[hackandthink]

It is used for pattern matching.

I don't know anything about the Scala compiler. A few years ago I needed a CNF Converter and I ripped their Logic Module.

(performant CNF Converter are harder to find than SAT Solver)

[rwmj]

Nice idea! The pattern matching compiler/optimizer in OCaml doesn't do this. It's implemented using this algorithm which I've attempted to understand a few times but is a bit beyond me:

Fabrice Le Fessant, Luc Maranget, Optimizing Pattern-Matching ICFP'2001 http://pauillac.inria.fr/~maranget/papers/opat/