No ifs, ands, or buts: uncovering the simplicity of conditionals

Schematic tables are a new representation for conditionals. Roughly a cross between decision tables and data flow graphs, they represent computation and decision-making orthogonally. They unify the full range of conditional constructs, from if statements through pattern matching to polymorphic predicate dispatch. Program logic is maintained in a declarative canonical form that enforces completeness and disjointness among choices. Schematic tables can be used either as a code specification/generation tool, or as a self-contained diagrammatic programming language. They give program logic the clarity of truth tables, and support high-level direct manipulation of that logic, avoiding much of the mental computation demanded by conventional conditionals. Categories and Subject Descriptors D.2.2 [Software Engineering]: Design Tools and Techniques—Decision tables; D.2.6 [Software Engineering]: Programming Environments; D.3.3 [Programming Languages]: Language Constructs and

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: OOPSLA
• Authors: Jonathan Edwards
• Keywords: OOPSLA 2007, Program Logic, Programming Languages, Schematic Tables