A common use pattern of Fold is to define a variable-arity function that combines multiple arguments together using a binary function. It is slightly tricky to do this directly using fold, because of the special treatment required for the case of zero or one argument. Here is a structure, Fold01N, that solves the problem once and for all, and eases the definition of such functions.
structure Fold01N =
struct
fun fold {finish, start, zero} =
Fold.fold ((id, finish, fn () => zero, start),
fn (finish, _, p, _) => finish (p ()))
fun step0 {combine, input} =
Fold.step0 (fn (_, finish, _, f) =>
(finish,
finish,
fn () => f input,
fn x' => combine (f input, x')))
fun step1 {combine} z input =
step0 {combine = combine, input = input} z
end
If one has a value zero, and functions start, c, and finish, then one can define a variable-arity function f and stepper ` as follows.
val f = fn z => Fold01N.fold {finish = finish, start = start, zero = zero} z
val ` = fn z => Fold01N.step1 {combine = c} z
One can then use the fold equation to prove the following equations.
f $ = zero
f `a1 $ = finish (start a1)
f `a1 `a2 $ = finish (c (start a1, a2))
f `a1 `a2 `a3 $ = finish (c (c (start a1, a2), a3))
...
For an example of Fold01N, see VariableArityPolymorphism.
Typing Fold01N
Here is the signature for Fold01N. We use a trick to avoid having to duplicate the definition of some rather complex types in both the signature and the structure. We first define the types in a structure. Then, we define them via type re-definitions in the signature, and via open in the full structure.
structure Fold01N =
struct
type ('input, 'accum1, 'accum2, 'answer, 'zero,
'a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e) t =
(('zero -> 'zero)
* ('accum2 -> 'answer)
* (unit -> 'zero)
* ('input -> 'accum1),
('a -> 'b) * 'c * (unit -> 'a) * 'd,
'b,
'e) Fold.t
type ('input1, 'accum1, 'input2, 'accum2,
'a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e, 'f) step0 =
('a * 'b * 'c * ('input1 -> 'accum1),
'b * 'b * (unit -> 'accum1) * ('input2 -> 'accum2),
'd, 'e, 'f) Fold.step0
type ('accum1, 'input, 'accum2,
'a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e, 'f, 'g) step1 =
('a,
'b * 'c * 'd * ('a -> 'accum1),
'c * 'c * (unit -> 'accum1) * ('input -> 'accum2),
'e, 'f, 'g) Fold.step1
end
signature FOLD_01N =
sig
type ('a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e, 'f, 'g, 'h, 'i, 'j) t =
('a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e, 'f, 'g, 'h, 'i, 'j) Fold01N.t
type ('a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e, 'f, 'g, 'h, 'i, 'j) step0 =
('a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e, 'f, 'g, 'h, 'i, 'j) Fold01N.step0
type ('a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e, 'f, 'g, 'h, 'i, 'j) step1 =
('a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e, 'f, 'g, 'h, 'i, 'j) Fold01N.step1
val fold:
{finish: 'accum2 -> 'answer,
start: 'input -> 'accum1,
zero: 'zero}
-> ('input, 'accum1, 'accum2, 'answer, 'zero,
'a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e) t
val step0:
{combine: 'accum1 * 'input2 -> 'accum2,
input: 'input1}
-> ('input1, 'accum1, 'input2, 'accum2,
'a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e, 'f) step0
val step1:
{combine: 'accum1 * 'input -> 'accum2}
-> ('accum1, 'input, 'accum2,
'a, 'b, 'c, 'd, 'e, 'f, 'g) step1
end
structure Fold01N: FOLD_01N =
struct
open Fold01N
fun fold {finish, start, zero} =
Fold.fold ((id, finish, fn () => zero, start),
fn (finish, _, p, _) => finish (p ()))
fun step0 {combine, input} =
Fold.step0 (fn (_, finish, _, f) =>
(finish,
finish,
fn () => f input,
fn x' => combine (f input, x')))
fun step1 {combine} z input =
step0 {combine = combine, input = input} z
end