Simon Thompson (professor)

Simon Thompson is a research computer scientist, author, and an emeritus professor of the University of Kent, specializing in logic and computation.[1] His research into functional programming covers software verification and validation, programming tool-building, and software testing for the functional programming languages Erlang,[2] Haskell,[3][4] and OCaml.[5][6][7] He is the author of books on data type theory, Miranda, Haskell, and Erlang, and runs a massive open online course about Erlang for FutureLearn.

Simon Thompson
Born
EducationD.Phil., University of Oxford, 1984
Known forFunctional programming research,
Cardano domain-specific languages: Marlowe
Scientific career
FieldsComputer science
InstitutionsUniversity of Kent
Input Output Global
ThesisRecursion theories on the continuous functionals (1984)
Doctoral advisorRobin Oliver Gandy

Education

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Thompson earned a Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) from the University of Oxford in 1984 with a dissertation titled "Recursion theories on the continuous functionals".[8] Thompson's doctoral adviser was Robin Oliver Gandy.[9]

Work

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As of 2019, he worked for Input Output Global, Input Output Hong Kong[10] on domain-specific languages for the Cardano blockchain platform. There, he developed a specialised smart contract language, Marlowe, designed for non-programmers working in the financial sector.[11][12]

Books

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His books include:

  • Thompson, Simon (January 1991 – March 1999). Type Theory and Functional Programming. International Computer Science Series. Addison-Wesley; Computing Laboratory, University of Kent. ISBN 979-8482847145.
  • Thompson, Simon (21 July 1995). Miranda: The Craft of Functional Programming. International Computer Science Series. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 978-0201422795.[13]
  • Thompson, Simon (1996–2011). Haskell: The Craft of Functional Programming. International Computer Science Series (3rd ed.). Addison-Wesley, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0201882957.[14]
  • Cesarini, Francesco; Thompson, Simon (28 July 2009). Erlang Programming: A Concurrent Approach to Software Development. O'Reilly Media. ISBN 978-0596518189. Quotes, Francesco Cesarini, founder: Erlang Solutions Ltd.

References

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  1. ^ Thompson, Simon (20 October 2023). "Professor Simon Thompson". University of Kent: School of Computing. Canterbury, Kent, England.
  2. ^ Bereczky, Péter; Horpácsi, Dániel; Thompson, Simon (23 August 2020). Machine-Checked Natural Semantics for Core Erlang: Exceptions and Side Effects. International Conference on Functional Programming (ICFP). Online – via ACM SIGPLAN.
  3. ^ Thompson, Simon (May 1997). Higher-order + Polymorphic = Reusable (Report). Canterbury, Kent: School of Computing, University of Kent. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  4. ^ Li, Huiqing; Thompson, Simon; Reinke, Claus (April 2005). "The Haskell Refactorer: HaRe, and its API". In Boyland, John Tang; Hedin, Görel (eds.). Proceedings of the 5th workshop on Language Descriptions, Tools and Applications. Canterbury, Kent: School of Computing, University of Kent. pp. 182–196. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  5. ^ Rowe, Reuben N. S.; Thompson, Simon (8 September 2017). ROTOR: First Steps Towards a Refactoring Tool for OCaml. International Conference on Functional Programming (ICFP). Phoenix, Arizona – via ACM SIGPLAN.
  6. ^ Rowe, Reuben N. S.; Férée, Hugo; Thompson, Simon; Owens, Scott (25 June 2019). Characterising Renaming within OCaml's Module System: Theory and Implementation. Programming Language Design and Implementation (PLDI). Phoenix, Arizona – via ACM SIGPLAN.
  7. ^ Harrison, Joseph; Varoumas, Steven; Thompson, Simon; Rowe, Reuben (28 August 2020). API migration: compare transformed. International Conference on Functional Programming (ICFP). Online – via ACM SIGPLAN.
  8. ^ Thompson, Simon (June 1985). "Axiomatic Recursion Theory and the Continuous Functionals". Journal of Symbolic Logic. 50 (2). New York, New York: 442–450. doi:10.2307/2274232. JSTOR 2274232. S2CID 26299352 – via JSTOR.
  9. ^ "Mathematics Genealogy Project". North Dakota State University: Department of Mathematics.
  10. ^ "IOHK: Team: Prof Simon Thompson: Technical Project Director Research". Input Output. n.d. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022.
  11. ^ Input Output Hong Kong (11 December 2018). "Marlowe: financial contracts on blockchain". Input Output Hong Kong.
  12. ^ Lamela Seijas, Pablo; Nemish, Alexander; Smith, David; Thompson, Simon (2020). "Marlowe: Implementing and Analysing Financial Contracts on Blockchain". In Matthew Bernhard; Andrea Bracciali; L. Jean Camp; Shin'ichiro Matsuo; Alana Maurushat; Peter B. Rønne; Massimiliano Sala (eds.). Financial Cryptography and Data Security. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 12063. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 496–511. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-54455-3_35. ISBN 978-3-030-54455-3.
  13. ^ "Miranda: A Non-strict, Polymorphic, Functional Language". 2010.
  14. ^ Richards, Hamilton (November 1998). "Book reviews" (PDF). Journal of Functional Programming. 8 (6): 633–637. doi:10.1017/S0956796898213220.
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