5 Search Results for "Crichton, Will"

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2026.22
Meaningful Human-in-the-Loop Checking of GenAI Synthesis for Restricted Languages

Authors: Siddhartha Prasad, Skyler Austen, Kathi Fisler, and Shriram Krishnamurthi

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 372, 40th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2026)

Abstract
Developers routinely use GenAI tools (large language models enriched in various ways) to generate useful components of programs, such as regular expressions. While pleasant and often effective, this can easily lead to subtle bugs. The developer may have been unclear in their specification, they may not fully understand the language of the output, there may be systematic misconceptions suffered by the user and perhaps even embedded in the language model, and so on. Responsible use of GenAI requires humans in the loop. To be effective, the human interaction must be both meaningful and moderate. We accomplish this as follows. First, we generate multiple candidate expressions instead of one. We then use formal language containment properties to generate distinguishing concrete scenarios that illustrate the differences between the candidates. We then have users rate these concrete scenarios. This process converges in a few steps, while also giving the user insight into any lack of clarity on their part. We have built a tool, pick, that implements this iterative process. We apply it to three formal languages with the necessary properties: regexes, linear temporal logic, and access-control policies. We show through experiments that pick is a significant improvement over showing users the candidate expressions, and also helps catch situations where no output is a match.
Cite as

Siddhartha Prasad, Skyler Austen, Kathi Fisler, and Shriram Krishnamurthi. Meaningful Human-in-the-Loop Checking of GenAI Synthesis for Restricted Languages. In 40th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 372, pp. 22:1-22:31, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{prasad_et_al:LIPIcs.ECOOP.2026.22,
  author =	{Prasad, Siddhartha and Austen, Skyler and Fisler, Kathi and Krishnamurthi, Shriram},
  title =	{{Meaningful Human-in-the-Loop Checking of GenAI Synthesis for Restricted Languages}},
  booktitle =	{40th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2026)},
  pages =	{22:1--22:31},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-423-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{372},
  editor =	{Krebbers, Robbert and Silva, Alexandra},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2026.22},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-261181},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2026.22},
  annote =	{Keywords: Regex, LTL, Access Control, Generative AI, Human-in-the-Loop}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/OASIcs.PLATEAU.2019.5
Human-Centric Program Synthesis

Authors: Will Crichton

Published in: OASIcs, Volume 76, 10th Workshop on Evaluation and Usability of Programming Languages and Tools (PLATEAU 2019)

Abstract
Program synthesis techniques offer significant new capabilities in searching for programs that satisfy high-level specifications. While synthesis has been thoroughly explored for input/output pair specifications (programming-by-example), this paper asks: what does program synthesis look like beyond examples? What actual issues in day-to-day development would stand to benefit the most from synthesis? How can a human-centric perspective inform the exploration of alternative specification languages for synthesis? I sketch a human-centric vision for program synthesis where programmers explore and learn languages and APIs aided by a synthesis tool.
Cite as

Will Crichton. Human-Centric Program Synthesis. In 10th Workshop on Evaluation and Usability of Programming Languages and Tools (PLATEAU 2019). Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs), Volume 76, pp. 5:1-5:5, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2020)

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@InProceedings{crichton:OASIcs.PLATEAU.2019.5,
  author =	{Crichton, Will},
  title =	{{Human-Centric Program Synthesis}},
  booktitle =	{10th Workshop on Evaluation and Usability of Programming Languages and Tools (PLATEAU 2019)},
  pages =	{5:1--5:5},
  series =	{Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-135-1},
  ISSN =	{2190-6807},
  year =	{2020},
  volume =	{76},
  editor =	{Chasins, Sarah and Glassman, Elena L. and Sunshine, Joshua},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/OASIcs.PLATEAU.2019.5},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-119590},
  doi =		{10.4230/OASIcs.PLATEAU.2019.5},
  annote =	{Keywords: Program synthesis, programming by example, PL/HCI}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SNAPL.2019.4
From Theory to Systems: A Grounded Approach to Programming Language Education

Authors: Will Crichton

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 136, 3rd Summit on Advances in Programming Languages (SNAPL 2019)

Abstract
I present a new approach to teaching a graduate-level programming languages course focused on using systems programming ideas and languages like WebAssembly and Rust to motivate PL theory. Drawing on students' prior experience with low-level languages, the course shows how type systems and PL theory are used to avoid tricky real-world errors that students encounter in practice. I reflect on the curricular design and lessons learned from two years of teaching at Stanford, showing that integrating systems ideas can provide students a more grounded and enjoyable education in programming languages. The curriculum, course notes, and assignments are freely available: http://cs242.stanford.edu/f18/
Cite as

