Partial evaluation

A computer program is seen as a mapping prog: {I_static, I_dynamic} ==> O of input data into output data. I_static is the part of the input data known at compile time.

The partial evaluator transforms {prog, I_static} into prog^* i.e. precomputes all static input at compile time. prog^* is called the residual program[?].

prog: {I_static, I_dynamic} ==> O becomes prog^*: I_dynamic ==> O which in general runs more efficiently.

See also C++ Template metaprogramming

• C++ Templates as Partial Evaluation, 1999 ACM SIGPLAN Workshop on Partial Evaluation and Semantics-Based Program Manipulation (PEPM'99) (http://osl.iu.edu/~tveldhui/papers/pepm99/)
• NEIL D. JONES, An Introduction to Partial Evaluation, ACM Computing Surveys, Vol. 28, No. 3, September 1996 (http://www.futamura.info.waseda.ac.jp/~futamura/PapersToRead/jones.pdf)