Fixed-Point-Oriented Programming: A Concise and Elegant Paradigm

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Foo, Yong Qi, Cheong, Brian Sze-Kai, Adams, Michael D.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Foo, Yong Qi
Cheong, Brian Sze-Kai
Adams, Michael D.
author_facet Foo, Yong Qi
Cheong, Brian Sze-Kai
Adams, Michael D.
contents Fixed-Point-Oriented Programming (FPOP) is an emerging paradigm designed to streamline the implementation of problems involving self-referential computations. These include graph algorithms, static analysis, parsing, and distributed computing-domains that traditionally require complex and tricky-to-implement work-queue algorithms. Existing programming paradigms lack direct support for these inherently fixed-point computations, leading to inefficient and error-prone implementations. This white paper explores the potential of the FPOP paradigm, which offers a high-level abstraction that enables concise and expressive problem formulations. By leveraging structured inference rules and user-directed optimizations, FPOP allows developers to write declarative specifications while the compiler ensures efficient execution. It not only reduces implementation complexity for programmers but also enhances adaptability, making it easier for programmers to explore alternative solutions and optimizations without modifying the core logic of their program. We demonstrate how FPOP simplifies algorithm implementation, improves maintainability, and enables rapid prototyping by allowing problems to be clearly and concisely expressed. For example, the graph distance problem can be expressed in only two executable lines of code with FPOP, while it takes an order of magnitude more code in other paradigms. By bridging the gap between theoretical fixed-point formulations and practical implementations, we aim to foster further research and adoption of this paradigm.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_21439
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Fixed-Point-Oriented Programming: A Concise and Elegant Paradigm
Foo, Yong Qi
Cheong, Brian Sze-Kai
Adams, Michael D.
Programming Languages
Fixed-Point-Oriented Programming (FPOP) is an emerging paradigm designed to streamline the implementation of problems involving self-referential computations. These include graph algorithms, static analysis, parsing, and distributed computing-domains that traditionally require complex and tricky-to-implement work-queue algorithms. Existing programming paradigms lack direct support for these inherently fixed-point computations, leading to inefficient and error-prone implementations. This white paper explores the potential of the FPOP paradigm, which offers a high-level abstraction that enables concise and expressive problem formulations. By leveraging structured inference rules and user-directed optimizations, FPOP allows developers to write declarative specifications while the compiler ensures efficient execution. It not only reduces implementation complexity for programmers but also enhances adaptability, making it easier for programmers to explore alternative solutions and optimizations without modifying the core logic of their program. We demonstrate how FPOP simplifies algorithm implementation, improves maintainability, and enables rapid prototyping by allowing problems to be clearly and concisely expressed. For example, the graph distance problem can be expressed in only two executable lines of code with FPOP, while it takes an order of magnitude more code in other paradigms. By bridging the gap between theoretical fixed-point formulations and practical implementations, we aim to foster further research and adoption of this paradigm.
title Fixed-Point-Oriented Programming: A Concise and Elegant Paradigm
topic Programming Languages
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.21439