicate.
    
    
  • Redirect no bindings.
    
    
• All functional action combinators are:
  
  
  • Declaratively conducting (see the basic action A₁ and A₂).
    
    
• give Y: a primitive functional action, where Y is a data yielder. Represents creating a piece of transient information.
  
  
  • Indivisible. Completes when Y yields data. Fails when Y yields nothing.
    
    
  • Gives the data yielded by Y.
    
    
• escape with Y: a primitive functional action, where Y is a data yielder. Represents escaping with a piece of transient information, which may be used to distinguish different reasons for escape.
  
  
  • Indivisible. Escapes when Y yields data. Fails when Y yields nothing.
    
    
  • Gives the data yielded by Y.
    
    
• regive: a primitive functional action. Represents propagation of transient information, i.e., data. Unit for  A₁ then  A₂.
  
  
  • Indivisible. Always completes.
    
    
  • Gives any given data.
    
    
• choose Y: a functional action, where Y is a data yielder. Represents implementation-dependent choice between a possibly infinite collection of individual items of data.
  
  
  • Indivisible. Completes when Y yields a sort including a data individual. Fails when Y yields nothing.
    
    
  • Gives any individual data of the sort yielded by Y.
    
    
• check Y: a functional action, where Y is a truth-value yielder. Represents a guard checking that a condition is true.
  
  
  • Indivisible. Completes when Y yields true. Fails when Y yields false (or nothing).
    
    
  • Gives no data.
    
    
• A₁ then A₂: a functional combination of actions A₁, A₂. Represents passing on transient information normally.
  
  
  • Basically sequencing (see the basic action A₁ and then A₂ ).
  • Functional ly composing: The transients given to the combination of A₁, A₂ are given to A₁. Only the transients given by A₁ are given to A₂ (provided that A₂ is performed). Only the transients given by A₂ are given by the combined action.
    
    

given d | given d#p | it | them

• given d: a data yielder, where d is a sort of data. Yields the transient data given to its evaluation, provided that the data is of sort d.
  
  
• given d#p: a datum yielder, where d is a sort of datum and p is a positive integer. Yields the p'th component of the transient data given to its evaluation, provided that the datum is of sort d.
  
  
• it: a datum yielder. Yields the single datum given to its evaluation as a transient.
  
  
• them: a data yielder. Yields all the data given to its evaluation as transients.
  
  

data

• data: a sort. Its individuals represent ordered collections, i.e., tuples, of individuals of sort datum, processed as transient information.