Piccola is small in the sense that its syntax is tiny, and it is pure in the sense that it provides only compositional features — computation is performed entirely by components of the host programming language. The semantics of Piccola is defined in terms of a process calculus, an extension of Milner's pi calculus in which values communicated are forms, rather than tuples. A "form" is essentially an extensible nested record which also serves as a namespace in which expressions may be evaluated. This simple mechanism is responsible for much of the expressive power of Piccola.
Last modified 16 December 2024