David Turner (computer scientist)

David A. Turner (26 January 1946 – 19 October 2023) was a British computer scientist. He is best known for designing and implementing three <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">programming languages</a>, including the first for <a href="/facts/Functional_programming/cdxqPEIM">functional programming</a> based on <a href="/facts/Lazy_evaluation/mD3DxDkc">lazy evaluation</a>, <a href="/facts/Combinator_graph_reduction/8EsDncj4">combinator graph reduction</a>, and <a href="/facts/Parametric_polymorphism/ETb0G1zd">polymorphic types</a>: <a href="/facts/SASL_(programming_language)/3TJjNTcT">SASL</a> (1972), <a href="/facts/Kent_Recursive_Calculator/H7eXCENv">Kent Recursive Calculator</a> (KRC) (1981), and the commercially supported <a href="/facts/Miranda_(programming_language)/t9A6GFYv">Miranda</a> (1985).
Turner's work on Miranda had a strong influence on the later <a href="/facts/Haskell_(programming_language)/4Htv9WLu">Haskell</a>. Turner first implemented SASL using the abstract <a href="/facts/SECD_machine/CaJq4ELV">SECD machine</a>, but then reimplemented them in 1978 using <a href="/facts/SKI_combinator_calculus/VM0ND2yC">SKI combinator calculus</a>. This approach was used by <a href="/facts/Thomas_Johnsson/MXYsFdkG">Thomas Johnsson</a> and <a href="/facts/Lennart_Augustsson/DKbCzoRm">Lennart Augustsson</a> in the design of the g-machine that evolved to become the standard mechanism for <a href="/facts/Lazy_evaluation/mD3DxDkc">lazy evaluation</a> in <a href="/facts/Call-by-need/Pc9kLWgs">call-by-need</a> languages.
In 1981, Turner received the <a href="/facts/Doctor_of_Philosophy/paJumdN8">Doctor of Philosophy</a> (D.Phil.) from the <a href="/facts/University_of_Oxford/ExVVQL6V">University of Oxford</a>, for his dissertation "Aspects of the Implementation of Programming Languages: The Compilation of an Applicative Language to Combinatory Logic", supervised by <a href="/facts/Christopher_Strachey/hx9ToYVY">Christopher Strachey</a> and <a href="/facts/Dana_Scott/XEVddlVg">Dana Scott</a>. He held professorships at <a href="/facts/Queen_Mary_University_of_London/j7FHapKf">Queen Mary College, London</a>, <a href="/facts/University_of_Texas_at_Austin/6NApstxT">University of Texas at Austin</a> and the <a href="/facts/University_of_Kent/NrM11NIL">University of Kent</a> at Canterbury, where he spent most of his career and retained the title of Emeritus Professor of Computation.
Turner was involved with developing <a href="/facts/International_standard/9R3SMtfH">international standards</a> in programming and informatics, as a member of the <a href="/facts/International_Federation_for_Information_Processing/RgTMBVN9">International Federation for Information Processing</a> (IFIP) <a href="/facts/IFIP_Working_Group_2.1/JhPYRM7c">IFIP Working Group 2.1</a> on Algorithmic Languages and Calculi, which <a href="/facts/Specification_(technical_standard)/xEMUsktp">specified</a>, maintains, and supports the <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">programming languages</a> <a href="/facts/ALGOL_60/QnpxUYQm">ALGOL 60</a> and <a href="/facts/ALGOL_68/NTnc9fy7">ALGOL 68</a>. He was also a member of the IFIP Working Group 2.8 on Functional Programming, which related to his creation of Miranda.
Turner was an emeritus professor at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Kent/NrM11NIL">University of Kent</a> and <a href="/facts/Middlesex_University/Fy8X9Rez">Middlesex University</a> in England.
Turner's parents were second-generation <a href="/facts/Jewish/T9Y4wE6A">Jewish</a> immigrants, and Turner himself was a strong advocate for equal rights for <a href="/facts/Palestinians/DBnkAQ5l">Palestinians</a>. He was an executive member of <a href="/facts/Israeli_Committee_Against_House_Demolitions/0Arxhrwm">ICAHD UK</a> and frequently spoke on the topic. Turner died on 19 October 2023, at the age of 77.

David Turner (computer scientist) open-in-new

David Turner (computer scientist)