Will Crichton. From Theory to Systems: A Grounded Approach to Programming Language Education. In 3rd Summit on Advances in Programming Languages (SNAPL 2019). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 136, pp. 4:1-4:9, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2019)

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@InProceedings{crichton:LIPIcs.SNAPL.2019.4,
  author =	{Crichton, Will},
  title =	{{From Theory to Systems: A Grounded Approach to Programming Language Education}},
  booktitle =	{3rd Summit on Advances in Programming Languages (SNAPL 2019)},
  pages =	{4:1--4:9},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-113-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2019},
  volume =	{136},
  editor =	{Lerner, Benjamin S. and Bod{\'\i}k, Rastislav and Krishnamurthi, Shriram},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SNAPL.2019.4},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-105472},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SNAPL.2019.4},
  annote =	{Keywords: programming languages, programming language education}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SNAPL.2019.7
A Golden Age of Hardware Description Languages: Applying Programming Language Techniques to Improve Design Productivity

Authors: Lenny Truong and Pat Hanrahan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 136, 3rd Summit on Advances in Programming Languages (SNAPL 2019)

Abstract
Leading experts have declared that there is an impending golden age of computer architecture. During this age, the rate at which architects will be able to innovate will be directly tied to the design and implementation of the hardware description languages they use. Thus, the programming languages community stands on the critical path to this new golden age. This implies that we are also on the cusp of a golden age of hardware description languages. In this paper, we discuss the intellectual challenges facing researchers interested in hardware description language design, compilers, and formal methods. The major theme will be identifying opportunities to apply programming language techniques to address issues in hardware design productivity. Then, we present a vision for a multi-language system that provides a framework for developing solutions to these intellectual problems. This vision is based on a meta-programmed host language combined with a core embedded hardware description language that is used as the basis for the research and development of a sea of domain-specific languages. Central to the design of this system is the core language which is based on an abstraction that provides a general mechanism for the composition of hardware components described in any language.
Cite as

Lenny Truong and Pat Hanrahan. A Golden Age of Hardware Description Languages: Applying Programming Language Techniques to Improve Design Productivity. In 3rd Summit on Advances in Programming Languages (SNAPL 2019). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 136, pp. 7:1-7:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2019)

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@InProceedings{truong_et_al:LIPIcs.SNAPL.2019.7,
  author =	{Truong, Lenny and Hanrahan, Pat},
  title =	{{A Golden Age of Hardware Description Languages: Applying Programming Language Techniques to Improve Design Productivity}},
  booktitle =	{3rd Summit on Advances in Programming Languages (SNAPL 2019)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-113-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2019},
  volume =	{136},
  editor =	{Lerner, Benjamin S. and Bod{\'\i}k, Rastislav and Krishnamurthi, Shriram},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SNAPL.2019.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-105508},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SNAPL.2019.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: Hardware Description Languages}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/OASIcs.PLATEAU.2018.5
Identifying Barriers to Adoption for Rust through Online Discourse

Authors: Anna Zeng and Will Crichton

Published in: OASIcs, Volume 67, 9th Workshop on Evaluation and Usability of Programming Languages and Tools (PLATEAU 2018)

Abstract
Rust is a low-level programming language known for its unique approach to memory-safe systems programming and for its steep learning curve. To understand what makes Rust difficult to adopt, we surveyed the top Reddit and Hacker News posts and comments about Rust; from these online discussions, we identified three hypotheses about Rust's barriers to adoption. We found that certain key features, idioms, and integration patterns were not easily accessible to new users.
Cite as

Anna Zeng and Will Crichton. Identifying Barriers to Adoption for Rust through Online Discourse. In 9th Workshop on Evaluation and Usability of Programming Languages and Tools (PLATEAU 2018). Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs), Volume 67, pp. 5:1-5:6, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2019)

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@InProceedings{zeng_et_al:OASIcs.PLATEAU.2018.5,
  author =	{Zeng, Anna and Crichton, Will},
  title =	{{Identifying Barriers to Adoption for Rust through Online Discourse}},
  booktitle =	{9th Workshop on Evaluation and Usability of Programming Languages and Tools (PLATEAU 2018)},
  pages =	{5:1--5:6},
  series =	{Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-091-0},
  ISSN =	{2190-6807},
  year =	{2019},
  volume =	{67},
  editor =	{Barik, Titus and Sunshine, Joshua and Chasins, Sarah},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/OASIcs.PLATEAU.2018.5},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-101954},
  doi =		{10.4230/OASIcs.PLATEAU.2018.5},
  annote =	{Keywords: rust, programming language usability}
}
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