(Here is a shorter abstract. It was one of those things you have to
 produce till "the day before yesterday" for some publication list:-)

=====================================================================

                 Functions, Frames, and Interactions -- 
 completing a $\lambda$-calculus-based purely functional language with
   respect to programming-in-the-large and interactions with runtime
                              environments


The key idea of this thesis is to present the extension of a purely
functional language with facilities for input/output and modular
programming as a language design process.  We briefly develop functional
languages as a means for declarative programming, then review the
support for input/output and modular programming in current functional
languages. Having identified some of the problems of existing designs
and the available design options in these areas, we develop our own
design. The starting point is a purely functional core based on the
$\lambda$-calculus, which is then extended with input/output-facilities
and record-like data structures. Semantic principles (such as the
principles of abstraction, correspondence and data type completeness)
guide the way from the basic constructs towards a simple and elegant
overall language design. The design features modules as first-class data
objects and input/output-facilities which are applicable to all valid
language expressions. It is demonstrated to support a wide range of
modular programming techniques.