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IEEE 754 Representation

Name: Anonymous 2014-09-13 5:48

Is it okay to use lower bits for a type tag?

Name: Anonymous 2014-09-13 8:22

>>9
1. Types can be represented by values but are not values any more than number "tau" is a (computer) value. Number "tau" is a concept wholly independent from any computing device, though it can be represented in various ways on such devices. Likewise, a type is a mathematical concept that was invented way before the age of computers and does not depend on any device with "bits in memory".

2. It is a very real and useful dichotomy since types are a form of specification and can exist independently of any runtime, of evaluation, or indeed of any computer. You can typecheck a program with just pencil and paper, without ever running it. Now, of course typechecking and compilation can happen during runtime via a full compiler embedded into the runtime, but just because two things are coterminous doesn't mean they are the same thing. You can take a shit and eat at the same time, too.

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