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idris-chez

A ChezScheme backend for Idris

Usage

A Chez Scheme installation is a prerequisite to use idris-chez. It uses Chez Scheme extensions and would need to be modified to work with other Scheme flavors.

Run cabal install to install idris-chez.

Then idris-chez is invoked when running idris with --codegen chez like

idris --codegen chez example.idr -o example.ss

scheme --script example.ss

Files are compiled only to Scheme source for now, if desired they can be built into object files using Chez Scheme.

Features

  • Speed!
  • C FFI
  • A compatibility layer for the base libraries dependence on the C rts. for example, the C calls in Prelude.Files are substituted by Scheme calls.
  • Chez Scheme provides excellent stack handling and garbage collection

To do

  • Scheme FFI (In progress!)
  • Map some common but non-primitive Idris types like lists and bools to the corresponding primitives in Scheme.
  • Stabilization

Directives

%lib chez "<shared lib>"

In the chez backend %lib names dynamic libs that should be loaded at startup. The functions in that lib will then be available for FFI. See test/samples/loadshared.idr for an example.

%include chez "<any scheme code>"

In the chez backend %include includes arbitrary Scheme code into the resulting program. Chez Scheme's load or import can be used in an %include directive to actually include code from another file.

Benchmarks

Let's run the pidigits benchmark from idris' benchmarks folder!

idris-chez

$ time ./pidigits.ss 5000 > /dev/null

real    0m3.219s
user    0m0.000s
sys     0m0.030s

C backend

$ time ./pidigits.exe 5000 > /dev/null

real    0m10.005s
user    0m0.000s
sys     0m0.000s

Lets try 10000....

idris-chez

$ time ./pidigits.ss 10000 > /dev/null

real    0m12.900s
user    0m0.030s
sys     0m0.000s

C backend

$ time ./pidigits.exe 10000 > /dev/null
Segmentation fault

real    1m17.884s
user    0m0.016s
sys     0m0.000s

Ooops....