On Dec 5, 2008, at 10:00 AM, Jon Zeppieri wrote:
On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 12:39 PM, Maciej Stachowiak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
What exactly does return from a lambda mean? Let's say I do this:
function F(x) { return lambda(n) { return x + n; } }
function G(h) { return h(1) +1; }
var H = F(1);
G(H);
What is the value of the last expression and why?
Based on the lambda and return-to-label strawmen, It's an error. Dave
presents a desugaring of function to lambda, where each function body
is given a label at the bottom:
lambda(x0,...,xn,...$rest) {
let $THIS = thisRegister;
let arguments = makeAlias([[lambda() x1, lambda($x1) x1 = $x1],
...,
[lambda() xn, lambda($xn) xn = $xn]],
$rest);
$RETURN: { Body; void 0 }
}
'return e' without a label desugars to:
return : $RETURN e
But, from the return-to-label strawman:
"The dynamic return point associated with the label must still be live
when the return statement is invoked; otherwise it is a dynamic error,
i.e., an exception is raised."
A label is an escape continuation. Once control has returned past the
point where the continuation was captured, it's dead, and it can't be
resumed.
So return from a lambda is sometimes but not always a runtime error?
Other times it can return through multiple levels of function calls
without raising an exception? That seems pretty bad for ease of
understanding and for performance of implementations. If you do this:
[1 2 3].map(lambda (x) { return x + 1; })
I think it would be better for that to be a syntax error than to make
the containing function return 2.
It seems to me the current design prioritizes lambda as a desugaring
construct or building block for imperative-style control flow, over
use as an actual first-class function. I assume break and continue
inside a lambda have similar issues.
Regards,
Maciej
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